13/03/2017 NettoGrossDiscussionfromGeomodelingGrouppart2|DavidDesAutels|Pulse|LinkedIn

Net to Gross Discussion from

Geomodeling Group part 2
Published on January 12, 2017

David DesAutels Follow

2 0 1
Managing Director/CEO at Seregon Energy, LLC and Managing Dire

N/Gtomodelornot

IenjoyedJuanCottier'snewslettercontributiononN/G.WhenIjoinedoilindustry5
yearsago,N/Gstruckmeasoneofnumeroussenselessandneedlessconceptsusedin
theindustry.Itisoneofthosesimplificationsthatmadesenseatcertainlevelof
geologicunderstanding(90yearsago)andtoolavailability(30yearsago,backofthe
envelopetypecalculations).Sincethen,theybecamesoengrainedingeologists'
thinkingthatitbecamethe"reality"drivinggeologicinterpretation.Insteadofenabling
problemsolvingtheybecameanobstacletogeologicthinking.

DavidRajmon

geologist

AhmadNazhriMohdZain

GeologicalModeleratSaudiAramco

IknowthatShellusuallymodelN/GandIhadalongdiscussionontheNTGmodeling
approachandwhatIcangatheristhatwhenyouaremodelingreallythinsandswitha
lotofclaycontents,thenyour2feetcellthicknessusuallycannotcapturethe
heterogeneityofthesand.

MarkWhelan

SeniorDevelopmentGeologist

NettoGrossinageologicalmodelingsense,asameansofdefiningwhat'spayandnot
pay,shouldbebasedonPermeability.Iguessthepetrophysicistswillalwayswantto
usesomediscriminatortodefinewhatcontributestothereservoirvolume,sowejust
havetoacceptthatnettogrosswillbearoundaslongastherearetheold1Dand2D
peoplearoundnotthatthat'sabadthing!!

OscarSkold

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Advisorfor3DReservoirCharacterization

Hellofellas,

Your"correct"faciesdistributionisthemeatofthereservoir.Createacutoffonthis
andyouhaveyourNTG....simple,eh?!Perm,forexampledescribesthevariability
withineachfacies.IhavenevermodeledNTGdirectlyina3Dmodel,ithasalways
beena"faciescontrolledpostdistributionparameter".

JaimeVargas

GeologistRes.EngineeratSchlumberger

AgreedwithOscar.Ifyoumodelfaciesfirstandthenmodelpetrophysicalproperties
usingthemasbias,thatwilltakecareofyourN/G.Isharetheconceptof"facies
controlledpostdistributionparameter".50yearsagowedidnthavetheabilityto
modelfaciesaswedonowthereforeN/Gwasessential.Now,wehavebetterwaysto
dothatjob.

Now,comingbacktothebasicN/Gconcept,ifyouuseitasacutoff,Ithinkitcouldbe
alittledangerouswhensimulatingthefield.Ifyouaresayingthatanythingbelow(lets
say)3%ofporosityisnotpayandyouassignavalueofN/G=0,then,theeffective
porositywillbe0aswellasthepermeability(ifweareusingacorrelation),creatinga
barrierinthenumericalsimulator.Isitnotbetterleavethecellasitisandletthe
simulatortakecareoftheflowinthatcell?

MarkWhelan

SeniorDevelopmentGeologist

Ifyourmodelingcarbonateswherediagensishasplayedapervasivepart,whatdoyou
useasaN/Gproxyforfacies?

MohitKhanna

ChiefGeologicalAdvisoratBGIndia

NTGincarbonateorthatmatteroffactanywhereshouldalwaysbeapetrophysicalcut
off.Inmy15yearofmodelling,IcannoteverremembermodellingNTG,however,
eventilltodaymyREcolleagueswantaNTgparameter!Itisisusually,ageneration
wheretheyoungeronesdonotfussaboutNTGastheyareusedto3Dmodelling,while
theexperiencedones(youknowwhatImean!!)alwaysaskforoneasinprehistoric
timestheyusedNTGin1Dmodels.

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NTGshouldalwaysbeusedasasenstivityonuncertaintyforvolumetricswhichmeans
weshouldalwaysgettothetotalrockmodellingfirst!

