1.

Introduction
In this project, a 3D geological (static) model of a sample petroleum reservoir will
be built. All steps will be shown in detail with screen shots of the necessary figures.
The software to be used is Petrel™, which is a product of Schlumberger, used to
build 3D geological models of petroleum reservoirs. It was founded in 1996, and
commercially released in 1998. It became part of the Schlumberger Information
Solutions in January 2003.
The project is divided in chapters as indicated in the Petrel Workflow Tools
shown in Fig. 1.1. After some modifications and enhancements to the Petrel
Workflow, the chapters will be presented as follows:

1. Introduction
2. Data Import
3. Input Data Editing
4. Well Correlation
5. Fault Modeling
6. Pillar Gridding
7. Vertical Layering
8. Geometrical Property Modeling
9. Upscaling in the Vertical Direction-Well Logs Upscaling
10. Facies Modeling
11. Petrophysical Modeling
12. Defining Fluid Contacts
13. Volume Calculation

Fig. 1.1: Petrel Workflow Tools

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1.1 The Required Reservoir Data

The following wells, along with their well headers (well location map), well
deviations (well paths), well logs, and well tops (formation tops), are supplied: A10,
A15, A16, B1, B2, B4, B8, B9, C1, C2, C3, C4, C5, C6, and C7. The stratigraphic
succession of the reservoir under study is given in the following table:

Succession Horizon Zone

1 (top) Cretaceous
Tarbert-3
Tarbert Tarbert-2
2
Tarbert-1
Ness-2
3 Ness
Ness-1
4 (bottom) Etive

The data that are given for each horizon includes: 3D seismic lines, fault
polygons, fault sticks, and isochors.

1.2 Petrel User Interface

When starting Petrel, it displays three main windows: the Display Window, the
Project Explorer, and the Process Diagram as shown in Fig. 1.2. All windows are
either docked or float. Double-clicking the window toggles its docking state. If the
project explorer or the process diagram windows are not shown, they can be displayed
from the View menu command using First Petrel Explorer and Second Petrel
Explorer respectively. On the other hand, if a 3D window is not shown, it can be
displayed using the Windows tab of the process diagram as shown in Fig. 1.2.

1.2.1 Display Window

The display window is the parent window of Petrel (gray area). It forms the client
area where a variety of windows, which are listed under the Windows menu
command, can be hosted (displayed) in this area. Examples are 3D and 2D windows,
well section windows (for well correlation), interpretation windows (for seismic
interpretation), map/intersection windows (for plotting), etc.

1.2.2 Project Explorer

This window contains all the data sorted in different tabs in the order they should
be used. All data that are not linked to any 3D grid will be sorted under the Input tab.
Examples are wells and well tops, interpreted lines, polygons, functions, well
sections, 2D grids and more. All data linked to a 3D grid will be sorted, together with
the 3D gird information system data, under the Models tab. Examples are the
generated faults, gridded horizons, 3D properties, zones, etc.

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1.2.3 Process Diagram

This window contains a list of all available processes in Petrel. They are sorted in
the order they should be used, and the first processes will have to be executed before
you get access to other processes down the list. For example, you must create a 3D
grid before you can insert horizons into it, and you must create zones before you can
insert layers into them.

Project
Explorer

Process
Diagram

Display
Window

Fig. 1.2: Petrel user interface

1.2.4 Toolbars
The basic toolbars in Petrel are

1. File Actions

2. Edit Actions

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 3. 3D Buttons

4. 3D Tools

5. 3D Processes

The File/Edit Actions toolbars are relevant to the Project Explorer and the Process
Diagram windows. The other three toolbars are relevant to 3D Windows. When the
File and Edit Actions toolbars are hidden, they can be displayed by selecting Show all
relevant Toolbars from the View menu. The other toolbars are displayed by hiding
and redisplaying 3D Windows. Double-clicking on a toolbar toggles its docking state.

1.2.5 Changing the Background Color of a 3D Window

The color of a 3D window can be changed as follows:

1. Select Open Window Settings for Color/Name from the 3D Buttons toolbar
as shown in the toolbar below (first icon to the left of the 3D Buttons toolbar).

2. A "Settings for '3D Window 1' " dialog box appears as shown in Fig. 1.3.
Select the desired color from the Color drop-down combo box, and press the
OK button.

Fig. 1.3: Settings for '3D Window 1'

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 3. Select the “Toggle Background Color and Black” from the 3D Buttons
toolbar as shown above (second icon to the left of the 3D Buttons toolbar).

1.3 Main Steps to Building a New Static Model

When starting a new project, Petrel organizes the input data in the Input tab of
the Project Explorer window. The following steps are required to build a 3D
geological model of a petroleum reservoir,

1. Data Import
2. Input Data Editing
3. Well Correlation
4. Fault Modeling
5. Pillar Gridding
6. Vertical Layering
7. Geometrical Property Modeling
8. Upscaling in the Vertical Direction-Well Logs Upscaling
9. Facies Modeling
10. Petrophysical Modeling
11. Defining Fluid Contacts

1.4 Creating a New Project

To start a new project, follow the steps:

1. Select New Project from the File menu. A Save warning of a previous project
may appear. If no project is active, ignore the message and press No,
2. A new Display Window appears with black background color,
3. Select Save Project from the File menu,
4. When the Save Project As dialog box appears, specify the name and location of
the project.

Now you are ready to start the first step of building a 3D geological model, which is
Data Import as explained in the next section.

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 2. Data Import
The following table displays the different types of input data required for Petrel
along with their formats and types.

Data Format Type

1- Well Data
A- Well Headers Well heads (*.*) Well
B- Well Deviations Well Path deviation (ASCII) (*.*) Well
C- Well Logs Well Log (LAS 3.0) (*.las) Well
2- Well Tops ASCII (*.*) Well Tops
3- 3D Seismic Data Siseworks Horizon Pick (ASCII) (*.*) Lines
4- Fault Data
A- Fault Polygons Zmap+ lines (ASCII) (*.*) Lines
B- Fault Sticks Zmap+ lines (ASCII) (*.*) Lines
5- Isochore Data Zmap+ grid (ASCII) (*.*) Surface

2.1 Well Data

Well data includes three categories of data as will be discussed next.

2.1.1 Well Headers (Well Location Map)

Initially, well headers may be created using a text editor such as the Notepad,
WordPad, or Word. The data includes Well Name, X-Coord, Y-Coord, Kelly Bushing
(KB), Top Depth, Bottom Depth, and Symbol of each well as shown in Fig. 2.1. The
Well Name column contains names of the wells as they should appear. X-Coord and
Y-Coord are the well’s x and y-coordinates respectively. The KB refers to the
elevation of the Kelly Bushing at this well. The Top Depth and Bottom Depth refer to
the depth of the top and bottom zones in the well. The Symbol refers to the type of
well, which may initially be set to 1 and later changed from within Petrel to the
appropriate well type. Once well headers are inserted into a project, they may be
edited from within Petrel.

Fig. 2.1: The well headers data file open in a Notepad window

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 To insert well headers to the project, click the Insert menu command and choose
New Well Folder. A new Wells folder will be added, which will appear in the Project
Explorer Window as a tree view item. Right-click on this item, then select Import (on
Selection)…. The Import File form appears as shown in Fig. 2.2.

Fig. 2.2: The Import File form

Select Well heads (*.*) from the Files of type combo box, specify location and
name of the well headers data file, and press the Open button. The Import Well
Heads form appears as shown in Fig. 2.3. In this step, columns of the well headers
file are identified. When you press OK, the wells are added to the Wells folder.

Fig. 2.3: The Import Well Heads form

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 To display the wells in a 3D window, make sure that a 3D window is active. The
check to the left of the Wells folder toggles the display of the wells in the 3D window.
Once you check the Wells folder, the wells will be displayed as vertical sticks in the
3D window as shown in Fig. 2.4. If the wells are not shown in the window, then click
the View All icon from the 3D Buttons toolbar.

Fig. 2.4: The wells displayed in a 3D window

The settings of the wells may be changed by right-clicking on the Wells folder
and selecting Settings… from the dropdown menu. The Settings for Wells form
appears as shown in Fig. 2.5. Make sure that the Style tab is active. On the Path tab,
change the Pipe width to a number different than the default number; say 50, and
press Apply. Watch what happens, the wells pipe width changes. Now change it once
to a higher number and another to a lower number. Every time you change the pipe
width, press the Apply button for the changes to take effect. Now click the Symbols
tab, change the Font size to a number different than the default number; say 200, and
watch what happens, the well name size changes. Similarly, change the Symbol size
to a number different than the default number; say 200, the well symbol size changes.
Now play with it to get yourself familiar to using this functionality in Petrel.

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 Fig. 2.5: The Settings for 'Wells' form

The well symbol may be independently changed for each well. This is done by
expanding the Wells folder and right-clicking on the well whose symbol is to be
changed. Select Settings… from the dropdown menu. On the Info tab, change the
Well symbol as desired.
The view in the display window may be rotated, moved, or zoomed in and out. To
rotate the view, move the mouse cursor on the 3D window while pressing the left
mouse button. To move the view, move the mouse cursor on the 3D window while
holding down the Ctrl key on the keyboard and pressing the left mouse button. To
zoom the view in and out, move the mouse cursor on the 3D window while holding
down the Ctrl+Shift keys on the keyboard and pressing the left mouse button. Pay
special attention to the green and red arrows at the bottom right corner of the 3D
window. The green arrow should be on top of the red one. Again, try to familiarize
yourself to playing with those functionalities because things will get harder as you
proceed.

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2.1.2 Well Paths (Well Deviations)

The next piece of well data is well deviations. The well deviations are read into
Petrel in a specific format as shown in Fig. 2.6. A deviated well is traced downward
along its path. The well’s path is sliced into a number of points more enough to
represent its deviation. For each point, the following data is needed: MD, X, Y, Z,
TVD, DX, DY, AZIM, INCL, and DLS. The MD refers to the positive value of the
measured depth of each point. The X and Y values are the x and y-coordinates of each
point respectively. The Z refers to the negative value of the depth of each point. TVD
is the true vertical depth of each point. DX is the difference between the X value of
the point and the well’s x-coordinate. Similarly, DY is the difference between the Y
value of the point and the well’s y-coordinate.

Fig. 2.6: The well deviations data file open in a Notepad window

To insert well deviations to the project, right-click on the Wells folder, then select
Import (on Selection)…. The Import File form appears as shown in Fig. 2.2. Select
Well path/deviation (ASCII)(*.*) from the Files of type combo box. In the File
name combo box, type *.dev and press Open for the deviation wells to be listed.
Select all files, and press Open. The Match Filename and Well window appears as
shown in Fig. 2.7. Match Filename and Well Trace names together, if the match is
wrong, select the correct well name in the well trace column from the drop down box
and press OK. In this study, Well_A10 needs to be matched with the well A10. When
the Import Well Path/Deviation window pops up, click the Input data tab. Check
the TVD, X, Y radio button and specify column numbers of the MD, X, Y, and TVD
as shown in Fig. 2.8. Once you press the "Ok For All", the wells with their
deviations are displayed in the 3D Display Window as shown in Fig. 2.9.

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 Fig. 2.7: The Match Filename and Well form

Fig. 2.8: The Import Well Path / Deviation form

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Fig. 2.9: The wells with their deviations displayed in a 3D window

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2.1.3 Well Logs

The last piece of well data is well logs. Well logs are read into Petrel in a specific
LAS format (both LAS 2.0/3.0 formats are currently supported) as shown in Fig. 2.10.

Fig. 2.10: The LAS format log file from Petrel displayed in a Notepad window

Well logs are first scanned using scanning software such as NeuraScan, which
scans well logs and saves them in a graphics format; e.g. TIFF format. Next Neuralog
is used to digitize well logs and convert them into a digital form. Log analysis
software such as Interactive Petrophysics is used to interpret the digitized logs.
Quantities such as formation tops, bottoms, thicknesses, shale volumes, lithologies,
porosities, water saturations, etc. are calculated in this process. Logs are then saved in
LAS format to be imported to Petrel.
To insert well logs to the project, right-click on the Wells folder, then select
Import (on Selection)…. The Import File form appears as shown in Fig. 2.2. Select
Well logs (LAS 3.0) (*.las) from the Files of type combo box. In the File name
combo box, type *.las and press Open for the well logs to be listed. Select all files,
and press Open. The Match Filename and Well window appears as shown in Fig.
2.7. Match Filename and Well Trace names together, if the match is wrong, select
the correct well name in the well trace column from the drop down box and press OK.
When the Import well logs window pops up, choose the Property Template of the
log from the Undefined Well Log group box. In this case, choose the Net/Gross
property template to be attached to the NetGross log as shown in Fig. 2.11. When you
press OK For All, the logs associated with each well will be inserted under each
wellbore as well as under the Global well logs folder.

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 Fig. 2.11: The Import well logs form

Logs may be displayed for all wells or for a specific well. To display logs of all
wells, expand the Global well logs item and select the logs to be displayed for all
wells as shown in Fig. 2.12. To display logs of a certain well, expand the well’s item,
next expand its Well logs item, and finally select the logs to be displayed for that
well. The logs will be attached to the existing well path in a manner similar to the
attachment of the well path to the well header. Fig. 2.12 shows the Fluvialfacies and
Perm logs displayed in a 3D window for all wells.

