You are on page 1of 178

Petrel E&P Software Platform 2013

Whats New Guide

Copyright 1998-2013 Schlumberger. All rights reserved.


This work contains the confidential and proprietary trade secrets of Schlumberger and may not be copied or stored
in an information retrieval system, transferred, used, distributed, translated or retransmitted in any form or by any
means, electronic or mechanical, in whole or in part, without the express written permission of the copyright
owner.

Trademarks & Service Marks


Schlumberger, the Schlumberger logotype, and other words or symbols used to identify the products and services
described herein are either trademarks, trade names or service marks of Schlumberger and its licensors, or are the
property of their respective owners. These marks may not be copied, imitated or used, in whole or in part, without
the express prior written permission of Schlumberger. In addition, covers, page headers, custom graphics, icons,
and other design elements may be service marks, trademarks, and/or trade dress of Schlumberger, and may not be
copied, imitated, or used, in whole or in part, without the express prior written permission of Schlumberger. Other
company, product, and service names are the properties of their respective owners.

Petrel Platform Whats New Guide 2013

Schlumberger Private Customer Use

An asterisk (*) is used throughout this document to designate a mark of Schlumberger.

27 August 2013

Contents
Welcome to Petrel 2013 ..........................................................................................................................12
Structural Framework .............................................................................................................................13
2013.2 .......................................................................................................................................................13
Volume Based Modeling Method ..................................................................................................................... 13
Solution for Construction of Complex Structural Models in Petrel................................................................... 13
Ability to handle complex fault networks ......................................................................................................... 14
Modeling of geological sequences: ................................................................................................................. 15
Sparse data handling ...................................................................................................................................... 15
Proportional layering ....................................................................................................................................... 16
Fast model update .......................................................................................................................................... 16
QC Manager ....................................................................................................................................................... 17

Structural and Fault Analysis ................................................................................................................18


2013.1 .......................................................................................................................................................18
Fault plane diagram view.................................................................................................................................. 18
Structural framework fault tools ...................................................................................................................... 18
Asperity identifier ............................................................................................................................................ 18
Edge detection ................................................................................................................................................ 19
Pillar fault tools ................................................................................................................................................ 19
Grid permeability modification......................................................................................................................... 19
Fault permeability prediction: user-defined relationship .................................................................................. 19
Seismic horizon interpretation, point and surface data ................................................................................ 19
Distance to failure on points............................................................................................................................ 19
Isochore gradient ............................................................................................................................................ 19

Geophysics .............................................................................................................................................20
2013.2 .......................................................................................................................................................20
MultiZ Interpretation.......................................................................................................................................... 20
Triangle Mesh ................................................................................................................................................. 24
Interval velocity maps ....................................................................................................................................... 26
Seismic Reconstruction 2D ........................................................................................................................... 28
Unconformity handling .................................................................................................................................... 28
Seismic Compression ....................................................................................................................................... 30
Compressed ZGY Cube.................................................................................................................................. 30
SEG-Y 2D Toolbox............................................................................................................................................. 31
Petrel Platform Whats New Guide 2013

27 August 2013

Schlumberger Private Customer Use

Thin layer handling.......................................................................................................................................... 16

Seismic Well Tie ................................................................................................................................................ 31


Sonic Calibration > Polynomial fit ................................................................................................................... 31
Synthetic Generation > Time varying wavelet................................................................................................. 33
Wavelet Toolbox > Wavelet Average .............................................................................................................. 37
Log Conditioning Behavioral Change ............................................................................................................. 38
Draw ............................................................................................................................................................... 38

2013.1 .......................................................................................................................................................39
SEG-Y 2D Toolbox............................................................................................................................................. 39
Horizon Autotracking ........................................................................................................................................ 42
Simplified GUI ................................................................................................................................................. 42
Augmented Tracking Algorithm ....................................................................................................................... 43
Dip Variation ................................................................................................................................................... 44
3D Snap .......................................................................................................................................................... 45
Seeds/Locking ................................................................................................................................................ 45
Meta Data ........................................................................................................................................................... 46
Meta Data Tab ................................................................................................................................................ 46
Survey Manager.............................................................................................................................................. 47
Composite Lines ............................................................................................................................................... 48
Automatic Creation for Non-Intersecting Sections .......................................................................................... 48
User-Defined Creation for Non-Intersecting Sections ..................................................................................... 48
Seismic Calculator ............................................................................................................................................ 49
Access to Index (i,j,k) ...................................................................................................................................... 49
Chained Expressions ...................................................................................................................................... 49
Multi-Threaded ................................................................................................................................................ 49
Inspector Updates ............................................................................................................................................. 49
Increased Horizon and Fault-Interpretation Support ....................................................................................... 49
Geobody Interpretation..................................................................................................................................... 50
New Ray Casting Engine ................................................................................................................................ 50
Improved Visual Quality .................................................................................................................................. 51
Full Resolution Extraction ............................................................................................................................... 51
Extract beyond Probe Boundaries .................................................................................................................. 52
Leveraging the GPU and Scales..................................................................................................................... 52
Required Hardware Graphics Card .............................................................................................................. 53
Optimal Microsoft Windows Environment ....................................................................................................... 53
Light Tool ........................................................................................................................................................... 54

Petrel Platform Whats New Guide 2013

27 August 2013

Schlumberger Private Customer Use

Wavelet Correlation ........................................................................................................................................ 44

Typical Usage ................................................................................................................................................. 54


Light Tool Features ......................................................................................................................................... 55
General Depth Conversion ............................................................................................................................... 55
Volume Attributes ............................................................................................................................................. 56
3D Edge Enhancement ................................................................................................................................... 56
Grey-Level Co-Occurrence Matrix (GLCM)..................................................................................................... 59
Log Conditioning............................................................................................................................................... 61
Seismic Well Tie ................................................................................................................................................ 61
Track Manager ................................................................................................................................................ 61
Seismic Track ................................................................................................................................................. 62
Copy from Template ....................................................................................................................................... 63
Simultaneous Display of Time and Depth Tracks in Default Templates ......................................................... 64
Interval Velocity Manipulation ......................................................................................................................... 65
QC Interval Velocities ..................................................................................................................................... 65
Any log as input for RC calculation ................................................................................................................. 66
Correlation Tab ............................................................................................................................................... 66
Reflection Coefficient Modeling ...................................................................................................................... 67
Correlation Track ............................................................................................................................................ 68
Wavelet Toolbox ............................................................................................................................................. 68
Integrated Seismic Well Tie Single template................................................................................................ 70
Color Table Enhancements .............................................................................................................................. 71
Local Legends................................................................................................................................................. 71
Minimum and Maximum Color Template Settings .......................................................................................... 72
Global Seismic Color Table Template Enhancements.................................................................................... 73