JuanCottier

SubsurfaceManageratBluebackReservoirAS

Thanksguys,Igenuinelywasexpectingtoberubbishedorridiculed.ItlookslikeI'm
notasfaroffthemarkasIoftenfeel.Mypreference,likeallofyou,istogetthefacies
modelright,Maybethatisageologicalbackground."Gettingbacktotherocks"asmy
oldschoolmentorusedtosay.Idofeelthatdescribingthesubsurfacefirstanddealing
withthefluidsandsimulationsecondisthecorrectemphasis.

WalterMorrison

SeniorProductionGeologistandIntegratedReservoirModellingTeamLeaderat
ShellTechnologyIndia

Iamgoingtohavetodisagreehere.Notallmodelsaremade(norshouldtheybe)ata
scalewhichpermitsfaciesmodelling.Notalldatasetsorprojecttimelinescan
accomodateanyusefulfaciesmodelling.InsuchcasesN/Gisaconvenientmethodfor
eliminatingfromyourvolumetriccalculations,thefractionofrockyouarenot
interestedin,andofcoursewhatthatfractionis,andhowitisdeterminedwilldepend
onyourcompanyandyourowntrainingand/orexperience,butshouldbewell
communicatedandwellunderstood.

Tobecontroversialandtokeepthisenjoyablediscussiongoing,I'llofferacounter
view.Ifindtodaystrendtowardevermorecomplex,andoftenentirelystochasticfacies
modellingamatterofconcern.Ithinkthegroundsformuchofthismodellingissimply
notthere,eitherbecausethedataisnotavailable,andifitis,thedepositionalconcepts
haveoftennotbeenwellthoughtout.

Whatisoftenforgotteninallofthisistheneedtolearnsomefundamentalthingsabout
ourreservoirspriortomakingdevelopmentdecisions.Ifthegeologist/modeller
exhauststhebulkofyour'studytime'generatingahandfulofoverlycomplex,largeand
unwieldy,stochasticmodels,youmaywellfindthatintheendyouhavelearnedvery
littleaboutwhatmakesyourreservoirtick,andwhatshouldbekeepingyouawakeat
night.Letmebeclear,Iamnotsuggestingweshouldnotstriveknowasmuchasthere
istoknowaboutthegeologyofourreservoir,justthatweshouldbecleverinhowwe
incorporatetheseobservations/interpretations/hunchesintoourmodels.

Posted4monthsago|ReplyPrivately

AndrewPitchford

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PrincipleGeoscientistatRISK

N/Gcanbeausefulfixitparameterintheassessmentofreservesbutcanalsobeabig
causeoftroublewhenusedindynamicmodelling.SoinmyopinionN/Gcanbegood
orevil.

GoodN/G

ReserveassessmentoftenrequiresquickmodellingandusingN/Ggivesyoueasyto
understanduncertaintyparameter.SomemodelsanddatalendthemselvestousingN/G
wherethecutoffsareuncontroversialandtheflowfromlowpermareasdoesnothave
amaterialimpactonrecovery.

EvilN/G

WhenthedynamicsofamodelarecriticaltotheoutcomeoftheprojectN/Gshouldnot
beusedbecauseitsusecansignificantlydistorttheflowcharacteristicsofthemodel.
ForexampleIhaverecentlynoticedatrendofusingaN/Gparameterinthefinescale
modelwherethenonpayissettobeundefined.Thiscausesupscalingproblems,
buggersupyourKvandtheresultingoutputfromyourdynamicsimulationisnot
believable.

SouseN/Gbyallmeansbutdrawapentagonarounditanduseasbestosgloves.

IagreewithWalteraboutthedisturbingproliferationofexceedinglycomplexmodels
with20faciestypesforsandand10forshale.Withthesetypesofmodelsuncertainty
analysisisexceedinglydifficulttodo,letalonetounderstand.Furthermorethis
obsessionwithfaciesandpetrophysicalmodelingcomplexityoftendetractsfromthe
factthatthemajoruncertaintyshould(orwould)beaplusorminus20percent
differenceintheGRVassumingthegeophysicistcangiveyouasetof3depthmaps.

DaveHardy

Reservoirgeologistandreservoirmodeler

IwouldtendagreewithWalter....mostly.

WhetheryouuseNTGornotisallamatterofscale,andthatreallydependsonthe
purposeofthemodel.Simplemodelscanbeextremelyusefulathelpingyouquickly
exploretheuncertaintywithinthereservoir.AtacoursescaleyourgoingtoneedNTG.

Howeverthereisatimeandaplacefordetailedreservoirmodels.Particularlyin
situationswherethereservoirheterogeneityplaysabigfactore.g.earlywater
breakthrough,waterconing,SAGDtonamebutafew.Inthesecasescapturingthe

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reservoirheterogeneity,evenifweknowthemodelisneverperfect,isimportantfor
understandingreservoirflow.