Fig. 2.12: Fluvialfacies and Perm logs displayed in a 3D window

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2.2 Well Tops

Initially, well tops data file may be created using a text editor such as the Notepad,
WordPad, or Word. The well tops data includes: X, Y, Depth, Time, Type, Horizon
Name, Well Name, Symbol, Measured Depth, Pick Name, Interpreter, Dip Angle, and
Dip Azimuth of each well as shown in Fig. 2.13.

Fig. 2.13: Well tops data file open in a Notepad window

The X and Y are the well’s x and y-coordinates respectively. The Depth and Time
refer to the horizon's depth and time. The Type refers to the type of the stratigraphic
sequence (Horizon, Zone, and Layer). Horizon Name and Well Name refer to the
horizon and well names respectively. The Symbol refers to the type of well, which
may initially be set to 1 and later changed to the appropriate well type from within
Petrel. Measured Depth refers to the measured depth of the horizon name.
To insert well tops to the project, click the Insert menu command and choose
New Well Tops. A new Well Tops folder will be added, which will appear in the
Project Explorer Window as a tree view item. Right-click on this item, then select
Import (on Selection)…. The Import File form appears as shown in Fig. 2.2. Select
Petrel Well Tops (ASCII) (*.*) from the Files of type combo box. Specify location
and name of the well tops data file and press the Open button. The Import Petrel
Well Tops: Well Tops appears as shown in Fig. 2.14. Press Ok For All and then
press OK to close the information window.
Now, as an exercise, hide the well logs and display well tops. Well tops might not
be shown clearly; you may need to change the settings of the well tops as you did
before in the well headers. Again, try to familiarize yourself to playing with other
factors because things will get harder as you proceed. If you set the settings for well
tops correctly, you are supposed to get something like Fig. 2.15 for well tops.

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Fig. 2.14: The Import Petrel Well Tops: Well tops form

Fig. 2.15: Well tops displayed in a 3D window

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2.3 3D Seismic Lines

The 3D seismic lines are read into Petrel in a specific Seisworks horizon picks
format as shown in Fig. 2.16.

Fig. 2.16: The 3D seismic lines for Top Tarbert open in a Notepad window

The 3D seismic lines may be obtained via software like KingdomSuite package,
which converts a surface into a digital form. Next surface analysis software is used to
interpret the digitized seismic data. Surfaces are then saved in the Seisworks horizon
picks format to be imported to Petrel.
To insert the seismic lines to the project, click the Insert menu command and
choose New Interpretation Folder. A new interpretation folder will be added, which
will appear in the Project Explorer Window as a tree view item. Right-click on this
item, then select Import (on Selection)…. The Import File form appears as shown in
Fig. 2.2. Select Seisworks horizon picks (ASCII) (*.*) format from the Files of type
combo box. Specify location and name of the seismic data files to be inserted into the
project. In this case, select the Seismic Interpretation (time) in the Look in combo
box, then select all files and press the Open button. The Input data dialog form
appears. Make sure that the correct domain is selected, in this case, the Elevation
Time option should be selected from the Domain combo box, as shown in Fig. 2.17,
and press the Ok For All button.

Fig. 2.17: The Input data dialog

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 To display the seismic surfaces, expand the interpretation folder by clicking the
plus sign to its left, then select the surfaces to be displayed as shown in Fig. 2.18.

Fig. 2.18: Seismic data of Top Tarbert, Top Ness, and Top Etive, displayed in a 3D
window

Now spend some time playing with the settings of each set of data. For example,
deselect the wells, well tops, and seismic data, and only select the Top Tarbert
seismic surface. Then display its settings dialog as shown in Fig. 2.19.

Fig. 2.19: Settings for 'Top Tarbert'

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2.4 Fault Data

Fault data is entered to Petrel in one of two forms; either fault polygons or fault
sticks as follows:

2.4.1 Fault Polygons

Fault polygons may be created from within Petrel. Their files can be edited with
any text editor such as Notepad as shown in Fig. 2.20.

Fig. 2.20: The Tarbert fault polygons data file open in a Notepad window

To insert fault polygons to the project, click the Insert menu command and
choose New Folder. A New folder will be added, which will appear in the Project
Explorer Window as a tree view item. Rename the folder to Fault Polygons by right
clicking on the folder and select Settings… from the dropdown menu. On the
Settings dialog box, change the name and press OK. Now right-click on the Fault
Polygons folder, then select Import (on Selection)…. The Import File form appears
as shown in Fig. 2.2. Select Zmap+ lines (ASCII) (*.*) from the Files of type combo
box. Specify location and name of the fault polygons data files and press the Open
button. In this case, select the Fault Polygons (time) in the Look in combo box, then
select all files and press the Open button. The Input data dialog form appears as
shown in Fig. 2.21. Make sure that the correct domain and line type are selected; in
this case, the Elevation Time option and the Fault polygons should be selected from
the Domain and Line Type combo boxes. Press the Ok For All button.

Fig. 2.21: The Input data dialog

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 To display the fault polygons, expand the Fault Polygons folder by clicking the
plus sign to its left, then select the fault polygons to be displayed as shown in Fig.
2.22.

Fig. 2.22: The fault polygons of Tarbert, Ness, and Etive, displayed in a 3D window

At this stage, you should spend some time playing with different settings and
options to familiarize your self to Petrel.

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2.4.2 Fault Sticks

Fault sticks may be created from within Petrel. Their files can be edited with any
text editor such as Notepad as shown in Fig. 2.23.

Fig. 2.23: The fault sticks data file open in a Notepad window

To insert fault sticks to the project, click the Insert menu command and choose
New Folder. A New folder will be added, which will appear in the Project Explorer
Window as a tree view item. Rename the folder to Fault Sticks by right-clicking on
the folder and select Settings… from the dropdown menu. On the Settings dialog,
change the name and press OK. Now right-click on the Fault Sticks folder, then
select Import (on Selection)…. The Import File form appears as shown in Fig. 2.2.
Select Zmap+ lines (ASCII) (*.*) from the Files of type combo box. Specify
location and name of the fault polygons data files and press the Open button. In this
case, select the Fault Sticks (time) in the Look in combo box, then select For Create
From FS folder, then select all files and press the Open button. The Input data
dialog form appears. Make sure that the correct domain and line type are selected; in
this case, the Elevation Time option and the Fault sticks should be selected from the
Domain and Line Type combo boxes, as shown in Fig. 2.24, and press the Ok For
All button. Repeat the same process for other fault sticks folders to be inserted into
the project.

Fig. 2.24: The Input data dialog

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 To display the fault sticks, expand the Fault Sticks folder by clicking the plus
sign to its left, then select the fault sticks to be displayed as shown in Fig. 2.25.

Fig. 2.25: The fault sticks displayed in a 3D window

2.5 Isochore Data

The isochore data is read into Petrel in a specific Zmap+ grid format as shown in
Fig. 2.26.

Fig. 2.26: The isochore data file open in a Notepad window

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 To insert isochore data to the project, click the Insert menu command and choose
New Folder. A New folder will be added which will appear in the Project Explorer
Window as a tree view item. Rename the folder to Isochores by right-clicking on the
folder and select Settings… from the dropdown menu. On the Settings dialog box,
change the name and press OK. Now right-click on the Isochores folder, then select
Import (on Selection)…. The Import File form appears as shown in Fig. 2.2. Select
Zmap+ grid (ASCII) (*.*) from the Files of type combo box. Specify location and
name of the isochore data files and press the Open button. In this case, select the
Isochores (depth) in the Look in combo box, then select the Ness folder, then select
all files and press the Open button. The Input data dialog form appears. Make sure
that the correct template is selected, in this case, the Thickness Depth option should
be selected from the Template combo box as shown in Fig. 2.27, and press the Ok
For All button. Repeat the same process for the Tarbert folder to be inserted into the
project. To display the isochore data, expand the Isochores folder by clicking the plus
sign to its left, then select the isochores to be displayed as shown in Fig. 2.28.

Fig. 2.27: The Input data dialog

With this step, most of the required data were input to Petrel. A chart of the input
data with their formats, types, categories, and domains is shown in Fig. 2.29. Next,
some editing of the input data is necessary before we start building the 3D geological
model of the petroleum reservoir. Editing of the input data will be discussed in the
next section.

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Fig. 2.28: The Ness 1 isochores displayed in a 3D window

Data Formats Type Category Domain

Wells Wellhead-deviation-logs Well Depth
Well tops Petrel Well Tops Well tops Depth
3D seismic lines Seisworks Horizon Picks Lines Horizon Time
Fault polygons ZMAP+ lines (ASCII) Lines Fault polygons Time

Fault sticks ZMAP+ lines (ASCII) Lines Fault sticks Time

Surfaces (Time) Zmap+ grid Surface Elevation Time

Isochores (Depth) Zmap+ grid Surface Thickness Depth

Properties Zmap+ grid Surface Property Respective

Template
Velocity Data Zmap+ grid Surface Property Velocity
Template
Extra data Formats Category Unit
Seismic cube / 2D SEG-Y Seismic Seismic Template
Images Bitmap (bmp, jpeg....) No No No
Summary Files Petrel summary data ASCII

Eclipse grid

Fig. 2.29: Petrel data types with their formats, categories, and domains

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2.6 Import Data from Another Project

Any type of data can be copied between projects. This functionality allows for
having a master project containing regional data. Parts of this data can then be copied
over to a new project for detailed analysis of parts of the area. In this exercise you will
import all the remaining data required for the following exercises by copying them
from an existing project.

To import data from another project, follow the steps:

• Select File> Open Secondary Project.

• Select the Input_Data.pet file found under the Project folder. See Fig. 2.30.
• Drag and drop all the Input flies that you are missing into the Input tab of your
project.

Fig. 2.30: The Input_Data.pet (read-only) displayed in a 3D window

2.7 Quality Check (QC) of Imported Data

After data has been imported into Petrel, you should always do a quality control and
check if they look as you expected them to do. Typical ways of QC data are to display
them and also to check the statistics. Using the general intersection to view the data in
cross section and playing through the data set is a powerful tool as well. As an
example, when you do the quality check of the fault polygons you have imported, you
will see that they don’t have any Z value. This we are going to fix in the next chapter
with the editing of the input data.

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 3. Input Data Editing
There are few editing steps that must be completed before a 3D geological model
is created. The steps include:

1. Creating Reservoir Boundary

2. Creating 3D Surfaces
3. Editing the Created Surfaces - Removing Surface Peaks
4. Creating Fault Polygons - Projecting Fault Polygons on their Surfaces

3.1 Creating Reservoir Boundary

Creating a reservoir boundary is done in a 2D window by following the steps:

• Open a 2D window from the Window menu command by clicking the “New
2D Window” item,
• Display the Top Tarbert 3D Seismic Lines (located in the Interpretation
folder), you may need to click the View All button in the 3D Buttons toolbar
to get a good view,
• Activate the Make/Edit Polygons under the Utilities item in the Process
Diagram tab. This will display two toolbars; the Polygons Tools and
Polygons Actions; which will be docked on the right-hand side of the Petrel
window.
• Click the Add New Points icon on the Polygons Tools toolbar as shown in
Fig. 3.1.
• Digitize a polygon that completely surrounds the interpreted lines. Once you
finish digitizing, close the polygon by clicking the Close Selected Polygon(s)
button, see Fig. 3.2. The newly-created polygon will be inserted at the bottom
of the Petrel Explorer Input tab. Rename the created polygons to Boundary as
shown in Fig. 3.2.

Created polygons may be edited by moving its points. If you need to move one of the
points of the created polygon, follow the step:

• Click on the “Set Select/Pick Mode [P]” icon on the Polygons Tools toolbar
as shown in Fig. 3.1,
• Select the polygon to be edited,
• Click the “Select and Edit/Add points [E]” icon on the Polygons Tools
toolbar as shown in Fig. 3.1. The mouse cursor changes to cross, which means
that you are in the edit mode.
• Click and keep holding the left mouse button on the point to be moved. While
holding the left mouse button, move the mouse inside the 2D window. The
point will follow the mouse pointer.
• When finished, make sure to exit the edit mode by clicking on the “Set
Select/Pick Mode [P]” or the “Viewing Mode [V]” icon.

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Fig. 3.1: The Top Tarbert displayed in a 2D window while the Polygons Tools
toolbar is shown

Fig. 3.2: Creating reservoir boundary around Top Tarbert

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3.2 Creating 3D Surfaces
The next process in editing the input data is creating 3D surfaces out of the 3D
seismic lines. This process is summarized by the following steps:

• Expand the Utilities item in the Process Diagram tab, and then double click on the
Make/Edit Surface. The Make/Edit Surface dialog box appears.
• In the Project Explorer window, select the 3D seismic lines whose surface is to be
created; in this case select Top Tarbert.
• Click the Main input blue arrow of the Make/Edit Surface dialog box.
• In the Project Explorer window, select the boundary that was just created in the
previous step.
• Click the Boundary blue arrow of the Make/Edit Surface dialog box.
• Go to the Geometry tab, and select the Automatic radio button.
• Press Apply. A surface will be created and added to the Project Explorer window
as shown in Fig. 3.3.
• Repeat the same process for the Top Etive and Top Ness.
• Click the Insert menu command and choose New Folder. A New folder will be
added which will appear in the Project Explorer window as a tree view item.
Rename the folder to Surfaces by right-clicking on the folder and selecting the
Settings… from the dropdown menu. Move all surfaces to this folder.

Fig. 3.3: Creating 3D surfaces out of the 3D seismic lines

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 Now spend some time playing with the settings of each set of data. For example,
deselect the wells, well tops, and seismic data, and only select the Top Tarbert
surface. Then display its settings dialog as shown in Fig. 3.4.

