Exxonmobil Upstream Research Company

Jose J Sequeira, Jr

Yao-Chou Cheng

Neal L Adair

Timothy A Chartrand

Marek K Czernuszenko

Kelly G Walker

Lucas J Hilliard

Alan R Wild

Rune Musum

James E Holl

Ruben D Uribe

Doug H Freeman

Christopher A Alba

Evan P Child

Joseph D Dischinger

Joe D Dischinger

A method and systems for dynamically planning a well site are provided herein. The method includes generating, via a computing system, a three-dimensional model of a hydrocarbon field including a reservoir. The method also includes determining a location for a well site based on the three-dimensional model and determining reservoir targets for the determined location and a well trajectory for each reservoir target. The method also includes adjusting the location for the well site within the three-dimensional model and dynamically adjusting the reservoir targets and the well trajectories based on the dynamic adjustment of the location for the well site. The determination and the dynamic adjustment of the location, the reservoir targets, and the well trajectories for the well site are based on specified constraints. The method further includes determining a design for the well site based on the dynamic adjustment of the location, the reservoir targets, and the well trajectories for the well site.

Interactively planning a well site

A method, including: identifying a well target or reservoir segment; defining a dynamic surface grid, the dynamic surface grid being a representation of a ground surface, sea-level, or subsea surface above a reservoir upon which a drill center is locatable, and the dynamic surface grid including a plurality of cells that define potential locations for the drill center; assigning, to each of the plurality of cells of the dynamic surface grid, a value of a drilling or geologic attribute that defines a quality of a drill center position relative to the well target or reservoir segment; and selecting, based on a value of the drilling or geologic attribute, a location for the drill center corresponding to a location represented on the dynamic surface grid.

Method and system of interactive drill center and well planning evaluation and optimization

A system and method for planning a well path is described. An exemplary method comprises defining a proxy constraint volume as a three-dimensional (3D) cellular volume where each cell has at least one value derived from data from a 3D earth model. An initial well path is defined within user defined drilling parameter constraints. The exemplary method comprises defining acceptable constraint parameters to be applied to values derived from an intersection of the initial well path and the proxy constraint volume. If the intersection of the initial well path and the proxy constraint volume is not within the acceptable constraint parameters, the initial well path may be iteratively adjusted to create successive well paths until at least one of the successive well paths is within the acceptable constraint parameters for the values derived from the intersection of the well path and proxy constraint volume.

System and method for planning a well path

A system and method for summarizing data corresponding to properties of interest on an unstructured grid that includes active cells and inactive cells on an output surface. An exemplary method comprises identifying an aggregation direction through a region of interest of the unstructured grid and identifying at least one active cell along the aggregation direction. The exemplary method comprises assigning an aggregated value for the at least one property of interest to a face of the output surface on a line along the aggregation direction based at least in part on the data corresponding to the at least one property of interest for the at least one active cell. The exemplary method further comprises filling the at least one data hole by identifying at least one face associated with an inactive cell on the line along the aggregation direction and assigning it an aggregated value.

System and method for summarizing data on an unstructured grid

Method for reservoir surveillance using a three-dimensional Earth Model () to improve and expedite the surveillance at all scales of investigation (field, reservoir, fault compartment, and individual well) and at all time steps (minutes, hours, days, months, years). The new method allows users to rapidly identify anomalous field and well performance () and provides capability to investigate root causes of the performance deviation from predicted (). Animated co-rendered displays () of the earth model and actual () and simulated () production data enable the user to interactively determine model adjustments back at the basic level of the Earth Model, which are then propagated to a geologic model () and then to the reservoir simulator () to update it () in a physically constrained way.

Iterative reservoir surveillance

Method for determining one or more optimal well trajectories and a drill center location for hydrocarbon production. A well path and drill center optimization problem () is solved in which one constraint is that a well trajectory must intersect a finite size target region () in each formation of interest, or in different parts of the same formation. The finite target size provides flexibility for the optimization problem to arrive at a more advantageous solution. Typical well path optimization constraints are also applied, such as anti-collision constraints and surface site constraints ().

Method for using dynamic target region for well path/drill center optimization

There is provided a system and method for providing a visualization of data describing a physical structure. An exemplary method comprises defining an unstructured grid that corresponds to a three-dimensional physical structure, the unstructured grid comprising data representative of a property of interest. The exemplary method also comprises defining a probe as an object that comprises a set of topological elements, at least one of which does not share a common plane. The exemplary method additionally comprises providing a visualization of the unstructured grid data on the geometry defined by the probe.

System and method for providing data corresponding to physical objects

There is provided a system and method for providing data describing a physical structure. An exemplary method comprises defining an unstructured grid that corresponds to a three-dimensional physical structure. The unstructured grid comprises data representative of a property of interest. At least one filter object and a selection criterion are defined. A portion of the unstructured grid data that meets the selection criterion relative to the filter object is selected.

Growing community of inventors

The Woodlands, TX, United States of America

Jose J Sequeira, Jr