AsAndrewsaiditcanbegoodorevil,butisworstwhenbadlyappliedandyoudouble
dip.Thedebatehasgoneonfor20yearsandIamsureitwillcontinue!

GrahamDryden

InternationalOilandGasFinder/EnergyTrader/TechMaven.(TopLinked)
LION5300+(MyLinkNetwork.com)gdryden@sb.net

IagreewithWalterthatStochasticmodelsareprobablynotasaccurateassomepeople
liketothink.Howeverifthestochasticmodelisbasedoncarefullypreparedvariograms
whichmakegeologicalsense,thenitisusefultobeabletopointoutthatthemodel
showsacertaintrendwithacertainlevelofconfidence.ButIalwayspaira
deterministicmodelwiththestochasticone.Thedeterministicmodelisconsideredtobe
moreconservative,andthestochasticmoreinterpretive.Ithinknettogrosshasnoplace
inawelldefinedmodel.Ifyouarethinkinginthosetermsthenyourmodelisnot
developedatafineenoughverticalresolution.

ColinDaly

ReservoirModelingChampionatSchlumbergerInformationSolutions

IcanthinkofonereasontomodelN/Gthathasbeenusedfromtimetotimealthough
itisslightlyesoteric.

considerareservoirwith3faciesbad,mediumandgood(bringingallmygeological
knowledgetothisone,eh!)havingporositiesof0,10and20%respectively.Suppose
alsoweknowarelpermcurvesforthe3facies,who'srelpermsaresuchthatweget0,
20%and70%efficiencyinsweep.

Nowconsider2simulationblocks,madeofanumberofgeologicalblocks.Inone
blockwehave100%mediumsandandintheotherwehave50%goodand50%bad
sand.Thenthesimulationblockshavethesamegrossporosity,whilethesweepshould
be.2and.7*.5=.35respectively.

Ifonlyrelpermwasused,thentheresultsofusinggrossporoandaN/Gtermwouldbe
thesameasusingnetsand....buttheydifferwhenrelpermsarelocallyvariableandare
assignedasafunctionofN/G

AhmadNazhriMohdZain

GeologicalModeleratSaudiAramco

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Interestingdiscussions.Inmycase,IcannotescapefromdoingNTGmodelingasthe
fieldI'mbuildingthestaticmodelarehuge.It'sverydifficultwhenyour4feetvertical
resolutionmodelendsupbeingupwardsof50millioncells.Inoneparticularproject,
whatweendupdoingwasassigningNTGtocertaintypesoffaciesthatwehaveinour
model.TheNTGwasassignedbasedonthecoredescriptionofeachfacies.This
howeverisaclasticmodel,wearestillunsureofwhattodowithcasesasmentionedby
MarkWhelanwhereyouhavediagenesiseffectonthecarbonatefacies.

StevenTrueman

GeologistatPetroCanada

InmyopinionitisbettertouseNTGthannotassumingitisdonecorrectlyandthe
appropriatescaleused.Itisdangerousontheotherhandtoignoreit.Notbecauseitis
technicallyflawed,butbecausetheresultscanbemisleadingorabused.

MypreferredapproachtoNTGistocaptureasbestIcan,atafinescale,thenonnet
intervals(couldbeshale)asminimumcellthickness,andsize.Inthiscase,youdont
modelNTGperse,buteliminatenonnetcellsonthefinalgridforvolumetricsand
simulation.Youmayhavetocompromiseonresolutionalittle,butshouldntbe
excessiveobviously.Ifthenonnetunitsaretoofinetobepracticablethenyoucan
modelNTGasacontinuousparameter(notasaflag)orupscaletoacoarsergridlater.
Ifyouignoreit,thenthereservesestimatebasedonsimulationmightbereasonable.But
ifyouassumearecoveryfactorthenthingsstarttogetscary,dontthey?Dontassume
arecoveryfactor,yousay.Nave,Isay.(SECreservesguidelinesinmanyinstances
demandit!).SomyadviceistomodelNTGimplicitlyattheappropriate,finescale.

Sowhatisthemostappropriatescale?Theobjectiveshouldbetocreatethesimplest,
coarsestmodelthatadequatelypreservesthefluiddisplacementprocess.Dependingon
yourobjectivesanddatathatcouldbeonthebackofanenvelope(OK,Excel),ora
multimillion3Dcellularmodelwithorwithoutfaciesetc.Weprobablydontknowor
guessatfirstresultinginoversimplisticorovercomplexmodels.Bothendsseemto
getregularabuse(myselfincluded).