Fig. 3.4: The settings dialog box of the Top Tarbert surface

3.3 Editing Created Surfaces - Removing Surface Peaks

Peaks or spikes on the 3D surfaces can be removed with a simple click as follows;
Display the surface that contains the peak to be removed; in this case Top Tarbert,
see Fig. 3.3 for the peak. Make sure that the Edit Surface Tools toolbar is shown.
Choose the Peak Remover button on the Edit Surface Tools toolbar and click on the
peak to be removed. The peak disappears as shown in Fig. 3.5.

Fig. 3.5: The Top Tarbert surface after removing the peak

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3.4 Creating Fault Polygons

Fault polygons are normally generated in the seismic interpretation station or in a

mapping application, and are commonly defined by the hanging wall line and the
footwall line for a given surface. To create fault polygons on a certain surface, follow
the steps:

• Display the surface whose fault polygons are to be created. In this case display the
Top Tarbert surface.
• Activate the Make/Edit Polygons under Utilities in the Process Diagram
window. The Polygons Actions toolbar displays as shown in Fig. 3.6. To start a
new set of fault polygons, click the Start New Set of Polygons. To add a fault
polygon on the active set, click the Start New Polygon on Active Set of Polygons.
• Click on the Start New Set of Polygons to start tracing a new set of fault polygons
for the TopTarbert surface.
• Start tracing the faults on the surface. Every time you start a new fault, you must
click the Start New Polygon on Active Set of Polygons icon as shown in Fig. 3.6.
• Repeat the same process for Top Ness and Top Etive surfaces.
• For completeness, create a new folder, call it Faults, and place all faults under this
folder.

Fig. 3.6: Creating fault polygons of the Top Tarbert surface

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3.5 Projecting Fault Polygons on their Surfaces
Fault polygons are often interpreted in the XY plane only; hence their Z-values
will be set to 0 as shown in Fig. 3.7. It is an easy process, however, to get all fault
polygons down to their respective surfaces. This will give them their Z-values at the
correct position. This process is summarized by the following steps:

• Open the settings for the Tarbert fault polygons and go to the Calculations tab as
shown in Fig. 3.8.
• Select the Top Tarbert surface in the Project Explorer window, then click on the
A= beside the blue arrow in the Settings dialog box.
• Press the Assign: Z=A button then press Apply and OK buttons, the fault polygons
move down to their surface as shown in Fig. 3.9.
• Repeat the same process for the Top Ness and Top Etive.

Fig. 3.7: Fault polygons with 0 Z-values

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 Fig. 3.8: Settings for Tarbert fault polygons dialog box

Fig. 3.9: Top Tarbert fault polygons projected on their surface

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 4. Well Correlation
The Well Section Window allows displaying well logs in a specified order, with
the available logs and well tops.

4.1 Creating a New Well Section Window

To create a new well section window, follow the steps:

• Click the Window menu command and choose New Well Section Window as
shown in Fig. 4.1
• An empty Well Section window is created as shown in Fig. 4.2

Fig. 4.1: The New Well Section Window menu command

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 Fig. 4.2: An empty Well Section window

4.2 Displaying Logs and Tops

To populate the window with well logs, expand the Wells folder in the Project
Explorer window and choose the wells to be added to the section. For example, select
the wells C6, C7, C1, C2, C3 and A10. Notice that whenever a well is clicked, it is
directly sorted under the Well Section folder in the Windows tab of the Process
Diagram window as shown in Fig. 4.3.
Now select the logs to be displayed for all wells from the Global Well logs folder
under the Wells folder as show in Fig. 4.4.

Alternatively, well sections are created interactively by clicking them on a 3D

window. As an exercise, let’s assume that we need to create a well section connecting
the wells C6, C7, C1, C2, C3, and A10. Follow the steps:

• Create a New Well Section Window,

• Display all wells in a 3D window,
• Activate the Well Correlation process under the Stratigraphic Modeling in
the Process Diagram window,
• Click Add well to well section icon on the Well corr. 3D tools toolbar,
• Now select the wells to be added to the well section. In this case, click the
wells C6, C7, C1, C2, C3 and A10. See Fig. 4.5

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 Fig. 4.3: Some wells displayed in the Well Section window

Fig. 4.4: Well logs of well C1 displayed in the Well Section window

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Fig. 4.5: Well section of the wells C6, C7, C1, C2, C3 and A10 displayed in a 3D
window

• Display the Well Tops by toggling on the checkbox in front of the Well Tops
folder as shown by Fig. 4.6.
• Note: If nothing is being displayed, then make sure that the well tops have
been selected under "Sorted on Type".

Fig. 4.6: Well Tops displayed in the Well Section window

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4.3 Scrolling and Zooming

The well log display can be scrolled or zoomed. Scrolling and/or zooming may be
done for each log individually or synchronized for all logs. When scrolling and
zooming, you will use the gray and white scroll bar on the left side of each well panel.
The larger the white area as compared to the gray area, the larger is the displayed
proportion of the well. When the entire bar is white, then the entire well is being
displayed.
To scroll one single well: position the cursor over the white area in the scroll bar.
A hand will appear. Press the left mouse button to scroll up and down as shown in
Fig. 4.7. To zoom one single well: Position the cursor over the border between the
white and gray area in the scroll bar. A double arrow will appear. Press the left
mouse button over the white/gray border to zoom in/out as shown in Fig. 4.8.

Fig. 4.7: Scrolling the well up and down

Fig. 4.8: Zooming in and out

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4.4 Grouping of Logs

Several logs can be grouped into a single panel; e.g. Neutron and Density logs
may be grouped to distinguish between shale and non-shale intervals. To create a
group panel, follow the steps:

• Make the Well Section active.

• Right click on the well name; e.g. well C4 under the well section.
• Choose Insert group panel.
• A group panel (Group 1) is created.
• Drag and drop the required logs into the Group icon; e.g. Porosity and
Gamma logs as shown in Fig. 4.9.
• Expand the Group 1 icon to see the inserted log curves icons.
• The group panel and the selected log curves will now be visible in the Well
Section window as shown in Fig. 4.10.

Fig. 4.9: A group panel (Group 1) is created under the Well Section folder

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Fig. 4.10: The group panel and the selected log curves displayed in a Well Section
window

4.5 Flatten on a Horizon

To scroll all logs simultaneously, you need to flatten the logs to a horizon. To do
this, follow the steps:

• Display the Well Section window.

• Display well tops in the well section window.
• Right click the Well Section in the Process Diagram window and select
Settings from the drop down menu.
• When the Settings dialog box appears, select the Settings tab.
• Click Flatten on well top radio button, see Fig. 4.11.
• Under the Well scale synchronization, click Absolute (printed scale) radio
button, see Fig. 4.11.
• Go to the Project Explorer window and select the well top to flatten all well
logs to; e.g. select Top Tarbert.
• Go back to the Settings dialog box and click the blue arrow. The Top Tarbert
will appear in the edit box as shown in Fig. 4.11.
• Click the Apply button; note that all logs will be flattened to the Top Tarbert
horizon, as shown in Fig. 4.12.

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 Fig. 4.11: Settings for the Well Section window

Fig. 4.12: All logs flattened to the Top Tarbert horizon

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4.6 Coloring of Logs

Color fill can be applied to areas between the panel edge and the log and/or
between logs. For example, to fill color in the interval between two curves, follow the
steps:

• Open the Settings of one of the curves in the group panel, say the porosity
curve,
• Go to the ’Curve filling’ tab as shown in Fig. 4.13. Make sure that there are
no intervals defined in the pull-down list next to ‘Select interval’. If there are
any intervals defined, then delete them by pressing the Delete button,
• Enter a new interval and specify the interval to be filled,
• Choose max or min from Fill from curve towards option,
• Select the other curve radio button for the End fill at option,
• Go to Fill style option and choose Fill pattern color and the Fill color that is
desirable, and click the Apply button.
• The color and pattern change accordingly as shown in Fig. 4.14.

Fig. 4.13: Settings for 'Porosity' dialog box

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Fig. 4.14: The area between log curves is filled with the specified color & pattern

Similarly, for panels containing one well log only, to color in the interval between
the log and the left panel edge, follow the steps:

• Activate the well to be colored; say well C5,

• Select the Create/edit curve fill icon as shown in Fig. 4.15,
• Click in the area between the left edge and the Perm log to fill color in that
interval as shown in Fig. 4.15.

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Fig. 4.15: The interval between the left panel edge and the Perm curve is filled with
the specified color & pattern

4.7 Edit/Add Well Tops in Well Section Windows

Well Tops can be edited by positioning the cursor on one of the well tops. An
arrow will appear ( ). When the arrow is showing, move the well top to the required
position

4.7.1 Edit Well Tops

To edit well tops in the well section window, follow the steps:

• Display the well whose well top is to be edited; in this case display well A16,
• Display Well Tops under Well Tops folder,
• Activate the Create/edit well tops [T] icon as shown in Well corr.2D tools
toolbar below. When the mouse Hoovers on the well top, the double arrow ( )
appears,
• Click on Create/edit well tops [T] icon to move the well tops as shown in
Fig. 4.16.

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 Fig. 4.16: Displaying existing Well Tops in a Well Section window

Fig. 4.17: Displaying existing Well Tops (flattened together) in a Well Section window

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4.7.2 Add Well Tops

New Well Tops can be added in the well section.

To add a new well top, follow the steps:

• Click on the Add new well tops surface [S] icon as shown in Fig. 4.18. Note
that the Create/Edit well tops icon must be active in order to get access to the
Add new well tops icon,

Fig. 4.18: Inserting new Well Tops in a Well Section window

• Insert a new well top by clicking on the position where it should be inserted.
Note that if one of your well tops in the Well Tops folder is active, the new
well top will create as the same name as shown in Fig. 4.19,

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Fig. 4.19: Displaying the new Well Tops, for Horizon 3 and for Top Ness in a Well
Section window

To insert new well tops with a new name, make sure to de-activate the existing well
tops as shown in Fig. 4.20,

Fig. 4.20: Displaying the new Well Tops in a Well Section window

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4.8 Interactive Facies Interpretation

To edit an exiting facies log: Activate the Paint, Flood or Pick discrete log
class icon. Select facies by right clicking the mouse. Start edit on the log.

To create a new discrete log:

• Click on the Paint discrete log, Pick up discrete log class, or Flood fill
discrete log icon as shown in the Well corr. 2D tools toolbar below, The
Create new discrete log icons will activate,
• Press on the Create new discrete log icon,
• A window will pop up in which you should specify the type of log to be
created. In this case, choose fluvial facies as shown in Fig. 4.21, and
• Press OK. The new log will be placed under the Global Well Logs folder. See
Fig. 4.22.

Fig. 4.21: Creating a new discrete log

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Fig. 4.22: Fluvial facies log is empty and placed under the Global Well Logs folder

Now spend sometime to display the logs that give information about the facies.
Draw the different facies in the correct positions. See Fig. 4.23.

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Fig. 4.23: The Fluvial facies log drawing process while the Settings for "Fluvial
facies" dialog box is displayed

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 5. Fault Modeling
In the previous section, we did some editing on the input data to bring it to a form
suitable to Petrel for building the 3D geological model. In this section we will start
building the model. The building process may be decomposed into the following
steps:

• Defining a New Model,

• Creating Faults from Fault Polygons,
• Editing Key Pillars,
• Building Key Pillars from Fault Polygons,
• Connecting Faults,
• Disconnecting Faults,
• Creating Branched and Crossing Faults,
• Creating Faults from Selected Fault Sticks,
• Creating Faults from All Fault Sticks,
• Automatic Generation of Faults,
• Automatic Connection of Faults,
• And Automatic Adjustment of Key Pillars.

5.1 Defining a New Model

Before building a 3D geological model in Petrel, it is necessary to define a model.
The new model only contains empty folders. When you begin generating Key Pillars,
they will be placed in one of these pre-defined folders. To create a new model, follow
these steps:

• Double click on the Define Model item under the Structural Modeling in the
Process Diagram tab. A Define Model dialog box pops up, as shown in Fig.
5.1.
• Give the model a specific name; e.g. HAH and click OK. The model will be
placed under the Models tab in the Petrel Explorer window, as shown in Fig.
5.2.

Fig. 5.1: The Define Model dialog box

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 Fig. 5.2: The HAH new model

5.2 Creating Faults from Fault Polygons

Fault polygons are line data representing the hanging-wall and footwall for each
horizon. The polygons could be separated into lines for each fault or lines for each
horizon. In the latter case, the lines should be separated with flags to make sure that
the same line dose not defines two faults. If there are no flags between the line data,
you should do some editing in the Make/Edit Polygons process in order to split the
lines.

To create faults from fault polygons, follow the steps:

• Go to Structural Modeling item in the Process Diagram tab,

• Activate the Fault Modeling process in the Process Diagram by clicking on
it once and making it bold as shown by Fig. 5.3.

Fig. 5.3: The Fault Modeling process

• Display the fault polygon files in the Fault Polygons folder in a 3D window,
as shown in Fig. 5.4.
• Select the desired fault geometry from the Fault Model Option Tools toolbar.
In this case, a linear geometry is suitable, as shown in Fig. 5.4.

