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Geostatistical Applications in Petroleum Geology

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A special issue of Geosciences (ISSN 2076-3263). This special issue belongs to the section "Geophysics".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (15 September 2018) | Viewed by 34347

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Special Issue Editor

Prof. Tomislav Malvić

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Guest Editor

Department of Geology and Geological Engineering, Faculty of Mining, Geology and Petroleum Engineering, University of Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia
Interests: geomathematics; geostatistics; hydrocarbon reservoirs; clastic depositional environments; regional geology; Croatian geomathematical terminology

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Looking back at the early 1950s, geostatistics started to develop into a domain of mineral-resource exploration. Several decades later, it became part of many geosciences, such as geology, geography, forestry, geomathematics, and others, growing through numerous applications, case studies, and theoretical advancements. However, geostatistics is still, regarding its tradition and application, strongly practised only in the petroleum industry, especially in petroleum geology. It was especially emphasized from the 1990s onwards, i.e., when computer processing power was rapidly increased and software packages became complex enough that they could reliably produce different geological models, like burial history, contour lines mappings, fluid migration and injection, evolution of depositional environments, tectonics history, and palinspastic sections. That was especially and widely used in exploration and development of hydrocarbon reservoirs all over the world, off-shore and on-shore. However, the highly increased CPU and GPU power made subsurface mapping easier, what is primary purpose of different Kriging techniques, whatever they are applied into deterministic or stochastic models.

Consequently, the intention of this Special Issue of Geosciences is to attract and publish high-quality contributions, which would cover all aspects of geostatistics and its applications in petroleum geology and similar fields, also giving new insights in particular applications and theoretical advancements in the field. We will kindly welcome all such manuscripts with an emphasis on:

Application of geostatistics in the early exploration phase of hydrocarbon reservoirs (or cases with “small” number of input data);
Application in the late exploration or development phase of hydrocarbon reservoirs (or cases with “large” number of input data);
Subsurface geological mapping of hydrocarbon reservoirs and other structures;
Variogram analysis, interpretation advice, “tips and tricks”;
Improvements and advanced applications of the Kriging techniques;
Simulations, both conditional and unconditional;
Geostatistics in geosciences connected with petroleum geology;
Simultaneously using of neural tools, descriptive statistics and geostatistics in reservoir geology and geomathematics in general.

Prof. Tomislav Malvić
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Geosciences is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1800 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

geostatistics
Kriging
simulation
subsurface mapping
hydrocarbon reservoirs
geological evolution
eomathematics
geosciences

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Published Papers (7 papers)

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Research

28 pages, 11557 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Thermal Effects of Magmatism on Surrounding Sediments and Petroleum Systems in the Northern Offshore Taranaki Basin, New Zealand

by Anna Kutovaya, Karsten F. Kroeger, Hannu Seebeck, Stefan Back and Ralf Littke

Geosciences 2019, 9(7), 288; https://doi.org/10.3390/geosciences9070288 - 29 Jun 2019

Cited by 17 | Viewed by 7534

Abstract

In the past two decades, numerical forward modeling of petroleum systems has been extensively used in exploration geology. However, modeling of petroleum systems influenced by magmatic activity has not been a common practice, because it is often associated with additional uncertainties and thus is a high risk associated with exploration. Subsurface processes associated with volcanic activity extensively influence all the elements of petroleum systems and may have positive and negative effects on hydrocarbon formation and accumulation. This study integrates 3D seismic data, geochemical and well data to build detailed 1D and 3D models of the Kora Volcano—a buried Miocene arc volcano in the northern Taranaki Basin, New Zealand. It examines the impact of magmatism on the source rock maturation and burial history in the northern Taranaki Basin. The Kora field contains a sub-commercial oil accumulation in volcanoclastic rocks that has been encountered by a well drilled on the flank of the volcano. By comparing the results of distinct models, we concluded that magmatic activity had a local effect on the thermal regime in the study area and resulted in rapid thermal maturation of the surrounding organic matter-rich sediments. Scenarios of the magmatic activity age (18, 11 and 8 Ma) show that the re-equilibration of the temperature after intrusion takes longer (up to 5 Ma) in the scenarios with a younger emplacement age (8 Ma) due to an added insulation effect of the thicker overburden. Results of the modeling also suggest that most hydrocarbons expelled from the source rock during this magmatic event escaped to the surface due to the absence of a proper seal rock at that time. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Geostatistical Applications in Petroleum Geology)