Assumingdynamicsimulationisthesimplestapproach:Thenmyownbiasistoward
therocksthemselvescore,facies,sedimentologyshaleandcementdimensions,coreto
logandcoretomodelcalibrationetcaflowunitapproach.Areservoirengineeronthe
otherhandwouldprobablyfavourageometricapproachmorecellsaroundcontacts,
aboveandbelowbarriersforwaterslumping,override,coning,cusping,gravityeffects
etc.Ifindoubt,Iprefertoerrtowardstoofinethantoocoarse.Gridscanbeoptimised
later(egautomaticgridcoarseningupscalingimprovedcomputing).DareIsayit,
performsometrialstoestablishthebestscaletoworkon.Perhapsstreamlinesand
sectorapproaches.Sadlywedontseemtogettimeforthisbutthatsanotherstory.

MikeHardwicke

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SeniorDevelopmentGeologistatSocoInternational

1.We(perhaps)forgetthatFaciesdoesnotmeanNetrock(bywhatevercriteria)alltoo
commonlyweareforcedtouseadiscreteproperty(Facies)whichhasbeen
discriminatedpetrophysicallybecausetherehasbeennoRockDescriptionand...

2.DidourforebearsalwayshavePermeabilitydefinedinawellbore/rocksequence?
TheconceptofNETSANDwasperhaps,therefore,apoorattempt/substitutefora
Perm(orRelpermatagivenmomentintime)cutoff

3)LettheSimulatordecidewhatisNet

4)Howdoyoumakethe'commentboxes',herein,bigger!?)

DanO'Meara

ChiefAdvisor,ReservesatLandmarkandOwner,O'MearaConsulting,Inc

Thisisabigissue.Letmerespondinparts.

Part1:

Theconceptofnettogrossisquiteusefulwheneveryouareworkingwith
heterogeneousreservoirmodelswheretheverticalcelldimensionexceedstheresolution
ofthelogs.Youcanthinkofnettogrossasawaytohelpmakethecellsthataresentto
theflowsimulatormorehomogeneous.Twoimportantaspectsofflowsimulationentail
initializingsaturationsanddescribingtherelativeflowoffluids.Thesearecontrolledby
JFunctions(orcapillarypressurecurves)andrelativepermeabilities,respectively.
Thesefunctionsarebestappliedtohomogeneousregionsofrock,ratherthanamixture
ofgoodrockandbadrock.Distinguishingbetweenthenetandnonnetreservoirhelps
youtodothis.

Nettogrossisjustasusefulaconceptin3Dmodelingasitwasinthedaysof1Dand
2Dmodeling.However,employingtheconceptrequirescarefulconsiderationofseveral
factors:

1.Thedegreeofreservoirheterogeneity.

2.Theextentofupscaling,fromlogs,togeocells,tosimulationgridblocks.

3.Thesettingofnetreservoircutoffs.

4.Theconsequencesforflowcalculations.

Wewillconsiderthesebelow.

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Mostofuslikeagoodstory.Naturally,wehaveapropensitytofitstoriestoexplain
factsthatwehaveobserved.So,whenaskingpracticingengineersorgeologiststojudge
theusefulnessofaconcept,itisimportanttocalibratetheirexperiences(ortheirstories)
withtheirstatements.Forexample,someoneworkingonhighnettogross,
homogeneousreservoirsintheGulfofMexicomayjudgethattheconceptofnetto
grossissenselessorneedless.Whereas,someoneworkingonmegareservoirsin
VenezuelaorSaudiArabiawithmoderatenettogrossandfivetotenfootcellsmay
thinkofnettogrossasanindispensableconcept.Someoneworkinginclasticreservoirs
maythinkofnettogrossandfaciesasinextricablylinked.Whereas,apersonwhois
workingwithheavilydiagenticallyoverprintedcarbonatesmayseelittleconnectionto
faciesasopposedtopermeability.Unfortunately,ourstoriesmaynotbeuniversally
applicable.Theycanleadustotunnelthroughtopredictionsofreservoirperformance
thatblindsideustoconsequencesofgreatimpact,ifonlywehadtheopenmindedness
toseethem.