Geology ...................................................................................................................................................74
2013.2 .......................................................................................................................................................74
Multiple LAS Importer ....................................................................................................................................... 74
Map-based volume calculation surface uncertainty ................................................................................... 75
Stratigraphic chart duplicate column/copy zone ........................................................................................ 76
Well labeling trajectory point ........................................................................................................................ 76
Fault modeling................................................................................................................................................... 77

2013.1 .......................................................................................................................................................77
Map-based Volume Calculation ....................................................................................................................... 77
Process Dialog ................................................................................................................................................ 78
Reporting ........................................................................................................................................................ 78

Petrel Platform Whats New Guide 2013

27 August 2013

Schlumberger Private Customer Use

Synthetic Generation Process: ....................................................................................................................... 65

Workflow Editor ............................................................................................................................................... 78


Stratigraphic Charts .......................................................................................................................................... 78
Chart Tree ....................................................................................................................................................... 79
Spreadsheet.................................................................................................................................................... 79
Display ............................................................................................................................................................ 80
Well Labeling ..................................................................................................................................................... 80
Rotation .......................................................................................................................................................... 80
Background ..................................................................................................................................................... 80
Geology Inspectors ........................................................................................................................................... 81
Well Header Latitude and Longitude ............................................................................................................... 83
Time-Series Logs .............................................................................................................................................. 84
Time-Series Logs Supported in Vertical Tracks .............................................................................................. 85
Well Log Attributes ........................................................................................................................................... 87
Well Tops Filtering ............................................................................................................................................ 88
Example Filtering Settings .............................................................................................................................. 89
True Horizontal Length Index........................................................................................................................... 91
Well Usability ..................................................................................................................................................... 91
Coloring by Attributes...................................................................................................................................... 91
Using Folders in the Log Calculator ................................................................................................................ 92
User Defined Patterns ....................................................................................................................................... 92

Well Section Window ..............................................................................................................................93


2013.1 .......................................................................................................................................................93
Enhanced Cross Sections Object .................................................................................................................... 93
Creating X-sections......................................................................................................................................... 93
Configuring X-section Style Settings in a 2D or Map Window ........................................................................ 94
Opening a Well Section Window..................................................................................................................... 95

Exploration Geology ...............................................................................................................................99


2013.2 .......................................................................................................................................................99
Petroleum Systems 1D and 3D .......................................................................................................................100
Lithology Database ........................................................................................................................................100
Invasion Percolation Simulations now visible in Petrel ..................................................................................100
Separation of Ages and facies table into chronostratigraphic column and facies definition table ................100

Property Modeling ................................................................................................................................102


2013.1 .....................................................................................................................................................102
Data Analysis....................................................................................................................................................102

Petrel Platform Whats New Guide 2013

27 August 2013

Schlumberger Private Customer Use

Coloring Time-Series Logs ............................................................................................................................. 87

Enhanced Variogram Analysis .......................................................................................................................102


Petrophysical modeling ...................................................................................................................................103
Property Modeling with Nested Variogram.....................................................................................................103
Workflow Editor................................................................................................................................................104
Multiple 3D Grids Handling Scenarios Uncertainty .....................................................................................104
Object Variable Enhancements .....................................................................................................................105
Reference List Enhancements .......................................................................................................................106
Facies Conditioning Variable Enablement .....................................................................................................106
MIP for Facies Modeling ................................................................................................................................107
Object Modeling ...............................................................................................................................................108
Body Shape Enhancements ..........................................................................................................................108
Reporting Enhancements ..............................................................................................................................109
Seismic Resampling Performance Enhancement ..........................................................................................110
Model Extraction from Inside Polygons .........................................................................................................110
Make Thickness/Proportion Maps Operation ................................................................................................111
Facies Probabilities Calculation .....................................................................................................................112
Modeling Processes Active 3D Grid Switching .............................................................................................112
Inspector for Properties...................................................................................................................................112
Model-Dependent Default Variogram Ranges Switch ...................................................................................113

Fracture Modeling .................................................................................................................................114


2013.2 .....................................................................................................................................................114
Geomechanical method ...................................................................................................................................114
Geomechanically-based driver for constraining fracture modeling in Petrel ..................................................114
Comparison of data and computed fractures .................................................................................................115
Computing map of fractures trend orientation ................................................................................................115
Discrete Fracture Network .............................................................................................................................116
Workflow illustration .......................................................................................................................................117
Main Benefits of the Geomechanically-Based DFN Driver ...........................................................................118
Classical fracture analysis .............................................................................................................................118
Geomechanically-based approach ................................................................................................................118

Well Design ...........................................................................................................................................120


2013.1 .....................................................................................................................................................120
Well Plan Inspector ..........................................................................................................................................120
Style Tab........................................................................................................................................................120
Constrained 3D Editor Tab ............................................................................................................................121

Petrel Platform Whats New Guide 2013

27 August 2013

Schlumberger Private Customer Use

Geometrical Modeling ......................................................................................................................................110

Importing Data from COMPASSTM EDM File ..................................................................................................121


Importing Survey Options ...............................................................................................................................121
EDM Data Index Item Manager ........................................................................................................................123
WITSML Risks Importing for Multiple Wells ..................................................................................................124

Production .............................................................................................................................................126
2013.2 .....................................................................................................................................................126
New Production Analytics ...............................................................................................................................126
Production Bubble Mapping Process .............................................................................................................126
Production Mapping Process .........................................................................................................................126
Production Track for Well Section Windows ..................................................................................................127
Split Set and Split Set Manager .....................................................................................................................127
OFM Data Connector........................................................................................................................................128
Import Well Annotations with the OFM Data Connector ................................................................................129
Support Full Flow Path in VFP Simulation .....................................................................................................129
Support Gas Separator and Viscosity Correction in ESP ............................................................................130
Import Well Location from PIPESIM if the Well Location is Defined in GIS ................................................130

Well Deliverability .................................................................................................................................131


2013.1 .....................................................................................................................................................131
Flow Correlation Data Matching .....................................................................................................................131
Inflow Performance Relationship (IPR) ..........................................................................................................131
User-Defined IPR Model ................................................................................................................................131
Calculated IPR Variables from Well Test Data ..............................................................................................131
Vertical Flow Performance (VFP) ....................................................................................................................132
VFP Workflow Step Enabled..........................................................................................................................132
VFP in Uncertainty and Optimization .............................................................................................................132
VFP for Injector Wells ....................................................................................................................................132
Support for Electric Submersible Pump ESP .................................................................................................132
Set Plan as Active Work Step..........................................................................................................................133