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Fig. 5.4: Fault Polygons displayed in a 3D window while the Fault Model Options
and Fault Model Tools are displayed

• In the Function bar, click on the Set Select/Pick Mode icon as shown below,

• Open the setting for the fault model process by double clicking on the process
in the Process Diagram. Use the default settings as shown in Fig. 5.5.
However, the fault model should represent the input data properly. Note the
option to extend the Key Pillars above the given min point and below the
given max point of the input data. You can control how far Pillars are
extended.

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 Fig. 5.5: Fault Modeling with HAH/Fault model Settings dialog box

• Back to Fault Modeling icon, a Fault Modeling with 'HAH/Fault Model'

dialog box will appear again, choose Settings, as shown in Fig. 5.6. Use the
default settings.

Fig. 5.6: Fault Modeling with 'HAH/Fault Model' dialog box

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 • In the 3D window, select all fault polygons that describe one fault by clicking
on the fault polygons,
• Click on the Create Faults from Fault Polygons icon in the Function bar to
generate Key Pillars along the selected polygons, as shown in Figs. 5.7, 5.8.
• The new fault has been added under the Fault folder in the Models tab of
Petrel Explorer and is called “Fault 1”. You can change the name to a more
appropriate name by clicking twice on the “Fault 1” and changing the name
under the info tab of the Settings window that pops up.

Fig 5.7: Fault Polygons displayed in a 3D window while Fault Model Action
(Pillars) Tools toolbar are displayed

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Fig. 5.8: Fault Polygons displayed in a 3D window after create faults from polygon

Fig. 5.9: Fault Polygons displayed in a 3D window along with their surfaces

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5.3 Editing Key Pillars
After you have created a fault you may want to do some fine-tuning on a specific
Key Pillar or on the whole fault. Petrel has the option to edit single Shape Points or
pillars as well as a selection of Shape Points or pillars. To select more than one, press
the Shift key as you make your selection. The Fault Modeling and hence editing of
Key Pillars is a very important step in making an accurate and reliable Petrel model.
The Key Pillars should describe the fault planes as defined by the input data. It is
possible to edit on a complete fault, a single Key Pillar or a shape point X, Y and Z
directions, which makes the editing on faults very flexible. Automatically constructed
Key Pillars are often malformed and often it is necessary to add new Pillars between
key pillars and to the end of a fault then modify their shape. You have to insert Key
Pillars between existing pillars when a fault’s shape contains more detail than the
existing Pillar spacing can represent. Use the tool for add Pillars to end of fault and
add pillar between. Editing of shape points and/or entire Key Pillars will be required
to more closely fit the input data. This editing may require adding more shape points
to the pillar to achieve the desired form. All Key Pillars in a fault don’t necessarily
need the same number of shape points. See Fig. 5.10.

To edit key pillars, follow the steps:

• Open a new 3D Window,

• Display a few of the faults (Key Pillars) to be edited,
• Toggle on the checkbox next to all of the faults in the Fault Model folder,
• Display available input data to use as a guide and be sure that the fault
polygons or other data used to create the Pillars are visible in the 3D window,
• Click on the Toggle fill icon to make it easier when editing the plane between
Key Pillars is filled with color, as shown in Fig. 5.11,

Fig. 5.10: Illustrative drawing to show horizons, fault planes, and key pillars

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 Fig. 5.11: Fault Polygons displayed in a 3D window while Fault Model
Action (Pillars) Tools toolbar is displayed

• the tools used for moving points and lines in Petrel is the widget,
• Knowing that select a Key Pillar by clicking on one of the shape points, the
widget will appear. It consists of a plane and a cylinder,
• Click on the plane to turn it yellow and edit in a plane normal to the cylinder,
• Click on the cylinder (so it turns yellow) to edit along the tangent of the
cylinder. Be sure that you are in the Set Select/Pick Mode [P] as shown
below,

• Press the left mouse button on the widget and move the Key Pillar or the shape
point,
• Make sure the Move Along Line Tangent Only tool is active. This tool limits
the movement to the tangent of the Key Pillar and it is a very intuitive way of
editing the Key Pillars, as shown below
• See Fig. 5.12

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 • To select only one shape point, make sure the Select Shape Points icon is
active, as shown below,

• To select an entire Key Pillar make the Select Pillars icon active as shown
below. If you click on the line between Key Pillars, all shape points at that
level will be selected, as shown below

• If you click on the line between Key Pillars while having the “Select Pillars”
icon active, all Key Pillars will be selected. To select only a few Key
Pillars/shape points, click on those that you want to select while pressing the
shift key,
• Check that the fault model has the correct orientation by displaying the top
and base horizons. If not, edit them as described above.

Comment
When finished editing, the Key Pillars should have a smooth transition in Z from
Key Pillar to Key Pillar in a fault. The Key Pillars in the faults should extend above
the top of the top surface and below the base of the lowest surface.

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Fig. 5.12: Editing Key Pillars

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5.4 Building Key Pillars from Fault Polygons

The same steps of "Editing Key Pillars" are applied in this section. Anyhow do
not forget to de-select the active fault when creating a new one. Otherwise, the new
fault will be attached to the previous active one, see Fig. 5.12

5.5 Connecting Faults

If a fault is truncated by another fault in the horizontal direction, it must be
connected to that other fault. This means that a common Key Pillar between the two
faults must be defined. You can either use a Key Pillar that already exists and edit it
into a position so that it fits both fault planes, or you can add a new Key Pillar
between two existing Pillars and use that as the common/connected Key Pillar. All
faults intersecting each other in Petrel model must be properly connected! This is
important because the gridding process in Petrel will use the faults for guiding the
gridding lines. The faults which are unconnected are treated differently from the faults
which are connected. Furthermore, faults which are close together but unconnected
are likely to lead to problems in Pillar Gridding and Make Horizons. Petrel has an
automatic fault connection option which will connect all the simple branching and
crossing faults in a single operation. Use this option carefully and always QC the grid
afterwards. As connecting faults require some editing of the fault position, you will
normally have to edit the connection manually afterwards. Truncated faults will not
be handled by automatic connection.

To connect two faults, follow the steps:

• Choose the two faults to be connected,

• Zoom in on the area where the two faults are to be connected,
• Select the two Key Pillars you want to connect using the Select/pick Mode
icon and the shift Key, as shown in Fig. 5.13,

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 Fig. 5.13: Two faults before connection

• Click on the Connect Two Faults icon as shown below,

• Define how you want to connect them when the Connect pillars dialog box
pops up as shown in Figs. 5.14 to 5.17.

Fig. 5.14: The Connect pillars dialog box

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 Fig. 5.15: Two faults connected to each other

Fig. 5.16: Another two faults before connection

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 Fig. 5.17: The two faults of Fig. 5.16 after connection

5.6 Disconnecting Faults

The undo button does not work for connected Key Pillars. You will have to
disconnect them instead.

To disconnect faults, follow the steps:

• Select the two Key Pillars that should be disconnected. See Fig. 5.18
• Click on the Disconnect Fault icon. See Fig. 5.19

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Fig. 5.18: Two faults before disconnection

Fig. 5.19: Two faults after disconnection

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5.7 Creating Branched and Crossing Faults

To create branched and crossing faults, follow the steps:

• Select the Key Pillar where you want the crossing or branching fault to be
initiated from, as shown in Fig. 5.20
• Click on either the New Branched Fault icon or the New Crossing Fault
icon to generate a new fault, as shown in Figs. 5.21, 5.22

Fig. 5.20: A fault displayed in a 3D window before creating Branched or Crossing

faults

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Fig. 5.21: A fault displayed in a 3D window after creating Branched fault

Fig. 5.22: A fault displayed in a 3D window after creating Crossing fault

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5.8 Creating Faults from Selected Fault Sticks

Fault sticks can be used like fault polygons to create Key Pillars. Fault sticks are
sets of line data that represent the fault plane. The file with fault sticks can represent
one fault are a set of faults and are generated in Petrel or another work station. These
sticks represent the fault surface and are converted to Key Pillars. This method is
preferable if you have fault interpretations that may contain a bit of noise and you
would like to have the option to disregard some of it.

To create faults from selected fault sticks, follow the steps:

• Turn off all of the faults, fault polygons and any other data you may have
displayed in your 3D window.
• From the Input Tab display the fault sticks in the “For Create from selected FS”
folder. See Fig. 5.23.

Fig. 5.23: Fault Sticks displayed in a 3D window

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• Select Vertical, Linear, Listric or Curved Pillars depending on the type of fault
you are modeling. Either linear or listric fault geometries will be fine but examine
the fault sticks before you choose. See Fig. 5.24

Fig. 5.24: Linear fault sticks displayed in a 3D window while the Fault Model
Options Tools are shown

• Click on the Set Select/Pick Mode [P] icon in the Function bar. See Fig. 5.25

Fig. 5.25: Linear fault sticks displayed in a 3D window while the Fault Model Tools
are shown

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• Select some of the fault sticks on a fault by clicking on the fault stick and holding
the Shift Key. See Fig. 5.26

Fig. 5.26: Selecting fault sticks

• Click on the Add to or Create Fault from Selected Fault Sticks icon in the
Function bar to generate Key Pillars along the selected fault sticks. See Fig. 5.27.
Notice that by choosing this method, a fault will only be generated that connects
the sticks that you selected. This could cause you to potentially lose some
important detail.

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 Fig. 5.27: The Key Pillars for fault sticks created as a model

• Once you have created the Key Pillars for a new fault, do the necessary editing
and follow the procedure as described in the exercises above.
• Connect the faults where necessary. See Figs. 5.28 to 5.30.
• Continue modeling all the faults in the folder. See Fig. 5.31.

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Fig. 5.28: The two faults before connection

Fig. 5.29: Connect pillars dialog box

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Fig. 5.30: The two faults after connection

Fig. 5.31: All faults created as a model

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5.9 Creating Faults from All Fault Sticks

It possible to select the entire set of fault sticks representing one fault and make
Petrel use every nth fault stick as input. This is a fast approach but it requires that the
fault stick are representative of the fault, i.e. do not contain lots of “noise”.

To create faults from all fault sticks, follow the steps:

• From the Input Tab display the fault sticks in the “For Create from
selected FS” folder. See Fig. 5.23.
• Select Vertical, Linear, Listric or Curved Pillars depending on the type of
fault you are modeling. Either linear or listric fault geometries will be fine
but examine the fault sticks before you choose. See Fig. 5.24.
• Click on the Set Select/Pick Mode [P] icon in the Function bar. See Fig.
5.25.
• Select all of the fault sticks on a fault by clicking on the fault stick and
holding the Shift Key. See Fig. 5.26.
• Click on the Create Fault from Fault Sticks, Surface or Interpretation
icon in the Function bar to generate Key Pillars along the selected fault.
See Fig. 5.32.
• Repeat the same process to the other faults. See Fig. 5.33
• Once you have created the Key Pillars for a new fault, do the necessary
editing by following the steps as described in the exercises above.
• Connect the faults where necessary and continue modeling the faults in the
folder.

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Fig. 5.32: Fault sticks displayed in a 3D window while the Fault Model Action
(Pillars) toolbar is displayed

Fig. 5.33: The Key Pillars for fault sticks created

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5.10 Automatic Generation of Faults

So far the faults have been generated one by one. In this exercise you will learn
how to automatically create Key Pillars from sets of fault sticks in a folder in the
Petrel Explorer Input tab.

To create automatic generation of faults, follow the steps:

• Active the Fault Modeling from Process Diagram

• Convert one set of fault sticks to Key Pillars:
a. In Petrel Explorer find the fault sticks folder. Open the folder and right
click on one of the fault sticks. Select Convert to Faults in Fault
Model… from the pull-down menu. See Fig. 5.34.

Fig. 5.34: The fault sticks before the conversion process displayed in a 3D window

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 b. A dialog box will be pops up as shown in Fig. 5.35.

Fig. 5.35: Convert to Fault in the active Fault Modeling dialog box

c. Note the new fault in the 3D window and under the Fault Model folder in
the model (in the Models tab). See Fig. 5.36

Fig. 5.36: A new fault under the Fault Model folder after the conversion process
displayed in a 3D window

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• This operation can be performed for all fault sticks in a folder:
a. To avoid double sets of faults, delete the fault created above by selecting
the whole fault in the 3D window or selecting it (making it bold) in the
models tab of Petrel Explorer and then pressing delete.
b. Right click on the folder called “Fault Sticks”. Select Convert to Faults in
Fault Model… from the appearing pull-down menu. See Fig. 5.37.

Fig. 5.37: All faults sticks before conversion displayed in a 3D window

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 c. All new faults will be added under the Fault Model folder in the model (in
the Models tab). See Fig. 5.38.
• Continue doing the necessary editing of Key Pillars as described above.
• Connect faults where necessary.

Fig. 5.38: All faults sticks after conversion displayed in a 3D window

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5.11 Automatic Connection of Faults

It is possible to connect the faults automatically in Petrel.

To create automatic connection of faults, fallow the steps:

• Display all the faults you have created in a 3D window. See Fig. 5.38
• Click on the Fault Modeling in the Process Diagram.
• Go to the Operations tab. See Fig 5.39.
• Click on the Auto connect button and use an Extent distance of 250m and do the
automatic fault connection only for the visible faults. See Fig. 5.40.
• Check the connections and do manual editing if necessary.