Letsbeginwithpointsofagreement.Wecanagreethatnettogrossisnotauseful
conceptifthereservoirishomogeneous.Wecanalsoagreethatitisnotusefulifthe
cellsorgridblocksofthemodelatthesameresolutionasthelogs.However,thesetwo
pointsofagreementapplytoveryfewmodels.Itisrarethatacompanydecidestospend
significantamountsoftimeandmoneymodelingahomogeneousreservoir.By
definition,suchreservoirsrequirelittlemodeling.Infact,theymaybemodeledusinga
smallnumberofgridblocksor,forthatmatter,modeledwithoutrecoursetoaflow
simulatorwhatsoever.Furthermore,itisrarethatthegridblocksinaflowsimulation
modelortheevensmallercellsinthecorrespondinggeologicalmodelareeveratthe
resolutionofthelogs.Occasionally,onefindssectormodelsthatenjoysuch
resolution.However,thepreponderanceofmodelslumpmanylogmeasurementsinto
theircellsorgridblocks.Nodoubt,theusefulnessofnettogrossisamatterofscaleand
heterogeneity.However,byandlarge,reservoirsofinterestareheterogeneousandtheir
modelinginvolvesafairbitofupscalingfromlogs,togeocells,togridblocks.So,for
mostpracticalapplications,nettogrossturnsouttobeanimportantconcept.

DanO'Meara

ChiefAdvisor,ReservesatLandmarkandOwner,O'MearaConsulting,Inc

Part2:

Anydiscussionofnettogrosscutoffsneedstobeginwithconsideringhowflow
simulatorshandlenettogross.Inshort,flowsimulatorstreatnonnetreservoiras
havingzeropermeability.Now,thiscreatesseveralmisunderstandingsthatweshall
considerlater.However,forthemoment,letsdwellonthisessentialfact:nonnet
reservoiristreatedashavingzeropermeability.Fromthisalone,wewoulddeducethat
theonlysensiblecutofffornetreservoirshouldbeapermeabilitycutoff.However,
considerthatamodelhasporosity,permeability,andsaturationlogs.Forwhichlogdo
youhavethemostconfidence?Clearly,itisporosity.And,forwhichlogdoyouhave

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thenextlevelofconfidence?Itissaturation.Generally,thepermeabilityisthelogin
whichwehavetheleastconfidence.

Nowadays,manygeologicalmodelsmayhavepermeabilitylogsinthem.Butthedata
andinterpretationsunderpinningtheselogsaremoreuncertainthatthosethatunderpin
eitherporosityorsaturationlogs.Even,whenthepermeabilityismeasuredusingthe
NMRlog,itisfraughtwithproblems,nottheleastofwhichistheoversimplified
blackboxthatisusedtointerpretthepermeabilityfromNMRsignals.So,although
permeabilityisournaturalchoiceforspecifyingcutoffs,itsuncertaintymakesuslook
forsurrogates.Onewouldbehesitanttospecifyapermeabilitycutoffforthenet
reservoirwhentheestimationofpermeability(especiallyatlowvaluesofporosity)may
beoffbyatleastafactoroften.Thisuncertaintyinpermeabilityistoooftennot
appreciatedbyyoung,inexperiencedmodelers.Ifthelogappearsinthemodel,thenitis
assumedtobecorrect.Infact,manygeostatisticianswillboastthattheyhonorthe
logs.Well,inthecaseofpermeabilityitmaymakealotofsensenottohonorthelogs.
Infact,oneoughttobeskepticalaboutpermeabilitylogs.

Fromtheliterature,youcanfindseveralsurrogatesforpermeabilitysuchasgamma
ray,shalevolume,porosity,andsaturation.Atleastthefirstthreeoftheseseem
straightforward.Butyouneedtorememberthatspecifyingacutoffistantamountto
assigningzeropermeabilitytotherockfailingtomeetthecutoff.Thus,usinga
saturationcutoffwouldappeartomakelittlesensebecauseitresultsinassigningzero
permeabilitytohighwatersaturations.However,suchacriterionisnotasridiculousas
itmayfirstappear.Tobesure,itmakesnosensewhatsoevertoassignzeropermeability
tohighwatersaturationsthatoccurintheneighborhoodandbelowtheoilwaterorgas
watercontact.However,ifyoufindhighwatersaturationswellabovethecontact,then
suchrockmustbeofverylowpermeability.However,becauseoftheuncertainties
inherentinpermeabilitymodeling,suchrockmaynotnecessarilyhavebeenassigneda
lowpermeability.Thatsbecausemostpermeabilitymodelingisnotcoupledto
saturationmodelinganegregiousmistakethatanyonefamiliarwithJFunctionswould
appreciate.So,inthiscase,itwouldbesensibletoremovehighwatersaturationsfrom
thenetreservoir,aslongastheyarewellabovethecontacts.Now,thiscriterioncanbe
expressedinanother,morescientificway,intermsofJFunctions.Wheneveryouplot
logderivedJFunctionsandseehighwatersaturationdatathatappearswellabovethe
displacementorentryvaluesoftheJFunctionforthepoorestqualityrock,youknow
thatthesepointsareofverylowpermeabilityandmaybediscardedfromthenet
reservoir.