Reservoir Engineering..........................................................................................................................134
2013.2 .....................................................................................................................................................134
Changes to INTERSECT Support in Petrel.....................................................................................................134
Correct specification by Petrel of valve pipe diameters may result in changes to the frictional pressure
drop ...................................................................................................................................................................134
Unrecognized summary results are now visible in the Results pane .........................................................135
Improvements to the reference valve calculation when converting to simulation design ........................135

Petrel Platform Whats New Guide 2013

27 August 2013

Schlumberger Private Customer Use

Import Completion Level Data with the OFM Data Connector .......................................................................128

2013.1 .....................................................................................................................................................135
Behavioral Changes .........................................................................................................................................135
VFP Tables with GRAT ALQ Type Unit Measurement ..................................................................................135
Non-midnight Time Steps in Existing Projects ...............................................................................................135
Pressure Equivalent Radius r0 Exported for OPEN Connections Only ..........................................................136
Longer Lines Written to ECLIPSE Deck Files ................................................................................................136
Change of Default Number of Rows in Capillary Pressure Tables in Make Rock Physics.............................136
License Module Changes ..............................................................................................................................137
Performance Improvements ............................................................................................................................137
Documentation .................................................................................................................................................138
Results Charting and Analysis .......................................................................................................................138
New Plotting Data Options .............................................................................................................................138

Option ....................................................................................................................................................139
Produces ...............................................................................................................................................139
Well Player .....................................................................................................................................................139
Case Player ...................................................................................................................................................140
Charting Window Inspector ............................................................................................................................140
Sliding Sleeve and FCV Simulation ................................................................................................................142
Import of Historical Sliding Sleeve Data from New File Format .....................................................................142
Sliding Sleeve Device Control Data File Format ............................................................................................143
Sliding Sleeve History Development Strategy Rule .......................................................................................144
Connection Factor Enhancements .................................................................................................................145
Connection Factor Calculation Options..........................................................................................................145
Visualizing Well Connection Properties .........................................................................................................146
Capillary Pressure and Relative Permeability Tables ...................................................................................147
Independent Creation and Editing .................................................................................................................147
Change of Default Number of Rows in Capillary Pressure Tables.................................................................147
Enhanced ECLIPSE Deck Import and Export ................................................................................................147
Header Information Written to all ECLIPSE Deck Files .................................................................................147
Support for SKIP/ENDSKIP Keywords......................................................................................................147
Support for PATHS Keyword .........................................................................................................................148

Support for Non-Darcy Flow Forchheimer Correction ....................................................................................148


Precision Changes for Keyword Export .........................................................................................................148
Numeric Precision in Templates ....................................................................................................................148
Controlling Numeric Precision for Export .......................................................................................................148

Petrel Platform Whats New Guide 2013

27 August 2013

Schlumberger Private Customer Use

Splitting Options .............................................................................................................................................139

Templates Used by ECLIPSE Keywords .......................................................................................................149


Field Management ............................................................................................................................................155
Drag and Drop Modes in the Field Management Dialog ................................................................................155
Entering an Expression as Text .....................................................................................................................156
Creating a Region List for a 3D Property .......................................................................................................156
Field Management Options ............................................................................................................................156
Support for INTERSECT Workflows ...............................................................................................................157
Support for Temperature vs. Depth Tables (TEMPVD) in INTERSECT ........................................................157
Modeling Fault Threshold Pressure ...............................................................................................................157

Studio.....................................................................................................................................................159
2013.2 .....................................................................................................................................................159
Studio Database Compatibility .......................................................................................................................159
Option to enable/disable Seismic image generation during transfer ..........................................................160
Support of Raster Logs ...................................................................................................................................161
Enabling Well Tops Folder Synchronization Status .....................................................................................161
Re-parenting of seismic interpretation ..........................................................................................................161

2013.1 .....................................................................................................................................................162
Studio Installer .................................................................................................................................................162
Find....................................................................................................................................................................162
Saved Selection .............................................................................................................................................162
User defined search result hierarchy .............................................................................................................163
Favorites ........................................................................................................................................................164
General ..............................................................................................................................................................164
Importing and Exporting Shape Files .............................................................................................................164
Map Service preview......................................................................................................................................164
Support for URLs in the Inspector ..................................................................................................................165

Framework.............................................................................................................................................166
2013.2 .....................................................................................................................................................166
Spline/Linear interpolation switch for opacity curve ....................................................................................166
Rendering geo-referenced images in geographic space..............................................................................167

General ..................................................................................................................................................168
2013.2 .....................................................................................................................................................168
CRS Consolidation ...........................................................................................................................................168
Restructured Tools menu...............................................................................................................................168

2013.1 .....................................................................................................................................................168

Petrel Platform Whats New Guide 2013

10

27 August 2013

Schlumberger Private Customer Use

Original CRS .....................................................................................................................................................159

User Interface ...................................................................................................................................................168


Help Center ....................................................................................................................................................169
Display ...........................................................................................................................................................170
Selection Synchronization to Data Tree .........................................................................................................170
Activation Follows Selection ..........................................................................................................................171
Process-Dependent Window Activation Removed.........................................................................................172
Visualization of Points and Polygons ............................................................................................................172
New Point and Polygon Rendering ................................................................................................................172
Point and Polygon Editing Tools ....................................................................................................................172
System Enhancements ....................................................................................................................................173
Startup Optimization ......................................................................................................................................173
Installation Progress ......................................................................................................................................174
Version Identifier ............................................................................................................................................175
Coordinate Reference System (CRS) .............................................................................................................176
CRS Consolidation.........................................................................................................................................176
Upgraded ESRI Projection Engine..................................................................................................................177

Petrel Platform Whats New Guide 2013

11

27 August 2013

Schlumberger Private Customer Use

Memory Monitoring ........................................................................................................................................174

Welcome to Petrel 2013


Finding, characterizing, and exploiting new and existing reservoirs is increasingly complex. To overcome these
challenges, we must continually improve and innovate the way we work. With the Petrel* E&P Software Platform,
Schlumberger revolutionized the oil and gas industry by bringing disciplines together with best-in-class science in
an unparalleled productivity environment.
Our commitment to Petrel resulted in dramatic strides forward in the way we develop and deliver a software
platform, and with the Petrel 2013 Platform and Update releases, we continue to deliver on our promise of better
integration, deep science, and productivity. Today we support an engineering team unrivalled in size and expertise,
empowered by the Ocean software development framework. More than ever before, we are positioned to help you
develop critical insights into reservoirs throughout the oilfield lifecycle.