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24 pages, 8160 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Kriging with a Small Number of Data Points Supported by Jack-Knifing, a Case Study in the Sava Depression (Northern Croatia)

by Tomislav Malvić, Josip Ivšinović, Josipa Velić and Rajna Rajić

Geosciences 2019, 9(1), 36; https://doi.org/10.3390/geosciences9010036 - 11 Jan 2019

Cited by 16 | Viewed by 4530

Abstract

The semivariogram and the ordinary kriging analyses of porosity data from the Sava Depression (Northern Croatia), are presented relative to the Croatian part of the Pannonian Basin system. The data are taken from hydrocarbon reservoirs of the Lower Pontian (Upper Miocene) age, which belong to the Kloštar Ivanić Formation. The original datasets had been jack-knifed with the purpose of re-sampling and calculating the more reliable semivariograms. The results showed that such improvements can assist in the interpolation of more reliable maps. Both sets, made by the original and re-sampled data, need to be compared using geological recognition of isoline’s shapes (such as “bull-eye” or “butterfly” effects) as well as cross-validation results. This comparison made it possible to select the most appropriate porosity interpolation. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Geostatistical Applications in Petroleum Geology)

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19 pages, 13208 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Depositional Model, Pebble Provenance and Possible Reservoir Potential of Cretaceous Conglomerates: Example from the Southern Slope of Medvednica Mt. (Northern Croatia)

by Jasenka Sremac, Josipa Velić, Marija Bošnjak, Ivo Velić, Davor Kudrnovski and Tamara Troskot-Čorbić

Geosciences 2018, 8(12), 456; https://doi.org/10.3390/geosciences8120456 - 04 Dec 2018

Cited by 7 | Viewed by 4070

Abstract

Upper Cretaceous deposits in Medvednica Mt. are composed of coarse-grained conglomerates, sandstones, shales and the pelagic Scaglia Limestones. Such deposits in the wider region possess reservoir potential, not previously studied in Northern Croatia. Modal composition of conglomerates, size and distribution of clasts, porosity and permeability were studied from one new exposure in Medvednica Mt., and the results were compared with previously published data from neighboring successions. Conglomerates are polymictic, clast- to matrix-supported, with clasts and matrix entirely composed of local bedrocks. Porosity varies between 4.98 to 10.89% and permeability from 1.13 to 43.3 mD. Overlying pelagic Scaglia Limestones contain pelagic foraminifera of the latest Santonian to Early Campanian age (83 to 85 Ma). Clasts were eroded from the local hinterland, probably transported to the beach by short-term torrents and deposited along the shelves of the proto-Medvednica Island. Previously presumed alluvial transport is not likely. Deposition took place in a Gosau-type basin during the subsidence phase, additionally controlled by a third-order sea-level change at the Santonian-Campanian boundary. According to this study, Upper Cretaceous clastites possess possible reservoir potential, and deserve more attention in future hydrocarbon research in Croatia. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Geostatistical Applications in Petroleum Geology)

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14 pages, 25226 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Comparison of the Sweetness Seismic Attribute and Porosity–Thickness Maps, Sava Depression, Croatia

by Kristina Novak Zelenika, Karolina Novak Mavar and Stipica Brnada

Geosciences 2018, 8(11), 426; https://doi.org/10.3390/geosciences8110426 - 21 Nov 2018

Cited by 8 | Viewed by 5189

Abstract

The sweetness seismic attribute is a very useful tool for proper description of the depositional environment, reservoir quality and lithofacies discrimination. This paper shows that depositional channels and turbidity sandstones deposited during the Upper Pannonian and Lower Pontian in the Sava Depression can be described using porosity–thickness and sweetness seismic attribute maps. Two studied reservoirs are of Neogene stage (“UP” reservoir of Upper Pannonian age and “LP” reservoir of Lower Pontian age) and located in the Sava Depression, Croatia. Both reservoirs contain medium to fine grained sandstones that are intercalated with basinal marls. A comparison of the sweetness seismic attribute and porosity–thickness maps show a good visual match with correlation coefficient of approximately 0.85. A mismatch was observed in areas with small reservoir thickness. This work demonstrates the importance of using porosity–thickness maps for reservoir characterization. The workflow presented in this work has wider applications in frontier areas with poor seismic data or coverage. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Geostatistical Applications in Petroleum Geology)

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10 pages, 3167 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Statistical Analysis of Displacement and Length Relation for Normal Faults in the Barents Sea

by Dmitriy Kolyukhin, Anita Torabi, Audun Libak, Behzad Alaei and Tatiana Khachkova

Geosciences 2018, 8(11), 421; https://doi.org/10.3390/geosciences8110421 - 14 Nov 2018