Fig. 5.39: Two fault sticks displayed before auto connection while the Fault
Modeling dialog box is displayed

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Fig. 5.40: Two fault sticks displayed after auto connection while the Fault Modeling
dialog box is displayed

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5.12 Automatic Adjustment of Key Pillars

It is possible to adjust all the Key Pillars automatically by cuffing them or

extending them relative to a surface or a constant value. Since it is possible to edit all
the Key Pillars manually, and since manual editing will always be necessary, the
automatic “trimming” of Key Pillars functionality has been included as an optional
exercise only. If the Key Pillars are trimmed by a surface then this surface should be
smooth. In the case of the HAH project, the Base Cretaceous surface is a good
candidate to be used for trimming since this is a non-faulted surface. In the exercise
below only the top Shape Points will be trimmed. If the base Shape Points should be
trimmed as well, then a copy could be made of Top Etive surface, then this copied
surface could be smoothed to remove most of the structure (but keep the general dip)
and shifted downwards so that it is deeper than the entire Top Etive surface.

To create automatic adjustment of key pillars, follow the steps:

• Display all the generated Key Pillars together with the Base Cretaceous
surface.
• Double click on the Fault Modeling process (in the Process diagram).
• Go to the Operations tab from the dialog box that pops up. See Fig. 5.41.
• Select the Base Cretaceous surface in the Petrel Explorer Input tab (click on
the name to make it bold), toggle on the checkbox next to Top limit in the
Operations tab under Cut/Extend pillars and click on the blue arrow. Fill in
the other options as the figure shows.
• Click on the Cut/Extend button. See Fig. 5.42.
• Observe that all the Key Pillars will be cut by or extended to the Base
Cretaceous level, generating smooth transitions between Key Pillars. See Fig.
5.43.

Fig. 5.41: Fault Modeling dialog box

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 Fig. 5.42: The Base Cretaceous and Fault Model displayed in a 3D window
before Key Pillar Operations

Fig 5.43: The Base Cretaceous and Fault Model displayed in a 3D window after
Key Pillar Operations

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 6. Pillar Gridding
The generation of the structural model is done in a process called Pillar
Gridding. Pillar Gridding is a unique concept in Petrel where the faults in the fault
model are used as a basis for generating the 3D grid. Several options are available to
customize the 3D grid for either geo-modeling or flow-simulation purposes. Pillar
Gridding is the process of making the ‘Skeleton Framework’. The Skeleton is a grid
consisting of a Top, a Mid and Base skeleton grid, each attached to the Top, the Mid
and the Base points of the Key Pillars. There is a close relationship between the Fault
Modeling process and the Pillar Gridding process. The user might need to go back
and work on the fault modeling process in order to solve problems appearing in the
gridding process. These problems could have been found during the fault modeling
but not visible until in the gridding process. The relation between the Fault Modeling
process and the Pillar Gridding is an iterative process with which the user should
spend some time in order to attain a grid of good quality and high cell orthogonality.
The result from the Pillar Gridding is a set of pillars both along the faults but also in
between faults. The grid has no layers, only a set of pillars with user given X and Y
increments between them (like a pincushion). The layering is introduced when
making horizons and zones. Before starting Pillar Gridding, a series of checks need to
be performed to ensure that the fault modeling process is complete. There are some
things that we recommended you to check before you start with the Pillar Gridding
process:

6.1 Before Pillar Gridding

• In a 3D window, display all faults in the fault model,

• Ensure that all faults intersecting are connected properly. Laterally connected
faults should have a shared (grey) Key Pillar,
• Check and see that a fault is not represented twice in the model,
• The transition between all neighboring pillars should be smooth,
• Faults represented by Key Pillars should not cross each other. Make sure to
display the faults in the 3D window with the Toggle fill turned on. Check all
faults and ensure that the triangulated surface between the different Key
Pillars is not crossing.

6.2 Create a New 3D Grid

To create pillar gridding, follow the steps:

• Start the process of creating a new 3D Grid,

• Go to Structural Modeling item in the Process Diagram tab,
• Double click on Pillar Gridding tab in the Process Diagram,
• The Pillar Gridding process dialog box pops up. A 2D window will
automatically open and display the faults model in map view, as shown in Fig.
6.1,

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 • The line is the projection line between the Key Pillars mid-points,
• The dots are the mid-point on the Key Pillar it self,
• Enter a name for the 3D grid (3D Grid) and specify the land J increment (100),
• Move the Pillar Gridding window out of the way but leave it up, as it will be
used repeatedly in the following exercises. See Fig. 6.1

Fig. 6.1: All faults displayed in a 2D window while Pillar Gridding With’
HAH/Fault Model dialog box is displayed

6.3 Create a Simple Grid Boundary and QC

• Create a simple grid boundary for one of the time surfaces in this case Top
Tarbert, by choosing Structural Modeling item click Pillar Gridding, a
Pillar Gridding Tools toolbar will displays, as shown by Fig. 6.2,
• Start creating boundary around the Top Tarbert by using the icon Create
external grid boundary and click with the left mouse button to digitize a
boundary,
• When you finish double click on the left mouse button to close the boundary,
as shown by Fig. 6.3

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Fig. 6.2: Creating simple grid boundary for Top Tarbert while Pillar Gridding Tools
toolbar is displayed

Fig. 6.3: Boundary is created in a 2D window

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6.4 Create a Segment Grid Boundary

To create a segment grid boundary, follow the steps:

• Delete the simple grid boundary you just created by selecting the boundary
(under the Fault Model) and hitting delete on your keyboard.
• Display one of the time surfaces in the input tab of Petrel Explorer in the 2D
window. This will be used as a guide when digitizing the boundary.
• Start by making faults, on the left side of the area, part of the boundary. Use
the Set Select/Pick mode to mark a fault as shown in Fig. 6.4.
• Click on the Set part of grid boundary icon.
• Continue the boundary from fault to fault (digitizing points in between) on the
south, east, and north sides of the boundary.
• Select the Create Boundary segment icon as shown in Fig. 6.5.
• Click on a shape point on a fault to start digitizing the boundary from.
• Digitizing the boundary between the two faults so it matches the surface
displayed. You can digitize anyway you like but you can not cross faults.
• Click on a shape point on the second fault to close the boundary segment.

Fig. 6.4: Digitizing faults on the left side of Top Tarbert

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Fig. 6.5: Making selected faults part of a segment boundary

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6.5 Inserting Directions and Trends

• Look for the overall fault pattern in the 2D window. In this case the major
faults are oriented North-South. Give the main fault(s) aligned North-South a
red J direction. With the Select/Pick mode icon select the line between the
shape points to select the fault and press Set J-direction icon as shown in Fig.
6.6
• Give a perpendicular fault a green I direction, selecting the faults in the same
manner as above and pressing Set I-direction icon as shown in Fig. 6.7,

Fig. 6.6: Main Fault NS 1 as J-direction displayed in a 2D window

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 Fig. 6.7: Main Fault NS 1 as I-direction displayed in a 2D window

• Press Apply in the process window and observe the changes in the mid
skeleton grid. See Fig. 6.8,
• Continue to set directions to all major faults in the project,
• Insert a trend in the I direction (green) between two J direction faults (red),
See Fig. 6.9,
• Press apply and observe how the cells are aligned along the trend line,
• Make sure that the direction and trend alignment are ok by conducting a QC of
the mid-skeleton grid in the 2D window. Add directions on faults and trends to
refine the mid-skeleton grid.

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 Fig. 6.8: All faults and Skeleton (Mid) are displayed in a 2D window

Fig. 6.9: the trend between I-direction (green) & J-direction (red) are
displayed in a 2D window

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6.6 Pillar Gridding

After the Boundary has been defined and the 2D cell geometry tuned to the point of
acceptability (trends and directions may be applied to help tune the 2D cell geometry),
the 3D grid can be constructed. The result of this construction is the Skeleton, which
is a series of pillars, one for the corner of each cell. Top, middle and base skeleton
grids are used to view these pillars easily in the X-Y dimensions. The integrity of the
pillars themselves can be viewed in an I or J intersection plane.
Under the Pillar Geometry tab in the Pillar Gridding process window, toggle off
‘Curved’ for the ‘Non-Faulted Pillars’. This will create a simpler 3D Grid geometry
with less chance for problems as shown in Fig. 6.10.

Fig.6.10: The Pillar Geometry for Pillar Gridding dialog box

6.7 Quality Control (QC) of the Skeleton Grid

• Activate the project (make bold) in the Models tab of Petrel Explorer.
• Open the Skeleton folder in the newly created 3D grid.
• Perform a visual check of the grids individually in the 3D window, look for
spikes and irregularities. The comments below describe what to look for.
• Display the Key Pillars from the fault model to locate the problem.
• In the 3D window display a J-intersection from the “Intersections” folder.
Click on the name to make it active. See Fig. 6.11
• Double click on the intersection folder and toggle on show pillars in the style
tab settings window. See Fig. 6.12

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Fig. 6.11: QC for Top Skeleton by Grid J-direction 1 displayed in a 3D window

Fig. 6.12: QC for Top Skeleton by Grid J-direction 1 displayed in a 3D

window while Settings for Intersection are shown

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6.8 Specifying Number of Cells

In the 2D window find an area where you have two faults with same direction
next to each other. If you don’t have this configuration on your faults then create it.
Define a trend between the two faults, if you already have one, you can use that.
Define the number of cells that should exist along one of the defined trends using the
tool. Make it significantly different from those currently existing along the trend.
Press Apply and observe how Petrel inserts the specific number of cells in the entire
interval between the directed faults. If the number of cells looks acceptable then leave
it, if it looks like a problem then alter the number and re-Apply.

6.9 Defining Segments Using Trends

• In the Pillar Gridding process window, under the Settings tab, choose ‘Create
new, named’ and give the grid a different name, for instance “3D grid making
segments”,
• Find a fault that does not terminate against another fault (or boundary).
Digitize an appropriate trend using the New J-trend or the New I-trend icon
from a point of the fault and attach it to the intersecting shape point on the
other fault or boundary, See Fig. 6.13,
• To make the trend a “segment divider’, click on the Set Part of Segment
Boundary icon. After this feature is applied the trend will have a brighter
color as shown blow,

Fig. 6.13: Defining Segment Boundary displayed in a 2D window

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 • Display the skeleton grid colored with different colors for the segments. Open
settings for the skeleton folder in the previous 3D grid, and check show solid
as segments. Do the same for the “3D grid making segments”. See Fig. 6.14

Fig. 6.14: The skeleton grid colored with different colors for the segments are
displayed in a 2D window

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6.10 Setting Undefined Faults

• Select the fault or part of the fault.

• Click on the Set No Fault icon.
• The selected part of the fault will become dotted. See Fig. 6.15

Fig. 6.15: Fault displayed in a 2D window while Pillar Gridding Action tools
are shown

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6.11 Setting a Fault as "Not a Part of Segment Boundary"

• Select the fault or part of the fault.

• Click on the Set No Boundary icon.
• The selected part of the fault will become grey. If the fault already has a J-
direction, it will show as a solid line, with a dark red color. See Fig. 6.16

Fig. 6.16: Fault displayed in a 2D window while Pillar Gridding Action tools are
shown

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 7. Vertical Layering

7.1 Make Horizons

The vertical layering process consists of 4 steps:

1. Make Horizons: Insert the input surfaces into the 3D Grid. The inputs can be
surfaces from seismic or well tops, line interpretations from seismic, or any other
point or line data defining the surface.
2. Depth Conversion: If the inserted horizons and faults are built in time, the grid
must be depth converted. This process is skipped if the faults and input horizons
are already in depth.
3. Make Zones: Additional horizons are inserted into the 3D Grid by stacking
isochors up or down from the previously input horizons.
4. Make Layers: The final step is to make the fine-scale layering, necessary for
property modeling. These layers define the top and base of the cells of the 3D
Grid.

The final step in structural modeling is to insert the stratigraphic horizons into the
pillar grid, honoring the grid increment and the faults, defined in the previous steps.
The result after the Pillar Gridding process as a 3D grid consisting of a set of pillars
connecting the Base, Mid and Top Skeletons. All the faults to be incorporated into the
model have been defined, and the pillars have been placed along and between the
faults. For the faulted areas, the horizons are blanked (deleted) in a user given area
around the faults and an extrapolation is performed to "stretch" the surface back onto
the fault plane. This will ensure that rollovers or pull-ups near faults are eliminated
and a high quality layering of the 3D grid is preserved. It should be noted that the
skeleton grids are modified if the top- and/or base- of the input data extend above or
below the Top- and/or Base- Shape Points respectively. The Key Pillars should extend
above top horizon and below base horizon to avoid negative volumes in the 3D grid
hence an extrapolation is performed.

Summary of the Process:

• Append item in table,

• Use multiple drop,
• Select input data,
• Drop using blue arrow,
• Define type.

To create horizons, follow the steps:

• Go to Structural Modeling item in the Process Diagram tab,

• Double click on the Make Horizons process. The process dialog for Make
Horizons will pop up called Make Horizons with ‘HAH/3D Grid’ as shown
by Fig. 7.1. Note that the Petrel Explorer will display the Input window for
easier access to the input data,

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• Select the Horizons tab as it contains the primary controls for making
horizons,

Fig. 7.1: Make Horizons with’HAH/3D Grid’ dialog box

• Use the Set number of items in table and specify how many horizons to be
inserted as shown in Fig. 7.2, or by either using(‘Append item in table’),

Fig. 7.2: The Set number of items in the table tool tip

• In this case, insert 4 horizons as shown in the next dialog box,

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• Select the data to use to create the horizon (Surfaces data),
• Make sure your input horizons are sorted in the correct stratigraphic order in
the Petrel Explorer respectively ( Base cretaceous, Top Tarbert, Top Ness,
Top Etive) as shown by Fig. 7.3,
• By highlighting this file’s name (make bold) in the Petrel Explorer and then
Click on the blue arrow to the left of the Input #1 column, and check that the
name of the active data object is inserted into the input field, see Fig. 7.4,
• Remember to insert the correct data object active and the name of the horizon
is set equal to the name of the inserted data object. The user is free to change
this name.