Documentation for all prior Petrel releases is available from the Schlumberger Information Solutions (SIS) Support
Portal.

Petrel Platform Whats New Guide 2013

12

27 August 2013

Schlumberger Private Customer Use

Refer to the companion documents, Petrel E&P Software Platform 2013 Release Notes and Petrel E&P Software
Platform 2013 Installation Guide, for information on licensing and system requirements.

Structural Framework
2013.2
Petrel 2013.2 is introducing a new algorithm for creating horizons in Structural Framework models. This method
complements the legacy methods called Fault Centre Grid Dislocation (FGD) and Multi Patch Interpolator (MPI)
introduced in Petrel 2010 and 2011 respectively.

Volume Based Modeling Method


Solution for Construction of Complex Structural Models in Petrel

The process for creating such models is conceptually simple: first, a fully unstructured faulted 3D mesh is built from
a watertight representation of the fault network, then a volume attribute representing the stratigraphic age of the
formations is interpolated on this mesh, once this calculation is completed, iso-surfaces of the attribute which
correspond to the location of the original input data points are extracted as horizons in the Structural framework
and a zone model is computed; this yields a volume representation of geological layers.
Figure 1. Stages in the construction of a Volume based model (VBM)

Input Data

Create background
volume model

Petrel Platform Whats New Guide 2013

Compute background
stratigraphy property

13

Extract horizons from


volume

Build zone model

27 August 2013

Schlumberger Private Customer Use

Volume Based Modeling (VBM) technology revolves around the concept of implicit modeling*. The main idea
behind this technique is to model directly volumes (the geological layers) rather than surfaces (horizons that are
bounding these layers). In order to enforce the geological consistency of the created models another key element is
built into this technology: it guarantees that the variations of dip and thickness of the created geological layers are
minimized, while all seismic and well data are properly honored. It basically integrates all information (well tops,
interpretation, and control points) at once and provides a geologically consistent global representation of the subsurface.

The VBM horizon method incorporates a set of robust and innovative algorithms which are designed to approach
the construction of complex structural geologic settings. This translates, for users, into the ability to create realistic
models without needing to be concerned by the structural complexity found in many of the challenging reservoir
modeling environments including, fault configurations with crossing (X), synthetic/antithetic (Y), lambda, reverse or
low-angle thrusts and overturned structures; non-conformable stratigraphy (presence of multiple unconformities
forming complex truncation patterns). The robustness of the algorithm is also independent from the quality
(presence of noise, misinterpreted reflectors) and scarcity of data.
Figure 2. Volume Based Modeling (VBM) examples of compressional and extensional models
Fault network

Built horizon(s)

Built zones

Extensional**

Compressional

** Physical (sandbox) models courtesy Fault Dynamics Research Group, Royal Holloway University of London.
*** Seismic data supplied by Geosciences Australia

Ability to handle complex fault networks


Because it is fully three-dimensional (3D), the VBM method is nearly insensitive to the complexity of the fault
network and enables accurate construction of very complex structural reservoir models.

Petrel Platform Whats New Guide 2013

14

27 August 2013

Schlumberger Private Customer Use

Extensional***

Figure 3. Examples various structural scenarios - built using VBM

Extensional structure**

Compressional Structure

Extensional structure***

** Physical (sandbox) models courtesy Fault Dynamics Research Group, Royal Holloway University of London.
*** Seismic data supplied by Geosciences Australia

All conformable horizons belonging to a macro-layer are treated as a single conformable sequence. These are then
modeled simultaneously by VBM; as several iso-values of the same implicit attribute. This approach prevents
situations of horizons crossing each other, which is a common problem with surface-based modeling techniques
especially in cases of thinly layered reservoir.
Figure 4. Conformable sequence modeling using VBM
Z

H1
H2
H3

As all of the horizons are contained within a single 'conformable sequence', the geometry of each final horizon is
constrained by all input horizons, without the need for using isochore or isopach modelling.

Sparse data handling


All horizons within a defined geological sequence are conformable to each other using the VBM algorithm. A
single data-point (e.g., a well top) can be used to define a horizon in a sequence and is enough to control the
thickness between this horizon and other horizons, located both above and below. Therefore, VBM presents the
ability to construct consistent models whose only input may be a single seismic horizon interpretation (or even no
seismic interpretation at all) and a sequence of sparse data points or 2D lines; without the need for explicitly
computing thickness maps. As computation of the iso-stratigraphic property field accounts for the geometry of all
horizons, is continuous across the Structural framework, discontinuous across faults, and is such that it minimizes
variations of dip and thicknesses, it will naturally produce horizons that fit all input data points, that preserve the
integrity of the stratigraphic column, that yields consistent thicknesses and fault displacements.

Petrel Platform Whats New Guide 2013

15

27 August 2013

Schlumberger Private Customer Use

Modeling of geological sequences:

Proportional layering
Using the Volume Based Modeling method to create a new proportional/conformable horizon means simply
extracting an additional iso-surface of the implicit function. Because the iso-stratigraphic property is designed to
be discontinuous across faults, it automatically calculates the correct fault throw amount needed. This means that
complex faulting is no longer a problem when attempting to calculate consistent thicknesses across them.
Moreover, thickness discrepancies and/or variations that are commonly seen across faults, often as a result of
calculating isochores from well-tops, can now be avoided as the calculation of an isochore map is no longer a
mandatory requirement. Instead calculation of consistent stratigraphic reservoir thickness this can easily be carried
out by adding a single well top (or a 2D seismic interpretation) to define the new proportional layer.
Figure 5. Simple scenario (A) and scenario complicated by faults (B)

Fast model update


The Two Steps modeling workflow includes:
Fast generation and update of coarse scale model, allowing interpretation issues to be fixed.
Refinement and zone creation, once satisfactory quality has been achieved

Thin layer handling


The VBM method now allows building thinly layered reservoir models and incorporating all geological zones
identified form well data into the Stair Step Grid.

Petrel Platform Whats New Guide 2013

16

27 August 2013

Schlumberger Private Customer Use

A. Simple scenario: The intermediate horizons can be easily extracted from the iso-stratigraphy property
generated using only two input horizons, no isochore/isopach workflow required.
B. Scenario complicated by faults where isochore computation is not straight forward: The intermediate
horizons can easily be extracted from the iso-stratigraphy using the same workflow as in simple scenario.
No extra input/work required.