Whenpermeabilitymodelingisproperlyconstrainedbysaturationmodeling,thenitis
sensibletoemploypermeabilityasthenettogrosscutoffcriterion.Whenthe
permeabilityisnotproperlyconstrained,thenyouareforcedtodealwithsurrogates.

Part3:

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Anothersurrogateforpermeabilityisfacies.Manygeologistsdiscriminatebetweennet
andnonnetreservoirbyfacies.Thisisanoffonswitchthatdoesnotmake
distinctionsconcerningpermeability.Nevertheless,itisasensibleapproachincases
whereparticularfaciesaresuretohavezeropermeabilityrock.However,thereisan
importantcaveat.Forallofthetalkaboutfaciesinthegeomodelingcommunity,there
arefartoomanymodelsthatarebeingusedinrealfieldsthatfailtohaveany
descriptionoffaciesinthem.Ittakestimetodescribefacies.So,inmanycases,one
seesmodelswhicharebuilthastilyinordertoobtainapreliminaryassessmentofthe
reservoir.Infact,thesemodelsareoftenusedtojustifythemoredetailedstudiesthatare
necessaryforbuildingafaciesdescription.So,onewouldnotwanttobeinthehabitof
specifyingnettogrosscutoffsbyfacies.

Toooften,moderndaymodelersconsiderthebackoftheenvelopepractitioners
fromthepasttobetroglodytes.However,thesaturationcutoffstoryrevealsthatthese
oldtimersmayhaveappreciatedmoreoftheinherentuncertaintyinthelogsthan
presentdaymodelers.Inspiteofthecurrentconcernaboutestimatinguncertainties,itis
shockingtoseetheunwarrantedassumptionsthataremadeaboutwhatinformationis
highqualityandwhatislowquality.Themodelingofpermeabilityoversaturationisa
caseinpoint.Permeabilityisaninherentlynoisyfunctionofporosityandfacies.Yet,it
ismodeledinawaythatisunconstrainedbywhatweknowofthesaturationlogs.On
theotherhand,saturationisfarbetterunderstoodandamenabletodescriptionbyJ
Functions.Nonetheless,itismodeledasanafterthought.Notsurprisingly,inthe
preponderanceof3Dmodels,the3Dsaturationsdonotmatchthesaturationslogs.Now,
hereisacasewherethelogsoughttobehonoredandarenot.Whyisthis?One
explanationisthatpermeabilitymodelingismonodisciplinary:itslargelytreatedas
amatterofgeostatisticsorneuralnetworks.Butsaturationmodelingisinterdisciplinary,
requiringappreciationofafarwiderrangeofinformation:petrophysicalinterpretation,
fluidproperties,compartmentalization,pressuremeasurements,etc.Theolder,back
oftheenvelopegenerationhadanappreciationforthis.Whilenowadays,geomodeling
seemstohavearrivedasadisciplineuntoitself.

DanO'Meara

ChiefAdvisor,ReservesatLandmarkandOwner,O'MearaConsulting,Inc

Part4:

Anotheradvantageofusingnettogrossisthatitmakesupscaling"cleaner".To
understandwhatwemeanbythis,let'sconsideranexampleofupscaling(orblocking)
permeabilityfromtherawlogsscaletothegeocellularscale.Consideracellinthe
geologicalmodelthatisintersectedbyaverticalwellcomprisingtenlogmeasurements,
oneofwhichhasaporosityandpermeabilityof0.20and1,000millidarcy,theother9
ofwhichhavevaluesof0.05and1millidarcy.Thecorrectwaytoupscaleporosityisto
calculatethevolumeweightedarithmeticaveragewhichinthiscaseis0.065.Upscaling
ofpermeability,however,isnotasstraightforwardanddependsontheflowdirection.

