Lisa Stright | Colorado State University
The Impact of Bed- to Geobody-Architecture on Subsurface Reservoir Modeling: Testing Hypotheses Based on Outcrop Observations
Abstract:
Exploration-scale reservoir modeling workflows are typically performed at scale significantly larger than the bed- and geobody-scale observed in outcrops and core. Furthermore, there is a significant gap between the scale architecture that impacts fluid flow and that which is interpretable in subsurface seismic responses. Outcrop modeling studies, designed to investigate realistic heterogeneity, are often limited in direct application to subsurface modeling workflows. This research presents outcrop-constrained bed- to geobody-scale models (i.e., grid cells 2 m areally and 0.25 m vertically) to elucidate the fundamental impact of deep-water channel element architecture on fluid flow and seismic responses in the subsurface. Models are constructed from the Laguna Figueroa section of the well-exposed Upper Cretaceous Tres Pasos Formation in Chilean Patagonia. The models are based on observations and statistical analyses from > 1,600 meters of cm-scale measured section from an ~2.5 km long by 130 m thick outcrop belt. Fluid flow and seismic amplitude responses from a single channel element model are compared to those from a model composed of two stacked channel elements. This simplified approach fosters the ability to differentiate influences of stacking patterns from changes in internal architecture on connectivity and imaging.
Biography: Lisa Stright
Lisa Stright is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Geosciences at Colorado State University. She received a B.S. degree in civil/environmental engineering from the University of Colorado, Boulder, a M.S. degree in geological engineering from Michigan Technological University, a M.S. in Petroleum Engineering and a Ph.D. in Interdisciplinary Geosciences, both from Stanford University. Prior to receiving the Ph.D., she worked as a geomodeler and reservoir engineer with (RC)2/VeritasDGC and Denver-based consulting company, MHA Petroleum Consultants. Her research interests are in deep-water sedimentology, reservoir characterization and modeling, and reservoir engineering. She enjoys bridging the gap between engineering and geosciences through research, teaching and outreach. She is a co-PI of the Chile Slope Systems consortium which focuses on architectural analysis and modeling of deep-water reservoirs using world-class outcrops in Patagonia, Chile and British Columbia, Canada.