QC Manager
A new tool allowing QC of the quality of the fault interpretation prior to the construction of the horizon surfaces
has been introduced.
Structural Framework QC Manager is a tool designed to identify algorithmic and intersection failures in the Fault
framework model of the Structural framework. The new tool presents all of the identified error information that is
associated with each problem (reported by Fault Validation and/or Horizon Modeling) and presents them in a
user friendly spreadsheet format.
The Fault validation process can be found by using the right mouse button menu on the Faults folder of Structural
framework in model tree (or directly on a fault in the 3D window).
Figure 6. Access to the validate fault model process

Figure 7. QC Manager Window

Petrel Platform Whats New Guide 2013

17

27 August 2013

Schlumberger Private Customer Use

The fault validation can be performed at any point during the fault modeling. For example, when the fault network
is very complex and represented by more than 50 or few hundred faults, then validator can be run several times,
during or after major faults modeling and after adding all minor faults.

Structural and Fault Analysis


2013.1
The 2013 release brings new features and improvements in the following areas of structural and fault analysis:
Structural framework fault tools
Pillar faults tools
Seismic horizon interpretation, point and surface data
There is now quick access to all operations on faults (structural framework and pillar grid), seismic horizon
interpretations, surfaces and points from the right-hand mouse button. This functionality is available from within
3D windows and from the data objects in the Input and Models panes.

This new functionality is available through the right-hand mouse button on an individual structural framework
fault, pillar grid fault or stairstep fault (in the Models pane or the 3D window). When selected, a new 3D window
opens and the fault of interest is displayed in a fixed orientation normal to the general fault strike. All calculated
fault properties can be displayed in this view.

Structural framework fault tools


Asperity identifier
The operation highlights areas of rapid 3D geometric
variation on structural framework faults. The fault
asperities and asperity corridors properties highlight
potential relay zones on continuous mapped faults.

Petrel Platform Whats New Guide 2013

18

27 August 2013

Schlumberger Private Customer Use

Fault plane diagram view

Edge detection
The edge detection operation has been improved
on structural framework faults. The edge detection
property provides fault interpretation quality checks
and indicates potential relay zones and fault
intersections.

Pillar fault tools


Grid permeability modification

Fault permeability prediction: user-defined relationship


A flexible user-defined fault permeability property is provided for the calculation of fault transmissibilities,
transmissibility multipliers and potential flow indicators. The fault permeability is specified in relation to two
predefined fault properties. The relationship between the resulting fault permeability and the two input fault
properties is defined via a standard Petrel surface.

Seismic horizon interpretation, point and surface data


Distance to failure on points
A MohrCoulomb failure criterion can now be applied to assess the potential for failure on points based on an
applied far-field stress. The operation returns a distance to failure property.

Isochore gradient
The existing isochore operation on horizon interpretations and
surfaces has been extended to also calculate the isochore
gradient. This property can provide a clearer indication of
inconsistencies in the data.

Petrel Platform Whats New Guide 2013

19

27 August 2013

Schlumberger Private Customer Use

The grid permeability property can be modified to model


the impact of distributed deformation or fractures around
larger-scale modeled faults. A more accurate
representation of the zone of deformation has now been
included.

Geophysics
2013.2
MultiZ Interpretation
You can now create a MultiZ interpretation object, which can handle MultiZ interpretation values. The MultiZ
interpretation workflow is part of the Seismic interpretation process. Interpretation is done on 2D lines, inlines,
crosslines, random lines in 3D window or a traditional 2D interpretation window. MultiZ interpretation can be
created and stored in an Interpretation folder in the Input tab.
Figure 8. MultiZ interpretation in the Interpretation window (Data courtesy of WesternGeco Multi Client services)

Schlumberger Private Customer Use

Petrel Platform Whats New Guide 2013

20

27 August 2013

Figure 9. MultiZ interpretation in 3D window (Data courtesy of WesternGeco Multi Client services)

Figure 10. Normals QC (Data courtesy of WesternGeco Multi Client services)

The MultiZ interpretation is a manual process. However, a user can snap a secondary MultiZ interpretation to the
primary one while interpreting. The ability to snap helps to avoid vertical mismatches at the crossing point of the
same MultiZ interpretation interpreted, e.g., on INL and XLN.
The following example represents the same MultiZ interpretation that is interpreted on INL and XLN. The higher
intersection point is not snapped and creates a vertical mismatch at the crossing point. The lower crossing point is
snapped and has one value.

Petrel Platform Whats New Guide 2013

21

27 August 2013

Schlumberger Private Customer Use

Normals are represented by vectors on each MultiZ interpretation point showing the direction of an object
(inwards, outwards). QC normals option is the part of the data QC and can be used for checking the normals
consistency. The following example represents a top salt interpretation, where the normals are inconsistent in the
central portion of the points set. Red points show that a MultiZ interpretation has the normals downwards when
they should be upwards.

Figure 11. Snapping (Data courtesy of WesternGeco Multi Client services)

Petrel Platform Whats New Guide 2013

22

27 August 2013

Schlumberger Private Customer Use

Apart from the commonly used arithmetic-, replace-, eliminate-, etc., operations, MultiZ interpretation has
additional operations in the Seismic operations folder. These operations allow being able to assign normals or
create new MultiZ interpretation by using other type of data.

Figure 12. Seismic operations

Schlumberger Private Customer Use

Final MultiZ interpretation can be used to create a triangle mesh.

Petrel Platform Whats New Guide 2013

23

27 August 2013

Figure 13. MultiZ interpretations (Data courtesy of WesternGeco Multi Client services)

Triangle mesh represents a triangulated surface which can be created from a MultiZ interpretation. You can now
create the triangle mesh from the MultiZ interpretation object. The option is available through the Settings/
Meshing tab on the MultiZ interpretation.

Petrel Platform Whats New Guide 2013

24

27 August 2013

Schlumberger Private Customer Use

Triangle Mesh

Figure 14. Meshing tab

Schlumberger Private Customer Use

There are three modes available, depending on the resolution of a MultiZ interpretation. A new triangle mesh will
be created and stored in a Triangle Meshes folder in the Input tab.