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Forthegivendata,weobtaindifferentupscaledvaluesdependingonthemethodof
averaging:thearithmeticaverageis100.9,thegeometricis1.995,andtheharmonicis
1.1.So,wearefacedwiththequestionofwhatisthebestchoiceoftheupscaled
permeability.

ThiswouldbeveryimportantifyouweretouseJFunctionstoassignthesaturations
basedontheupscaledporosityandpermeabilityoftheblock.Thelowpermeability
wouldyieldmuchhigherwatersaturationsthanthehighpermeability.Inturn,this
wouldleadtohighrelativepermeabilitytowaterversusoil.Now,supposewewereto
applyanetreservoirporositycutoffof0.05tothisdata.Inthiscase,nineoutoftheten
datapointsarenonnetreservoir,sothenettogrossis0.1andthepermeabilityinthe
netreservoiris1,000millidarcy.Inthiscase,theissueofupscalingpermeability
becomestrivial.Betteryet,theJFunctionwouldyieldalowwatersaturation
(appropriateforahighpermeabilityrock)and,consequently,highrelativepermeability
tooil.Youcanthinkofnetreservoircutoffsasawaytobufferpermeabilityaveraging
fromahighdegreeofvariability.Forexample,ifupscalingisamatterofaveraging
permeabilitiesof1,000,800,and1,100versus1000,10,and1,theformerisamuch
easiercasetodealwith.

DanO'Meara

ChiefAdvisor,ReservesatLandmarkandOwner,O'MearaConsulting,Inc

Part5:

Letsreturntotheissueofhowflowsimulatorcorrectsthepermeabilityofgridblocks
thathavebeenassignedanettogrosslessthanone.Firstofall,considerthevertical
permeability.Ifyouhaveazeropermeabilitysliceofrockcontainedwithinagridblock,
thenyouwouldexpecttheverticalpermeabilityoftherocktobezero.Afterall,the
verticalpermeabilityisbestcalculatedasthevolumeweightedharmonicaverageofthe
permeabilitiesinthegridblock.So,youneedtoaskhowyousimulatorishandlingthis.
Isitgettingitright?Itmaybethatthenettogrossofthegridblockaffectsonlythe
horizontalpermeabilityandhasnoeffectontheverticalpermeability.

Letsconsiderthehorizontalpermeabilitybecausethereisamistakemadealltoooften.
Supposeagridblockhasanettogrossratioof0.5andthatitsnetportionhasa
horizontalpermeabilityof100md.Whatisthepermeabilitythatthesimulatorshould
useforflowinthehorizontaldirection?Itis50md.So,youmightthinkthatthisisthe
permeabilitythatthesimulatorexpectstoreceive.Thispermeabilityalreadytakes
accountthenettogrossratioofthegridblock.However,thisisnotwhatthesimulator
isexpecting.Tounderstandwhatthesimulatorisexpecting,supposeyoutookacore
sampleoutofthenetportionofthegridblock,thenyouwouldmeasure(onaverage)
100md.Now,ifyouassignedthis100mdtotheentiregridblockintheinputstreamto
thesimulator,youwouldbedoingwhatisexpectedofyoubythesimulator.So,not
surprisingly,thesimulatormultipliesyourinputbythenettogrossinordertocalculate

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13/03/2017 NettoGrossDiscussionfromGeomodelingGrouppart2|DavidDesAutels|Pulse|LinkedIn

thehorizontalpermeabilityofthegridblock.Thismeansthatifyoumadethemistake
ofinputting50md,thenthesimulatorwoulddecreaseitto25md.Well,50mdisnot
reallyamistakebecauseitistheeffectivehorizontalpermeabilityofthegridblock.

Thecruxoftheproblemisthatthesimulatorassumesthattheinputhorizontal
permeabilitymustbecorrectedfornettogross.Thiswouldbeasensiblethingtodoif
theinputpermeabilityassignedtoagridblockwereobtainedfromacoresampleand
wereassumedtorepresenttheentiregridblock.However,mostofuswouldsendthe
simulatorapermeabilitythatalreadyaccountsforthenettogross.Ok,youmightsay
justdivideyourhorizontalpermeabilitybythenettogrossbeforesendingittothe
simulatorwhichisgoingtomultiplyitbethenettogross,therebycancelingtheeffect.
Well,thatsolvestheproblem.Youjusthavetoremembertodoit.Lastyear,Phil
RingroseofStatoilwroteaverynicepapercalledMythsandRealitiesinUpscaling
ReservoirDataandModels(SPE106620).Hementionsthesameproblem.