Fig. 7.3: The correct stratigraphic sequence displayed in the input #1 field

Fig. 7.4: The correct stratigraphic sequence displayed in the Petrel Explorer

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• Make sure that the ‘Multiple drop’ icon toggled on, this allows you to drop a
range of data by only selecting the first in a arrow, as shown by Fig. 7.5,

Fig. 7.5: Multiple drops in the table button clicked

• Press Apply and OK,

• By clicking OK the Horizons will be generated. See that the Horizons folder in
the Petrel Explorer, Models window, now has the new horizons inserted,
• Define the horizon’s geological character (stratigraphy), by clicking on the
Horizon Type column for specify horizon,
• Set Base Cretaceous to be erosional and the other surfaces to be
conformable, as shown by Fig. 7.6,
• Press Apply and OK, see Fig. 7.7.

Fig. 7.6: Horizons Type option defined

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Fig. 7.7: Horizons displayed in a 3D window with their Edges

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7.2 Depth Conversion

If your 3D grid with inserted horizons and faults is in time, you need to depth
convert it to get it into the depth domain. The depth conversion is a vertical process,
beginning from a DATUM and progressing downwards, HORIZON by HORIZON
and NODE by NODE.
This conversion is applied for each node in the 3D grid. Each node corresponds
with the intersection of one surface with one pillar.
The last step after the conversion of the horizons is the reconstruction of the pillar
geometry, faulted or non-faulted. The user is free to force the program to follow the
shape given to the pillar during the fault modeling (Vertical, Linear, Listric, and
Curved). The nodes are moved horizontally to reconstruct the initial shape of the
pillars.

Fig. 7.8: Depth Conversion Settings

DATUM: must be defined. It can be Mean sea level or it can be any other surface.
You can also use surfaces above the 3D grid area as input for the depth conversion
even if these surfaces are not part of the 3D grid.

Inserting horizons: When you open the Depth Conversion process, all the horizons
from the 3D grid will have been inserted into the table. If you want to use any other
surface as input, then you insert it into the table using the icons. Note that the Time
Horizons must be the horizons that exist in the 3D grid, not the surfaces from the
Petrel Explorer’s Input window! (Exception is of course surfaces that do not exist in
the 3D grid, like the Seabed in the example above).

Velocity: For velocity you can either use a constant velocity (V=VO) or a linear
expression for velocity (V=VO+kZ). Further, VO can either be a constant value or
given by a surface. The k is a constant or a surface. Since Z is negative below MSL k
is a negative value.

Well Adjustment: If you want to adjust the depth converted horizons to well tops,
you must enter the well tops under the Depth Well Tops tab, specify the averaging
method, and, if you want a report, do this under the Wells tab. Note that you can
specify which wells to be used for conditioning when doing the depth conversion
under the Well Tops Spreadsheet.

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7.3 Make Zones

The Make Zones process is the next step in defining the vertical resolution of the
3D grid. The process creates zones between each horizon. Zones can be added to the
model by introducing thickness data in the form of isochores, constant thickness and
percentages. Well points can also be used to tie top structures to the well picks. This
process step may be skipped when no zonation is given.

To create zones follow the steps:

• Go to Structural Modeling item in the Process Diagram tab,

• Double click on the Make Zones process. A window pop up called Make
Zones with HAH/3D Grid’ as shown by Fig. 7.9,

Fig. 7.9: Make Zones with ‘HAH/3D Grid dialog box

• Select the Stratigraphic interval option to be worked first for the definition
of the zones, from the pull-down menu in the upper right part of the dialog.
This interval will be completed (parameters specified) and the Apply button
must be pressed before moving to the next interval. These main intervals are
the intervals defined in the Make Horizons process. Note that only one interval
can be calculated at a time and each horizon delimits a stratigraphic interval,
• For the Top Tarbert – Top Ness interval there are three isochors (therefore 3
zones). For the Top Ness – Top Etive interval these are two isochors (2
zones). There will be no zonation for the other stratigraphic intervals listed,

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 • Click on the Set number of items in table button and specify how many
zones you want in the current stratigraphic interval, or you can click on
Append item in the table icon, as shown by Fig. 7.10,
• in this case insert 6 zones note that one click inserts three rows with two zone
icons and one horizon icon (if the chosen stratigraphic interval are either Top
– Mid or Mid – Base). The zone icons represent the isochores used for
calculating the new intermediate horizon,

Fig. 7.10: Make Zones with HAH/3D Grid while Append item in the table and Set
number of items in the table appears

• Insert the Isochores from the Isochores folder and the subfolder that
corresponds with the stratigraphic interval you are working on,
• Insert isochores by clicking on the blue arrow next to the input field called
Input, as shown by Fig. 7.11,

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 Fig. 7.11: Isochores placed in input

• Insert well tops between the isochores by going to Well Tops> Sorted on Type
and select the Well Tops that correspond with the Stratigraphic interval you
working on,
• Select Build from base horizon and distribute the volume correction
Proportionally among the various sub intervals,
• Select Build along Vertical Thickness (TVT),
• Don't forget to repeat procedure for the other Stratigraphic interval,
• Go to Setting tab and de-select the option that says:’ According to the setting
in the “Making Horizons” process as shown by Fig. 7.12,

Fig. 7.12: Make Zones with HAH/3D Grid dialog box

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• Go to Well Adjustment tab and specify that you want to create a report from
the Well report options,
• Check Make well report option as shown by Fig. 7.13,

Fig. 7.13: Make Zones with HAH/3D Grid dialog box

• Press Apply to generate the intermediate horizons and zone,

• Press OK,
• See Figs. 7.14-7.18.

Fig. 7.14: well report for 'HAH/3D Grid' appears

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Fig. 7.15: Zones created in a 3D window while Pillar Gridding appears

Fig. 7.16: Zones created in 3D window along with their wells and faults

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 Fig. 7.17: Zones displayed while zones under Zones Filter created

Fig. 7.18: Zones displayed in a 3D window while Intersections are displayed

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Notice:

The colors of the zones can be changed from the Setting menu for each zone,
found under the Zones filter in the bottom of the 3D Grid (DC).

7.3.1 Quality Control (QC) Using Intersection Planes

In order to move an intersection it must first be active (bold) in the Petrel

Explorer. All intersections can be displayed in the Display window at the same time
but only one can be moved at a time. More intersections in either direction can be
inserted from the pull-down menu of the Intersection folder or from the Function bar.
Playing trough the intersections in the main directions, I- and J-direction, are a good
method to QC the 3D grid. The intersections will show how the pillars in the grid are
situated next to each other. The 3D grid will get a vertical layering and definition
when horizons are inserted in the next process step, but since the vertical definition
will not change the pillars in the grid, a QC with intersections can also be done after
this step. When quality controlling the 3D grid, it is important to look for neighboring
pillars that have very different angles. This can introduce errors when inserting
horizons and zones to the grid. Intersections in the I- or J-direction are created when
generating the grid. They can be viewed in the Display window by opening the
Intersection folder and selecting one or both of them. A new set of icons will be
visible on the Status bar in the bottom of the Petrel window. For details on how to use
the intersections, see How to use the I and J intersections.

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7.4 Make Layers

The Make Zones and Make Sub Zones processes are the two last steps in defining
the vertical resolution of the 3D grid. The Make Zones process is used when a
geological zonation (isochores) is available. This process step may be skipped when
no zonation is given. The Make Sub Zones process enables the user to define the final
vertical resolution of the grid by setting the cell thickness or the number of desired
cell layers.

The final step in building the structural framework is to define the thickness and
orientation of the layers between horizons of the 3D Grid. These layers in conjunction
with the pillars define the cells of the 3D Grid that are assigned attributes during
property modeling. The Make Layer process will only make a finer resolution of the
grid and no input data are used for this process. The user can define the vertical
resolution of the grid by setting the cell thickness, define a number of cells or use a
fraction code. When specifying the cell thickness the zone division can either follow
the base or the top of the zone. The layers should be defined based on the properties to
be modeled. Usually, the layer thickness should be the thickness of the thinnest facies
to be modeled. However, it is important to keep in mind that the number of cells
increases when the layer thickness decreases, so you should not put in more detail
than necessary.

When making the fine-scaled layering, you should try to make layers thin enough
to capture the important flow units. However, the layers should not be too thin since
that will increase computing time! It’s important to focus on flow units when defining
the size of the layers, no just on the thickness of each facies. Depending on the
geology, you can choose to build the layers from the top, the bottom or use
proportional layering. In the layering process, select the method to be used and
specify the cell thickness or the number of cells (layers). Making layers may be done
based on field geology as follows:

• Follow base: The layers will be truncated towards the top horizon. The user
defines the cell thickness.
• Follow Top: The layers will be truncated towards the base horizon. For the
above two options you can also choose to use a reference surface, i.e. specify a
surface which will be used as the surface to build from. The surface can take
any shape, and it must exist in the Petrel Explorer in order to be used.
• Proportional: The sum of layers will be constant in the entire zone,
independent of thickness of zone. The user specifies the number of layers to
insert.
• Fraction: This is actually a proportional way of building the layers but you
can specify relative thickness between layers. For instance: 1, 2, 1 will
generate three layers and the mid layer will be twice as thick as the top and
base layers.
• Combination: e.g. follow top and using depositional surface to guide how the
layers will be placed.

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To create layers follow the steps:

• Go to Structural Modeling item in the Process Diagram tab,

• Double click on the Layering process. A window pop up called Layering
with ‘HAH/3D Grid’ as shown by Fig. 7.19, this dialog has only one tab. In
principle it works the same way as the Make Horizon and Make Zones
dialogs - a spreadsheet with the zones as rows and the specific zone settings as
columns,

Fig 7.19: Layering with ‘HAH/3D Grid dialog box

• The dialog lists the zones generated in the Make Horizons and Make Zones
processes. For each zone select the desired resolution and layering layout.
• Make sure you have one or both of the I and J intersections displayed in the
graphics. Zoom in to see the full vertical interval.
• Create the internal layering of the zones by clicking OK, and observe the
results,
• Change the option under the Zone Division as shown in Fig. 7.20,
• The Horizons, Zones and Layering can be removed by clicking with the right
mouse button on the 3D grid icon and selecting one of the Remove options,
• See Fig. 7.21, 7.22.

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 Fig. 7.20: Changing the setting on Layering with HAH/3D Grid’ dialog box

Fig. 7.21: Layers created in a 3D window while Layering with’HAH/3D Grid'

appears

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Fig. 7.22: Layers created in a 3D window along with their Fault Polygons, wells,
Well Tops, Fault Sticks, Surfaces, Pillar Gridding, Horizones, and Zones

You can change in the number of layers from Fig. 7.20, and select option called
Proportional and chooses the desire number of layers.

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 8. Geometrical Property Modeling
Geometrical Modeling is the process where you can use some pre-defined
functions to generate properties (e.g. Bulk Volume, Depth, Height above Contact, and
more). This section will describe general things about the property modeling, such as
using filters and the property player. The distribution of properties in 3D, based on
up-scaled logs, will also be described in general. Geometrical properties are properties
created by using pre-defined system variables such as Cell Height, Bulk Volume,
Depth and Above Contact. Each cell will get a numerical value corresponding to the
selected system variable. These properties can be important in volume calculations
and in mathematical operations between petrophysical properties (e.g. for Sw
transforms). Geometrical Modeling is not restricted to simple geometrical properties
such as bulk volume or volume above a contact level but also covers more complex
property distributions such as: Random, Normal Distribution, Zones, Segments,
Zones/Segments, Faults, Faults/Segments, Seismic, Connected Volumes.

8.1 Creating a Bulk Volume Property

To create a bulk volume property, follow the steps:

• Choose Property Modeling item from Process Diagram,

• Double click on the Geometrical Modeling process,
• A Geometrical Modeling with ‘HAH/3D Grid’ window pops up,
• Select Create new property option, see Fig. 8.1,
• Change the Select Method option to use for generating the new property to
Cell Volume Method,
• From Property template choose the template to use for the new property in this
case use Bulk Volume as property tamplate, as shown Fig. 8.2,
• Press Apply,
• Click OK. See Fig. 8.3

Fig. 8.1: The Geometrical Modeling with ‘HAH/3D Grid’ dialog box

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 Fig. 8.2: The Geometrical Modeling with ‘HAH/3D Grid’ dialog box

Fig. 8.3: Geometrical Modeling displayed in a 3D window along with the Pillar
Gridding and zones while the Bulk volume is shown under the Properties
tab in the Project Explorer

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8.2 Creating Above Contact Property

To create above contact property, follow the steps:

• In the Geometrical Modeling dialog, reselect Create new property option,

• Choose from Select Method option Above Contact as Method option,
• Choose the Contact Level option,
• Make the value of Constant option = -2010,
• Choose the method to ‘By center of the part of the cell above contact’ as
shown in Fig. 8.4.
• Press Apply and OK. See Fig. 8.5.