Petrel Platform Whats New Guide 2013

25

27 August 2013

Figure 15. Triangle Meshes folder in the Input tree

A multi z values triangle mesh created from multi z values interpretation, as well as a single z value triangle
mesh can be integrated within a Structural Framework using the WesternGeco Seismic Velocity Modeling plug-in.
This enables to build velocity models to be consumed by imaging workflows.
Figure 16. Triangle meshes (Data courtesy of WesternGeco Multi Client services)

Schlumberger Private Customer Use

Interval velocity maps


You can now create Interval velocity maps for the existing velocity model. These output maps can be used for the
QC purpose.
The Interval velocity maps option now is available from the Settings for an output Velocity model, Operations
tab/Velocity conversion folder/Interval velocity maps.

Petrel Platform Whats New Guide 2013

26

27 August 2013

Figure 17. Operations tab for the velocity model

Schlumberger Private Customer Use

This option creates an interval velocity map for each zone in the velocity model. An Output Interval velocity map for
each layer is stored under the output velocity model, under the Horizons in the Models tab.

Petrel Platform Whats New Guide 2013

27

27 August 2013

Figure 18. Output Interval velocity maps

Seismic Reconstruction 2D
Unconformity handling
The seismic reconstruction 2D process now allows you to define the geological type of horizons in order to handle
unconformities such as erosional surfaces, resulting in chronostratigraphic displays of seismic sections.
The geo-mechanically based seismic reconstruction 2D process now allows you to define the geological type of the
input horizons/surfaces through the stratigraphy column in the Reconstruction 2D process or in the settings of an
existing reconstruction model. The types of horizons/surfaces that can be defined are Conformable, Erosional,
Discontinuous and Base.

Petrel Platform Whats New Guide 2013

28

27 August 2013

Schlumberger Private Customer Use

If you have run the velocity map on a particular model once and later rebuilt the model (select Apply in the Make
velocity model dialog), the maps are rebuilt automatically.

Figure 19. New options to define the stratigraphy type of the input horizons in the Settings
for the reconstruction model or in the Reconstruction 2D process

Schlumberger Private Customer Use

Petrel Platform Whats New Guide 2013

29

27 August 2013

With the option to flatten on one or more horizons of different types, you can now generate chronostratigraphic
displays of seismic sections.
Figure 20. Seismic reconstruction of complex geology leading to chronostratigraphic sections
(data courtesy of Geoscience Australia)

Compressed ZGY Cube


A process launched from the context menu of a ZGY volume will allow you to compress the volume. The
compression is a lossy method, and will be governed by the compression-noise level that you allow the operation
to introduce.
The compression process for ZGY cubes only requires one parameter as an input: the Signal to Quantization Noise
Ratio (SQNR, with dB unit). The Noise mentioned here is not the one contained within the original seismic
volume (cf. acquisition/processing noise), but the one that would be introduced by the compression algorithm itself.
A high SQNR implies low compression factor, and vice versa. A relationship between the latter and the
compression factor can be estimated from within the dialog of the process (see the following information).
The function (cf. compression factor = f(SQNR)) is unique per seismic cube and is sensitive to the nature of the
seismic signal (e.g., whether you have a large amount of heterogeneity in the signal/amplitude/wavelet, or
whether the reflectors are homogeneous. Seismic volumes with high information content will compress less well
than volumes with lower information content, given the same SQNR setting.
You then need to adjust the compression process based on the workflow (e.g., Structural Interpretation vs.
Quantitative Interpretation).

Petrel Platform Whats New Guide 2013

30

27 August 2013

Schlumberger Private Customer Use

Seismic Compression

See the online help for details and guidelines on usage.


Figure 21. Compression of ZGY volume. Process Dialog

Scaled Shot points: The Toolbox is now able to load SEG-Y files containing scaled Shot point numbers. The
integer part of the shot point values are typically located in trace header byte locations 197-201 with corresponding
multiplication scalars values located in bytes 201-202. Upon reading SEG-Y files, the integer and the scalar values
are multiplied to produce decimal shot point numbers. Such files can also be loaded via File > Import SEG-Y
Seismic data (*.*).

Seismic Well Tie


Sonic Calibration > Polynomial fit
This option is recommended when the checkshot used for the calibration of the sonic is quite nosy. Polynomial fit
correction smooth the differences between checkshot (time-depth) pairs and the integrated sonic log, estimating a
polynomial drift curve to honors the knee points without fitting the noise.
This new option is located under the Options tab in the Sonic Calibration and Integrated seismic well tie studies.

Petrel Platform Whats New Guide 2013

31

27 August 2013

Schlumberger Private Customer Use

SEG-Y 2D Toolbox

By default, the system suggests an order based on the number of knee points divided by 2. However, you can
manually set it (1order20).

Compared with the existing options (Linear and Cubic), Polynomial fit creates a smoother correction curve, so the
Calibrated Sonic and the output Interval Velocity present a gentle transition.

Petrel Platform Whats New Guide 2013

32

27 August 2013

Schlumberger Private Customer Use

Polynomial fit correction (using a least squares approach) smooth the differences between checkshot (time-depth)
pairs and the integrated sonic log, estimating a polynomial drift curve to honors the knee points without fitting the
noise.

This tool is useful to address the phenomenon of decrease of frequencies and amplitudes at deeper seismic data.
Time Varying Wavelet may be useful to apply existing wavelets over different time intervals to generate a
synthetic.
The character of seismic data varies as time increases, with deeper data generally having lower frequencies and
amplitudes. It may be useful to use different wavelets over different time ranges (gates) to generate a synthetic.
With Time Varying Wavelet, the interpreter can use various existing wavelets and taper types to create a time
varying wavelet.
New functionality can be accessed in the Input tab of the Synthetic Generation and Integrated Seismic Well Tie
studies:

Petrel Platform Whats New Guide 2013

33

27 August 2013

Schlumberger Private Customer Use

Synthetic Generation > Time varying wavelet

When the Time Varying Wavelet radio button is selected, the correspondent icon is active and you can launch the
Time Varying Wavelet settings.

Petrel Platform Whats New Guide 2013

34

27 August 2013

Schlumberger Private Customer Use

In the Time Varying Wavelet dialog, you have to specify time ranges or time intervals over which a series of
wavelets can be used for the generation of the synthetic. You can create up to 10 different time ranges
represented in a dynamic table.

Each time interval is defined by:


1. A wavelet, dropped from the input pane by the blue arrow. Once the wavelet is dropped, the UI informs
you the length of it.
The wavelet used can be Deterministic, Statistical or Analytical.
If the wavelet is modified, the system will present a warning image indicating that the selected wavelet
was modified:
2. Start/end times (in ms) for each individual gate (time ranges) over which individual wavelets will generate
the synthetic. Minimum time interval is 4 ms and gaps between time ranges are not allowed.