GrahamDavis

ChiefPetrophysicistatCNR

NosuchthingasNet/Gross??

OhJuanJuanJuan.Wevecomefullcircle!

WhenIwasaladpetrophysicistswenttothewellsitewithourHP41CVs(apologiesto
anyolderSlideRuleUsersoutthere)andwedidtheloganalysisandtelexedbackTHE
Net/GrossandGeologistsgottheircolouredpencilsoutandplottedthemuponsquared
paperandmadescrawlylookingmapstodecidewhereweweregoingtodrillournext
dryhole(sorrygeologicalsuccess).

ThingswereastheyshouldbePetrophysiciststellingyou,helpingyouunderstand,
whatwerethegoodrocksandwhatwerethebadrocksandyouguyscolouredthemin
happily..aahthosehalcyondays!

Thenyouhadtospoilitallbygettingcomputers(Sattlegger,CPS3andZmapseemed
okbecauseyouallstillseemedtoenjoybeingkeptbusysmoothingandhand
colouringthosemapsandwestilltoldyouwhatNet/Grosswas)butthenyou
wantedustopasstheNet/Grossbatonontoyou..STORM,GEOCAP..gocarefully
youngSkywalker!!

Giveuslogswithoutcutoffs!yousaid,Wellmodelthewholesystem!yousaid,
Geostatisticswillgiveusameaningfulrealisation(sic)yousaid..letthemodel
decidewhatcontributes!yousaidFoolishlywetrustedyou.itallsoundedso
reasonable,therevolving3Dmodelsviewedfromanyangle.goshthatlooked
geological(youguyshadvoxelsandcellswow!thatalmostputyourightupthere
withReservoirEngineers!!)..

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13/03/2017 NettoGrossDiscussionfromGeomodelingGrouppart2|DavidDesAutels|Pulse|LinkedIn

Sowepetrophysicists,wehappyfew,tookthelate90sandearly00soffandwentand
didotherstuffwiththeGeophysicistsand4DseismicbutJuanyouhadtogoand
getallegalitarianaboutit.nosuchthingsasbadrocks.littlebrecciaouton
parole.calcareousoozetimeoffforgoodbehaviour(ifyoumentionShalegasIm
notgoingtoplayonthisforumanymore!)

SonowisittimeforustotakebacktheNet/Grossbaton?..Dadwevebroken
itcanyoufixit?

IfajobsworthdoingitsworthdoingwellIthinkJoseVargheseseemstobea
decentchap(Petrophysicistbybackground?)andontherighttrack.IlikeNet/Gross
beinganyvalueotherthan0or1butperhapsweshouldworktogether(trendy90s
conceptneverreallyfullyverified).Illgiveyourockat2puporosityifyoupromiseto
treatitnicelyandupscaleitcorrectly.thenletsgoanddobattlewiththeReservoir
Engineers!(Thatwayliesawholenewworldofpain)

SorryforthelatepostIjustgothere!

OliverTorresJuan,

Somethoughtsfrommyside:

NTGianotageologicalpropertyanditismostlyrelatedtorockproperties.

Rockpropertiesaremorerelatedtoflowbehaviour.(similarporsimilarkfamilies...)

SedimentologicalFacies(fromCore)andthenextrapolatedusinglogs,mightnotbe
directlyrelatedtoNTG.

AspecificsedimentologicalfaciescanhavevaryingNTGandalsovaryingporand
permthatcanbecharacterizedonanextmodelingstage.

IfyouwanttouseNTGasapseudofacies(simplemodels(whichIdonotsuggest))
thenyouwillnotbeableto:

UseglobalorlocalVPC

Useglobalorlocalfaciesassociations

Keephorizontalfaciesdimensions

Integrategeologicaltrendforadeterminefacies

Mimicdifferentverticaldimensionsforeachfacies

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13/03/2017 NettoGrossDiscussionfromGeomodelingGrouppart2|DavidDesAutels|Pulse|LinkedIn

Moreoverbynotexploringfaciesinformationfromdifferentsources(well,seismic....)
notimeresourceswillbeallocatedandtheriskofnotspendingtimeinbetter
understandingthephenomenaunderstudyandmodelasimplisticN2Gmodel.

Bestregards

Oliver

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David DesAutels
Managing Director/CEO at Seregon Energy, LLC and Managing Director at Synertia Energ Follow
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