Fig. 8.4: Geometrical Modeling displayed in a 3D window while the properties are
displayed

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Fig. 8.5: Above Contact property generated under the Properties tab in the Project
Explorer in a 3D window

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 9. Upscaling in the Vertical Direction
-Well Logs Upscaling

9.1 Scale Up Well Logs

The scale up of well logs is an automatic process with some user settings
available. When scaling up the well logs Petrel will first find the 3D grid cells that the
wells penetrate. For each grid cell all log values that fall within the cell will be
averaged according to the selected algorithm to produce one log value for that cell.
The resulting 3D grid will only hold values for the 3D grid cells that the wells have
penetrated.

How you can upscalling the logs:

• Choose Property Modeling item from Process Diagram,

• Double click on the Scale up will logs process,
• In the Scale Up Well Logs Process dialog use the Create new Property option,
• Select the wells to be included in the process,
• Select the porosity log as the Log to be used,
• Define Scale Up Settings. Arithmetic as average Method, treat the log As lines
and use Neighbor cell as Method,
• Press OK to create the property model,
• See Fig. 9.1

Fig. 9.1: Scale up will logs dialog box

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 • Repeat the Upscale steps again for permeability and Fluvial facies logs,
• Under the Models tab check the Properties folder that new properties have
been created. Display them in the 3D window.
• See Fig. 9.2

Fig. 9.2: Properties of Porosity [U] displayed in a 3D window with wells A16, B8,
C1, C2, C4, and C5.

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9.2 Statistical Check of the Scaled Up Well Logs

1. Open the Setting dialog for any content of property folder by double clicking
on a selected property model icon and select the statistics tab as shown in Fig.
9.3
2. Observe the various the statistical parameters.

Fig. 9.3: Settings for 'Porosity' dialog box

3. Select the Histogram tab to generate the histogram of the raw log and the
scaled up well log and also the up scaled cells as shown in Fig. 9.4

Fig. 9.4: Histogram for the "Porosity" in property folder

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 10. Facies Modeling

10.1 Sequential Indicator Simulation (SIS)

In this section the process of building a basic facies model conditioned to well
observations using SIS. The variogram type, ranges, and azimuth for each facies are
provided for you. These are normally designed to match observations of geologic
ends (typically as observed in a Well Section) and require some experimentation to
create the desired effects.

To do the sequential indicator simulation (SIS), follow the steps:

• Activate the HAH Final 3D Grid (DC) under the HAH project.
• Copy the Up-scaled Facies well log (Fluvial Facies (U)) and rename it to
Fluvial Facies Model.
• Open the Facies Modeling Process under Property Modeling.
• Select Fluvial Facies Model as the property to be used.
• Select Tarbert 1. Deselect the Leave Zone Unchanged icon in order to change
the settings and select Sequential Indicator simulation as the method.
• See Fig. 10.1.

Fig. 10.1: Facies Modeling with HAH Final 3D Grid (DC) dialog box.

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 • Specify the variogram settings for the four facies according to the table below.

Exponential variogram type can be used for all fades.

Major Range Minor Range Vertical Range Azimuth

Floodplain 5000 700 10 19
Levee 1000 500 10 25
Channel 3500 1500 10 25
Crevasse Splay 850 500 10 25

• Click Apply to run the model then lock the process by reselecting the leave
zone unchanged icon for the tip zone and Tarbert 1.
• Set the Zone Filter in the 3D grid to show only zone Tarbert 1 and display the
Fluvial Facies Model property model in the 3D Window.
• See Fig. 10.2.

Fig. 10.2: Tarbert 1 displayed the Fluvial Facies Model [U] property in a 3D window

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10.2 Object modeling

10.2.1 Fluvial Channels

Object Modeling allows users to populate a discrete facies model with different
bodies of various geometry, facies code and fraction. All geometrical inputs
controlling the body shape (width, thickness, etc.) are defined by the user, by the
follow steps:

• Select the Fluvial Facies Model property.

• Open the Facies Modeling process if it isn’t already open.
• Under the Modeling Settings tab, select Use Existing Property and select the
Fluvial Fades Model property from the pull down menu.
• Select zone Tarbert 2 from the Zones drop-down list and de-select the Leave
Zone Unchanged icon to create a realization.
• Select Object Modeling (Stochastic) from the pull down menu for Method.
Select the Facies Bodies tab and click on the Add a new channel icon.
• Under the Settings tab, select the appropriate Facies codes that correspond to
Channel and Levee facies, respectively. Click on the blue arrow to estimate
the combined facies fraction for the Channel and Levee system from the up-
scaled cells.
• See Fig. 10.3.

Fig. 10.3: Facies Modeling with HAH Final 3D Grid (DC) dialog box.

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• Define the channel and levee geometries under the Layout, Channel and Levee
tabs. Default settings can be used as shown below,

• Go to the Background tab and select the Background Floodplain from the
Constant drop-down list as shown below,

• Click Apply to generate the model.

• Use the Zone Filter in the depth converted model to look only at zone Tarbert
2 and display the Fluvial Facies Model, located in the Properties folder.
• Go back to the Facies Modeling process.
• Copy the settings from the Tarbert 2 zone to the Tarbert 3 zone by using the
"Copy settings from the selected zone icon".
• Open the Tarbert 3 zone and paste the settings by using the icon Paste settings
to the selected zone.
• Enter 70% in the Fraction (%) section of the settings tab in order to specify the
channel/levee density (alternatively, click on the blue arrow to estimate the
combined facies fraction for the Channel and Levee system from the up-scaled
cells) as shown in Fig. 10.4.

Fig. 10.4: Facies Modeling with HAH Final 3D Grid (DC) dialog box.

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 • Go to the Tarbert 2 zone and reselect the Leave Zone Unchanged icon.
• Go to the Tarbert 3 zone and click apply to generate the model.
• Use the Zone Filter in the 3D Grid (DC) to look only at zone Tarbert 3 and
display the Fluvial Facies Model, located in the Properties folder.

10.2.2 Adding General Objects

Object modeling is a facies modeling method that distributes facies with defined
shapes. In addition to distribution fluvial facies (channel and levee systems) it is
possible to distribute other types of objects as well. The user can select from a list of
available objects, and define the geometrical size of each shape. The general objects
can be combined with the fluvial objects, by the follow steps:

1. Copy the Fluvial Facies Model property and call the copy Fluvial Facies
Object.
2. Open the settings for the Fluvial Facies Object property and go to the color
tab. Insert a new code called oxbow lake and choose a color and a pattern for
it.
3. Open the dialog for the Facies Modeling Process. Select Use Existing Property
and select the Fluvial Facies Object property from the pull down menu.
4. Select zone Ness 2 and de-select the Leave Zone Unchanged icon.
5. Select Object Modeling as the method. In the Facies Body tab, add a channel
like you did for Tarbert 3 and choose a facies fraction of 40% (do not estimate
from upscaled wells). Select the facies codes that re resent channel and levee
facies.
6. Click on the Add New Body icon. In the Facies Bodies tab go to the Settings
tab and select Oxbow lakes from the Facies drop-down list. Set the Fraction to
5% as shown in Fig. 10.5.

Fig. 10.5: Facies Modeling with HAH Final 3D Grid (DC) dialog box

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7. Go to the Geometry tab and select Oxbow lakes as Body shape from the drop-
down list.

8. Go to the § Rules tab and check the Replace ALL other facies option.

9. Click Apply to create the model. Reselect the Leave Zone Unchanged icon to
lock the changes. Display zone Ness 2 only to verify the result.
10. Click on the Toggle Simbox View icon in the Function bar to see the model
without structure, i.e. as a regular grid where the structural patterns due to the
faults and the horizons have been removed.

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10.3 Interactive Facies Modeling

Seismic data can sometimes provide images of individual facies bodies.

Interactive facies modeling can be used to draw deterministic facies bodies. This
process is irreversible and therefore it is important to make a copy of the model before
you start drawing on it.

And to interactive facies model, follow the steps:

1. Activate the HAH Final (DC) under the HAH project,

2. Copy the 3D property (Fluvial Facies Model) and rename it to Facies Object
Drawing. Interactive Facies Modeling is 1RREVERSIBLEU,
3. Click on the Facies Modeling process in the Process Diagram to display the
Facies Modeling toolbar,
4. Display the selected property model in the 3D window. Use the Zone Filter to
display only one zone,
5. Click on the Brush icon
6. Use the profile icons to select a width, height and shape of the brush,
7. Click on the Select Fades icon and choose the facies code to draw. Start
drawing facies objects on the model displayed in the 3D window,
8. Change the brush type and profile and keep drawing. See Fig. 10.6.

Fig. 10.6: An Interactive Facies Modeling displayed in a 3D window

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 11. Petrophysical Modeling

11.1 Deterministic Modeling

When the well logs have been scaled up to the resolution of the cells in the 3D
grid, the values for each cell along the well trajectory can be interpolated between the
wells in the 3D grid. The result is a grid with Property values for each cell.

To deterministic modeling, follow the steps:

• Activate the depth converted grid under the HAH project.

• Open the Petrophysical Modeling process.
• Select Use Existing Property and select the Porosity property as the property
to be modeled from the drop down menu.
• Select the Tarbert 1 from the Pull down menu and de-select the Leave Zone
Unchanged icon for that zone to create a realization.
• Select the Moving average as the Method; leave all other settings as default, as
shown by Fig. 11.1.

Fig. 11.1: Petrophysical Modeling with HAH Final 3D Grid (DC) dialog box

• Click OK to create the property model and display the model in the 3D
Window.
• Use the Zone Filter to display the appropriate zone.
• Bring up a Histogram window from the Window menu. Display the Porosity
property and use the Zone Filter to look at the modeled zone. Compare the
histogram distribution for the well logs, the up-scaled cells and the whole
property. See Fig. 11.2.

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Fig. 11.2: Settings for Porosity of Property models and Petrophysical Modeling
displayed in a 3D window

• Double-click on the porosity property in the Properties folder and check the
statistics in the statistics tab. See Fig. 11.3.

Fig. 11.3: Settings for 'Porosity [U]' dialog box – Statistics tab page

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11.2 Stochastic Modeling
Petrel can generate stochastic petrophysical property models based on the
Sequential Gaussian Simulation method. This is the most straightforward algorithm
for generating realizations of a multivariable Gaussian field.

To create stochastic modeling, follow the steps:

• Creating first model:

a. Activate the HAH Final 3D grid (DC) under the HAH project.
b. Open the Petrophysical Modeling process. GO to the Use Existing
property and select Porosity from the drop-down list.
c. Activate the lock icon for the Tarbert 1 zone and de-select the lock for
Ness2.
d. Select Sequential Gaussian Simulation as the method to use.
e. In the Variogram tab, select Exponential Variogram type, 3500 as Major
Range, 1500 as Minoer Range, 10 as Vertical Range and 25 degrees as
Azimuth.
f. Click OK create the property model. See Fig. 11.4.

Fig. 11.4: Petrophysical Modeling with HAH Final 3D Grid (DC) dialog box

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• Viewing the result:

a. Bring up a Histogram window from the Windows menu and select Tile
Vertical.
b. Use the Zone Filter to display the 3D property model and the Histogram
distribution for the well logs, the up-scaled cells and the whole property for
zone Ness 2.

• Changing the model:

a. Click on the 3D window to make it active and click on the Open Process
Dialog icon on the Function bar.
b. Go to the Distribution tab in the Petrophysical Modeling process window.
Under Output data range click on Estimate (this will estimate the porosity
range from the up-scaled cells within the zone). Specify an output data
range (e.g. 0.1-0.25), as shown bellow.

c. Click OK and observe the changes in the model.

11.3 Property Calculator

As for the well logs there is a similar calculator associated with the properties.
This calculator can be used to create new 3D properties and to do operations between
properties. There is a whole range of predefined functions associated with the
calculator, such as logical and mathematical functions. It is possible to write nested
statements and there is no limit for the length and the complexity of such statements.
If a calculation is getting complex then it is possible (and useful) to create macros
containing the calculation. The macro can be read from file to do several operations in
one go.

To property calculator, follow the steps:

Creating a new property model:

• Click Right Click on the Properties folder in the 3D Grid (DC) and select
Calculator from the pull down menu.
• Change the Properties Type to Porosity and type in the white formula field.

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• test = Porosity [Press Enter], as shown in Fig. 11.5.

Fig. 11.5: Calculator for Properties folder dialog box

• test = testO.8 [Press Enter], as shown in Fig. 11.6.

Fig. 11.6: Calculator for Properties folder dialog box

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• See the statistical result by selecting Result in the upper right-hand corner. See
Fig. 11.7.

Fig. 11.7: Result for Porosity after calculated

• Display the new test property model in a 3D Window. See Fig. 11.8.

Fig. 11.8: The (test) model under Properties folder displayed in a 3 D window

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11.4 Histogram and Filter Functionality

Histogram shows the distribution of values for the selected well logs or for a
selected individual property. The histograms are used for checking and comparing
input- and model-data. The histogram panels are found under Settings for individual
properties as well as for well logs, for individual wells or for all wells. The histogram
displays original log values, blocked well values and property values. The histograms
are filter-sensitive.

To create histogram and filter functionality, follow the steps:

• Under the Models tab open the Settings window for an individual property (e.g.
Porosity) by double-clicking on it. Within the Settings window, open the
Histogram tab.
• Select the zone you want to study.
• Toggle on/off the boxes for displaying property and well logs (original and up-
scaled).
• Play around with the option to change the number of columns and check the
interval values in the Legend.
• Toggle on the Use filter option and open the Settings window for the Properties
folder and choose the Filter tab. The Filter gives the option to show only parts of a
property model.
• Choose a filter option, e.g. the Value filter. Observe the changes. See Fig. 11.9.