4. Taper Length: is a time in milliseconds over which the gate is gradually smoothed to its edges This
parameter shall be an integer value with maximum limits of the smallest time range. This value should be
multiple of wavelet sample rate. If you insert a value that is not valid, it will update automatically to the
greater valid value.
When applying the taper, it will be centralized by the transition between two time ranges with half of the
Taper length at each side.
The Taper length of the first and the last intervals will be cropped by the start and end times of the RC log
respectively.

Petrel Platform Whats New Guide 2013

35

27 August 2013

Schlumberger Private Customer Use

3. Taper: Taper types supported are:


a. Trapezoidal
b. Cosine
c. Cosine squared
d. Hanning
e. Hamming
f. Blackmann
g. Papoulis
h. Minimum energy moment
i. Minimum amplitude moment

All the wavelets are re-sampled to the same sample rate of the one with the lowest sample interval.
Synthetic seismogram is generated using the highest resolution.

Petrel Platform Whats New Guide 2013

36

27 August 2013

Schlumberger Private Customer Use

The synthetic generation is performed for each wavelet with the entire RC log. This will result in n different
synthetic seismograms (where n is the number of time ranges). These synthetic seismograms are cut to respect the
range you specify, plus the half taper length in each boundary.

Wavelet Average is a new algorithm under Multiwavelet methods of the Wavelet Toolbox. It calculates an Average
Wavelet from a set of wavelets that you selected. You can define the length and sample interval of the average
wavelet and you also have an additional option to invert the polarity of the resultant wavelet.
Wavelet Average is a new option on the Wavelet Toolbox. In the parameters area, you are requested to select, as
input, a list of wavelets to be used for the average calculation.
You can use Analytical, Deterministic, and Statistical wavelets for the average calculation.
The input wavelets can have any sample interval between 1-16 ms and lengths up to 8 seconds.
The Wavelet Average Method will automatically compute and plot the result just after the first wavelet is selected
as input. It is displayed in dark blue. When all inputs are removed, no wavelet is plotted.

Petrel Platform Whats New Guide 2013

37

27 August 2013

Schlumberger Private Customer Use

Wavelet Toolbox > Wavelet Average

Log Conditioning Behavioral Change


Draw
Usability improvements in the UI present depth intervals and log values during the editions. Additional parameters
have been added to the Log Conditioning > Draw user interface to show the Start/End depth interval and the value
under modification during the manipulations.
In order to allow you full control of the log manipulations, additional parameters have been added to the interface
of Log Conditioning > Draw to show the Start/End depth interval and the value under modification during the
manipulations.

Petrel Platform Whats New Guide 2013

38

27 August 2013

Schlumberger Private Customer Use

An option to invert the polarity of the average wavelet is also included.

Schlumberger Private Customer Use

2013.1
SEG-Y 2D Toolbox
The SEG-Y 2D Toolbox is intended to be used with 2D SEG-Y files that cannot be loaded correctly using Petrels
standard SEG-Y import tools.
A major focus is in handling of 2D navigation data. The SEG-Y 2D Toolbox will work with navigation data from
multiple sources, including:
Petrel Platform Whats New Guide 2013

39

27 August 2013

A variety of external text files formatting having either fixed number of characters per field, or files where
fields are delimited by a specific character, for example Tab, comma, or semi-colon in Excels
comma-separated (CSV) save formats, and UKOOA standard formats including longitude and latitude
coordinates

Loading of seismic vintages onto 2D seismic lines that already exist in the Petrel project

Offset-VSP seismic, where you specify a surface location, (for example a well surface location), the
azimuth, and a fixed distance between traces

Linking to coordinates of a polyline set

Additionally there are SEG-Y override functionalities which allow handling of files containing:
Missing or erratic trace information (for example navigation, cdp/sp relationships, zero value, or duplicate
nav/sp/cdp)

Trace-varying attributes, for example trace-length, time-of-first-sample (TOFS), number of samples per
trace, coordinate scale factor

High-resolution seismic (typically site surveys) with sample rates in microseconds

Traces flagged as dead

SEG-Y Rev1 formatting with extended EBCDIC headers

The SEG-Y Toolbox workflow comprises two phases:


1. Editing of the original SEG-Y header and sample values. The input SEG-Y file will not be modified at all
and will remain in its original form. Instead a new processed SEG-Y file will be created.
2. Subsequent loading of the new processed SEG-Y file into Petrel.
The following processing is applied to the new copies of the input SEG-Y files:

Move trace header values from non-standard locations to the places where Petrel expects to find these
values

Convert IBM 32-bit float values to IEEE 32-bit float

Merge-in trace coordinates from external source as requested

Apply header and value overrides as specified

Pad with empty traces or cut traces as required to make a new seismic vintage geometrically consistent
with an existing line

Pad with empty samples when loading trace-varying time-of-first-sample (TOFS)

Pad with empty samples when loading variable trace length

Convert coordinates to store with a scalar factor of -100

Convert shotpoints to store with a scalar factor maximum of -1000

Clip extended EBCDIC headers (the toolbox does not yet write extended EBCDIC headers)

Convert coordinates and units, if different, to the project CRS and units settings

Record original CRS information and toolbox processing time-stamp into the last three lines of the EBCDIC
header
This release of the toolbox is not intended to replace the existing standard Petrel SEG-Y loaders. SEG-Y files with
correct header information should continue to be loaded via either File > Import > SEG-Y seismic data or File >

Import > SEG-Y seismic data with preset parameters.

Petrel Platform Whats New Guide 2013

40

27 August 2013

Schlumberger Private Customer Use

Figure 22. SEG-Y 2D Toolbox is launched from Tools > SEG-Y 2D Toolbox

Schlumberger Private Customer Use

Figure 23. Graphical display of header values and the interactive Navigation file handling dialog

Figure 24. SEG-Y override functionalities

Petrel Platform Whats New Guide 2013

41

27 August 2013

Horizon Autotracking
Simplified GUI
The GUI has now been simplified into two tabs, Parameters and Constraints, while adding two new parameters.
Figure 25. The simplified autotrack GUI

Schlumberger Private Customer Use

Petrel Platform Whats New Guide 2013

42

27 August 2013

Augmented Tracking Algorithm


Historically the auto-tracker has been amplitude driven, where seeds with larger amplitudes are ranked high.
A new Priority parameter was introduced to regulate the priority queue of seed points for the expansion process.
It now offers three algorithm options:

Amplitude Prioritizes picks of higher extrema for early expansion, leaving lower extrema picks to
expand later.

Proximity Prioritizes picks with shortest expansion paths over picks with longer expansion paths.