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 3751

Abstract

This paper is devoted to the statistical analysis of dependence between fault length (L) and displacement (D). The main purpose of this work is to study the scaling relations between fault length and displacement using a database that includes datasets of 21 faults with geometric data extracted from 3D seismic coherence cubes of the Norwegian Barents Sea. Multiple linear regression and Bayesian and Akaike information criterions are applied to obtain optimal regression parameters. Our dataset is unique since it includes segment lengths of individual faults, unlike the previously published datasets. Hence, we studied both the dependence of fault segment length and accumulated fault length on displacement. The latter relation (accumulated fault length versus displacement) shows a general agreement (positive correlation and power-law relation) with the previously published results that are mainly obtained from outcrop studies, although the slopes vary for different lithologies. The differences could be attributed to the unique characteristics of our dataset that includes data of all segment lengths of individual faults. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Geostatistical Applications in Petroleum Geology)

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17 pages, 4970 KiB

Open AccessArticle

3D Numerical Modelling and Sensitivity Analysis of the Processes Controlling Organic Matter Distribution and Heterogeneity—A Case Study from the Toarcian of the Paris Basin

by Benjamin Bruneau, Marc Villié, Mathieu Ducros, Benoit Chauveau, François Baudin and Isabelle Moretti

Geosciences 2018, 8(11), 405; https://doi.org/10.3390/geosciences8110405 - 06 Nov 2018

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 4043

Abstract

The active debate about the processes governing the organic-rich sediment deposition generally involves the relative roles of elevated primary productivity and enhanced preservation related to anoxia. However, other less spotlighted factors could have a strong impact on such deposits, e.g., residence time into the water column (bathymetry), sedimentation rate, transport behavior of organo-mineral floccules on the sea floor. They are all strongly interrelated and may be obscured in the current conceptual models inspired from most representative modern analogues (i.e., upwelling zones and stratified basins). To improve our comprehension of organic matter distribution and heterogeneities, we conducted a sensitivity analysis on the processes involved in organic matter production and preservation that have been simulated within a 3D stratigraphic forward model. The Lower-Middle Toarcian of the Paris Basin was chosen as a case study as it represents one of the best documented example of marine organic matter accumulation. The relative influence of the critical parameters (bathymetry, diffusive transport, oxygen mixing rate and primary production) on the output parameters (Total Organic Carbon, and oxygen level), determined performing a Global Sensitivity Analysis, shows that, in the context of a shallow epicontinental basin, a moderate primary productivity (>175 gC·m⁻²·year⁻¹) can led to local anoxia and organic matter accumulation. We argue that, regarding all the processes involved, the presence and distribution of organic-rich intervals is linked as a first-order parameter to the morphology of the basin (e.g., ramp slope, bottom topography). These interpretations are supported by very specific ranges of critical parameters that allowed to obtain output parameter values in accordance with the data. This quantitative approach and its conclusions open new perspectives about the understanding of global distribution and preservation of organic-rich sediments. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Geostatistical Applications in Petroleum Geology)

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19 pages, 5984 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Analysis of Different Statistical Models in Probabilistic Joint Estimation of Porosity and Litho-Fluid Facies from Acoustic Impedance Values

by Mattia Aleardi

Geosciences 2018, 8(11), 388; https://doi.org/10.3390/geosciences8110388 - 26 Oct 2018

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 3356

Abstract

We discuss the influence of different statistical models in the prediction of porosity and litho-fluid facies from logged and inverted acoustic impedance (Ip) values. We compare the inversion and classification results that were obtained under three different statistical a-priori assumptions: an analytical Gaussian distribution, an analytical Gaussian-mixture model, and a non-parametric mixtu re distribution. The first model assumes Gaussian distributed porosity and Ip values, thus neglecting their facies-dependent behaviour related to different lithologic and saturation conditions. Differently, the other two statistical models relate each component of the mixture to a specific litho-fluid facies, so that the facies-dependency of porosity and Ip values is taken into account. Blind well tests are used to validate the final predictions, whereas the analysis of the maximum-a-posteriori (MAP) solutions, the coverage ratio, and the contingency analysis tools are used to quantitatively compare the inversion outcomes. This work points out that the correct choice of the statistical petrophysical model could be crucial in reservoir characterization studies. Indeed, for the investigated zone, it turns out that the simple Gaussian model constitutes an oversimplified assumption, while the two mixture models provide more accurate estimates, although the non-parametric one yields slightly superior predictions with respect to the Gaussian-mixture assumption. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Geostatistical Applications in Petroleum Geology)

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