Fig. 11.9: Histogram for the "Porosity" in property folder

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11.5 Calculation of Sw
The water saturation in the hydrocarbon zone is a function of height above the
fluid contact, permeability and porosity. The calculator can be used to make a water
saturation property that takes these parameters into account. In this case, we have
water saturation in the oil zone that can be expressed by the following equation:

b
⎛ K⎞
Sw = a⎜⎜ h ⎟
⎟
⎝ φ ⎠

Where:

h = height above the OWC

K = permeability
φ = porosity
a = 0.5
b = 0.2

The contact is given by: OWC = -2010 meters for all zones and all segments. A
permeability property is needed to generate the Sw property. A linear expression has
been found between porosity and log permeability which can be expressed by:

LogPerm = 10.9*Porosity - 0.48

A macro has been written to simplify this calculation and for easy reproduction in
case of an update. The macro has been written in a text editor program and saved as a
text file with the extension (.mac). All the functions in the macro are listed below
each other, just as they would be written as separate functions using the Property
Calculator.

To create a water saturation (Sw) property, follow the steps:

1. Activate and expand the 3D Grid model in the Models tab,

2. Right click the Properties item as shown in Fig. 11.10,

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 Fig. 11.10: The Properties item under the 3D Grid model

3. Click the Calculator option. The Calculator for Properties 'Properties' dialog
box appears as shown in Fig. 11.11,

Fig. 11.11: The Calculator for Properties

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4. Check the "From file:" check box,
5. Click the browse button (…) and select the macro file to be used. The macro file
is called 'sw_formula.mac' and it is stored under the directory called 'Other
Data', which is found together with the other demo data. See Fig. 11.12. This
macro file contains the formulas to be used for calculating properties. These
formulas are given as macros written in text format. You may change the formulas
to suit your needs. For example, the formulas in the 'sw_formula.mac' macro file
are written as:

LogPerm=10.9*Porosity-0.48
Perm=Pow(10,LogPerm)
Temp=(Above_Contact)*SQRT(Perm/Porosity)
Sw=0.5*Pow(Temp,-0.2)
Sw=IF(Sw>1,1,Sw

Fig. 11.12: The file sw_formula.mac under the 'Other Data' folder

6. Make sure to select "Seismic (default)" from the "Attach new to template"
drop down box,
7. Press the Run button. Notice that all formulas will appear in the history window
at the top. See Fig. 11.13,

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 Fig. 11.13: The Calculator for Properties after running the calculations

8. Four new properties will be created, called LogPerm, Perm, Temp and Sw. They
will all be attached to the template that was selected next to ‘Type’ in the property
calculator "Seismic (default)".

Fig. 11.14: The Sw property displayed in a 3D window

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9. Familiarize yourself to using this functionality in Petrel by using different
templates. For example, change the templates for the Sw and Perm properties by
opening the Settings window for each of them, go to the Info tab, and change to
another template from the pull down list and watch the results. See Fig. 11.15.

Fig. 11.15: Settings for Sw

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 12. Defining Fluid Contacts

12.1 Creating a New Contact Set

After having built a Petrel 3D grid and prior to running the volume calculation,
the various contacts should be defined in the Make Contacts process. Several sets of
contacts can be defined and each Contact Set can contain a number of different
contact types. All Contact Sets will be stored under a folder called Fluid Contacts in
the Petrel Explorer Models tab. The Contact Set can be created based on a constant
depth value or a surface. If a surface is used as an input for the contact, it has to exist
in the Petrel Explorer window. Any type of surface can be used as an input. The user
has the option of using the same contact for all zones and segments, different contacts
for each segment and/or different contacts for each zone.

To create a new fluid contact:

1. Double click on the Make Contacts process in the Process Diagram.

2. Create a Gas Oil Contact by selecting it in the Make Contacts dialog box so
that it is highlighted in gray. In the text box below the label “All Segments”,
type a value of -1880 as shown in Fig. 12.1 (left).
3. Create an Oil Water Contact by selecting it in the Make Contacts dialog box
so that it is highlighted in gray. In the text box below the label “All
Segments”, type a value of -2010 as shown in Fig. 12.1 (right).
4. Click OK and the Fluid Contacts folder with the new set of contacts will
appear in the model tab below the segment filter.

Fig.12.1: The Make Contacts dialog box

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12.2 Visualizing the Contacts on a Surface

Visualizing the contacts on surfaces in both 2D and 3D is illustrative for showing

the extent of the oil/gas zones.

To visualize contacts on a surface, follow the steps:

1. Expand the Fluid Contacts and the Contact Set folders under the Models tab.
2. Open the Horizons folder under the active 3D grid and display the Top Tarbert
horizon in a 3D display window, see Fig. 12.2.
3. Display the oil/water and gas/oil contacts.
4. Open Settings > Style tab for the Fluid Contacts folder. Toggle on Show fill
on horizons to drape the contacts over the horizons, see Fig. 12.3.
5. Select the Show contact surfaces to also see the contacts as surfaces. See Fig.
12.4 and 12.5.

Fig. 12.2: Top Tarbert and Fluid Contacts displayed in a 3D window

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Fig. 12.3: Fluid Contacts displayed in a 3D window with Show fill on horizons
checked

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Fig. 12.4: Fluid Contacts displayed in a 3D window with Show contact surfaces
checked

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Fig. 12.5: Fluid Contacts displayed in a 3D window with Show fill on horizons and
Show contact surfaces checked

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12.3 Visualizing the Contact in Map View

Map view is a window especially designed for creating scaled plots. The contacts
can be visualized in this window (and printed from this window as well, if desired).

To visualize contacts in map view, follow the steps:

1. Open a New Map Window from the Window menu.

2. Display one horizon from the 3D grid, say Top Ness as shown in Fig. 12.6.
3. Display the set of contacts to be visualized on top of this horizon, see Fig.12.7.

Fig. 12.6: Top Ness horizon displayed in a map view window

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Fig. 12.7: Top Ness horizon displayed in a map view window with the Gas Oil
Contact displayed

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Fig. 12.8: Top Ness horizon displayed in a map view window with both Gas Oil and
Oil Water Contacts displayed

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12.4 Visualizing the Contact as Property in 3D

This operation allows the user to create a property where the cells are given a
facies code according to their position related to the hydrocarbon contacts. This may
be a useful way of displaying the contacts. The generated contact property can also be
used as input for other property calculation, for instance in the Property Calculation,
or for filtering.

To visualize contacts in 3D, follow the steps:

1. Right click on one Contact set.

2. Select Settings.
3. In the Settings window, select the Operations tab, as shown in Fig. 12.9

Fig. 12.9: Settings for 'Contact Set' dialog box

4. In the “code above the highest contact” drop down box, select Gas Zone,
5. In the column Facies value below contact, specify: Oil Zone below the Gas
Oil Contact, and Water Zone below the Oil Water Contact.
6. Click Make Property. A new property model called Contacts will be added
inside the Properties folder in the Models tab. Click the OK button.
7. Uncheck the Contact Set under Fluid Contacts and check the Contacts
property. See Fig. 12. 10 and 12.11.

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Fig. 12.10: The Contacts property displayed in a 3D window

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Fig. 12.11: The Contacts property along with Contact Set displayed in a 3D window

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 To get a cross-sectional view of the model, visualize the property on a General
Intersection Plane and clip the plane in front or behind.

To visualize the property on a General Intersection Plane, follow the steps:

1. Right click the Intersections item in the Models tab,

2. Select the Insert General Intersection item from the drop down menu. See Fig.
12. 12.
3. Play the property using the available options in the General Intersection Player
toolbar with and without clipping the plane.

Now spend some time playing with the different options on the General Intersection
Player toolbar to get you familiar to using such capabilities.

Fig. 12.12: The Contacts property is visualized on a General Intersection Plane

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 13. Volume Calculation
Volumes are most commonly calculated in the Volume Calculation Process step.
Volumes can be calculated exactly within zones, segments and user defined
boundaries (e.g. License boundaries). The Contacts defined in the previous process
(Make Contact) are used as input to the Volume Calculation process.
Volume calculations can be performed using several hypotheses in one operation.
Each hypothesis is called a run. The user has the option to include an uncertainty
range for the contact level and create distribution functions based on this uncertainty
range.
The procedures for defining the set-up used for volume calculations are
straightforward but require that the user thoroughly check all the volume menus.
All settings related to the Volume Calculation process are found under the Volume
Calculation process window. The user will specify the type of output to generate (3D
properties, report, distribution functions) and which input to be used. Uncertainty
analysis can be done based on an uncertainty in the hydrocarbon contact level. If you
want to see the effect of different property models, then you should define several
Volume Runs, each using different inputs (such as property, contacts or boundary).
A report defined by the user will be created after the process has been run, listing all
the volumes per zone, per segment and/or per facies.
The user also has the option of creating a volume height maps (typically a HCPV or
STOJIP map).

13.1 Calculate a bulk volume above a contact

To calculate the bulk volume, follows the steps:

1. Open the Volume Calculation process, located in the Process Diagram.

2. Create a new case by clicking in the Create a new case and name it for
example HAH as shown in Fig. 13.1.
3. Specify Common Settings:

• Toggle on the Results tab to create and define which parameters to be

included in the report under Output tab. Toggle on Bulk volume both in the
Make property column as shown in Fig. 13.1 and in the in report column
which you can displayed in the Report Setting… as shown in Fig. 13.2,

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Fig. 13.1: Volume Calculation dialog show Make property tab under Results tab

Fig. 13.2: Report column which displayed from Report Setting

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• Specify Report settings. The Detail level defines the order of reporting. If
zone is level 1 and segment level 2 that means that the volume will be
reported for each segment in each zone as shown in Fig. 13.2,
• Define the Units of the reported numbers in the Volume format tab as shown
in Fig. 13.3,

Fig. 13.3: The Volume format for change the Units

• Contacts tab: Select ‘Hydrocarbon Interval(s): Oil and Gas’ and enter the gas-
oil contact and the oil-water contacts by first selecting them in the Fluid
Contacts folder and then clicking on the blue arrow as shown in Fig. 13.4,

Fig. 13.4: Contacts tab to select OWC&GOC

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• Under the Gen.Properties enter the general properties to be used. If you do not
have a N/G property in your project then use a constant value of 0.8 as shown
below,

• Under the Oil Zone Properties choose which Water saturation (Sw) property to
be used and enter the Bo 1.21. If you do not have a Sw properties in your
project then use a constant value of 0.3 as shown below,

• Under the Gas Zone Properties choose to use a constant Water Saturation and
enter Bg=0.0009 as shown below.

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4. Press OK to calculate the volumes.
5. A report will be created by pressing Run. Copy the entire report and then
click on Copy Open Excel ore another editor and select Paste from the Edit
menu as shown in Fig. 13.5.

Fig. 13.5: Report results of bulk volume property

6. Also you can display the results as chart in program like Excel as shown in
Fig. 13.6.

Bulk Rock Volume pr. segment

Segment 5 Segment 2 Segment 1 Segment 4 Segment 15

Segment 12 Segment 3 Segment 17 Segment 7 Segment 13

Segment 6 Segment 16 Segment 11 Segment 19 Segment 18

Segment 10 Segment 14 Segment 20 Segment 9 Segment 8

Fig. 13.6: Chart from Excel shown the bulk volume for all Segment

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13.2 Creating a STOIIP Map

A hydrocarbon column height map is the sum of all the values in the same X, Y
position. For instance, a STOIIP map will show the sum of STOIIP for every X, Y
position in the entire grid. It will therefore show you where to expect the highest
concentration of oil.

How you can create a STOIIP map:

• Close the report window,

• Open the Volume Calculation process. Use the same settings as define
previously but toggle on STOIIP as the Volume Height map to be created. If
you don’t want to regenerate the Bulk volume, you should toggle this option
off. You can toggle on the option “Overwrite existing properties” (in the lower
left part of the window) to not create all the same properties over again as
shown in Fig. 13.7,

Fig. 13.7: Dialog box shown where you should toggle to create a STOIIP map

• After running the process, the map will be placed in a folder in the bottom of
the Petrel Explorer Input tab as shown in Fig. 13.8.

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Fig. 13.8: The STOIIP MAP Displayed in a 3D Window

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13.3 Draping the STOIIP map on a depth surface

To draping the STOIIP map on a depth surface, you need to do the following
steps:

• Open the settings for the Top Tarbert horizon, found under the Horizons folder
under 3D Grid (DC) in the Petrel Explorer Models tab. Under the Output tab,
select ‘Make Surface’. The generated surface will be stored under the Input
tab in the Petrel Explorer as shown in Fig. 13.9,

Fig. 13.9: The Settings dialog box of Top Tarbert under Horizons folder

• Open the Settings for the generated Top Tarbert depth surface. Under Style tab
>Solid> Color choose 'Textured'. Select the STOIIP map by clicking on it in
the Petrel Explorer input tab (make it bold) and enter it into the
'Surface/image/Seismic' position by clicking on the blue arrow 1 as shown in
Fig. 13.10,

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 Fig. 13.10: Settings for generated Top Tarbert showing in dialog box

• Press OK,
• Display the Top Tarbert depth surface to see the STOIIP map draped over it.
Remember that you are now draping the STOIIP map for all zones on to the
Top Tarbert surface as shown in Fig. 13.11.

Fig. 13.11: STOIIP map draped over Top Tarbert depth surface

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