Amplitude&Proximity Corresponds to a priority combining the first two methods.

The default value is Amplitude&Proximity, which offers both high quality growth and influence of close
proximity to seed points.
Figure 26. The Autotracker: Distance attribute maps showing comparative
tracking results of the three seed priority methods

Schlumberger Private Customer Use

Petrel Platform Whats New Guide 2013

43

27 August 2013

Dip Variation
The Crossline and Inline trace-windows have been enhanced to provide live update for each pick made in the 3D
window or Interpretation window. The live diagram displays five traces along the section centred on the seed trace
picked. This allows for easier and more precise settings of the dip when tracking slopes.
Figure 27. The trace-window dynamically updates to indicate the reflector dipping along the inline

The autotracker sometimes suffered from progressive seed tracking, as tracking progressed to larger distances
away from the starting seeds. A new Correlate with parameter was introduced and offers two options:

Seed trace Calculates the cross-correlation value with waveform from seed trace
Adjacent parent Calculates the cross-correlation value with waveform from adjacent parent trace

Cross correlation with Seed trace has a quality range from 0 to 1.0, while cross correlation with Adjacent parent
trace has, as previously, a smaller range from 0.75 to 1.0. In the following case, the waveform of adjacent parent
trace would have drifted from the original seed trace with increasing distance.
Figure 28. The new simplified autotrack GUI

Petrel Platform Whats New Guide 2013

44

27 August 2013

Schlumberger Private Customer Use

Wavelet Correlation

The correlation window has been enhanced to update dynamically as you click on a seed in the 3D or Interpretation
windows. The picked seed position (Inline, Crossline, Z) is indicated, while the live diagram displays the window
lengths used and the correlation results of the picked trace with its adjacent four traces in the following order: t(j-1),
t(j+1),t,t(i-1),ti(i+1).

3D Snap

With this new functionality, the None parameter for Quality expansion and the Adjust seed points options are
no longer necessary and have been retired.

Seeds/Locking
The Seeds and Locking mechanisms have been combined into a common GUI, and restrictions for the data-types
and tracking mechanisms supported by each mode was clarified.
Figure 29. Combined Seeds/Locking GUI

For more information on smaller updates and details on tracking algorithms, refer to the dialog tooltips and online
help.

Petrel Platform Whats New Guide 2013

45

27 August 2013

Schlumberger Private Customer Use

A new 3D Snap button was introduced. Previously it was necessary to set several parameters to perform 3D
interpretation snapping. Now you can set the Max. vertical delta search window parameter, the desired
seedpoint collection under Seed/Locking, and click 3D Snap to snap the horizon interpretation.

Meta Data
Meta Data Tab
Meta data can be used for multiple purposes, such as filtering, searching, and grouping. It can be populated and
consumed by other processes, such as Pre-stack seismic interpretation (for example partial stack generation),
inversion, etc. You can specify acquisition date, wave type, stack details, and processing details used during
seismic data processing.
Meta data works for both 3D and 2D seismic data. You can manually specify parameters applied for seismic data
during the processing.
Figure 30. Meta data tab

Schlumberger Private Customer Use

Petrel Platform Whats New Guide 2013

46

27 August 2013

Survey Manager
Processing details specified in the Meta data tab can be displayed in the Survey manager.
Figure 31. Column selection to display in Survey manager

Schlumberger Private Customer Use

Figure 32. Processing details in Survey manager

Petrel Platform Whats New Guide 2013

47

27 August 2013

Two new filters have been added to the Survey manager: Filter on domain and Filter on type.
Figure 33. Two new filters in Survey manager

Automatic Creation for Non-Intersecting Sections


The composing process now allows you to jump from a given section to any other sections in the Petrel project
without the ladders needing to intersect. The shortest path will be computed and a jump is automatically made.
Figure 34. Automatic creation of a joined Composite Line for lines that dont intersect

User-Defined Creation for Non-Intersecting Sections


In case the proposed shortest path is not the most suitable, you can now connect two intersections together by
manually drawing the jumper. Care has been taken to make the workflow as seamless as possible using the
least amount of mouse interaction in the most logical fashion.

Petrel Platform Whats New Guide 2013

48

27 August 2013

Schlumberger Private Customer Use

Composite Lines

Seismic Calculator
Access to Index (i,j,k)
The calculator now gives you access to all seismic samples in a 3D neighborhood. Previously you could only access
seismic samples within current trace, using a 1D offset, expressed by the variable K. Offsets can now be expressed
fully in 3D using i,j,k-indexes. For example, you can now write my_seismic(-2,-2,+3) in order to read a sample with
a small (hard-coded) three-dimensional offset.

Chained Expressions
Chained expressions introduce great improvements to the calculator, especially in combination with the spatial
operator. You can now use calculator output as input to a new expression. This opens possibilities to quickly
calculate self-composed attributes like spatial smoothing, curvature, and many more.

Multi-Threaded

Figure 35. Chained expressions in the Seismic calculator

Inspector Updates
Increased Horizon and Fault-Interpretation Support
You can now manipulate style settings for seismic horizon interpretation objects in the Inspector. Horizon
tracking parameters can also be set directly by the Inspector. The same features are supported for fault
interpretation objects.

Petrel Platform Whats New Guide 2013

49

27 August 2013

Schlumberger Private Customer Use

The seismic calculator has been parallelized and now supports multi-threading for increased performance. Multicore workstations can experience a speed-up by a factor of 10 or more in certain scenarios.

New Ray Casting Engine


The Geobody volume interpretation in Petrel now has a rendering engine. Geobody probes and extracted Geobodies
are now rendered by Open Inventor (OIV) using a ray casting-based approach. This technology upgrade is an
important step, bringing the 2D and 3D window into a unified OIV stage. This is a step change in volume
interpretation for Petrel, and opens huge potential in terms of visualization quality and new and enhanced
functionality.
Figure 36. Geobody probe (left) and an extracted Geobody (right)

Petrel Platform Whats New Guide 2013

50

27 August 2013

Schlumberger Private Customer Use

Geobody Interpretation

Improved Visual Quality


The visual quality has never been better for probes and geobodies. The OIV technology delivers sharp and refined
probes and bodies, with a depth perspective that is highly improved over that seen in previous versions. There is
now advanced shading and use of lighting-enable interpreters to view seismic data in new ways.
Figure 37. Extracted geobody Petrel 2011 (left), and extracted geobody Petrel 2012.5 (right)

Schlumberger Private Customer Use

Figure 38. Geobody probes displayed with Probeblaze (new display style introduced in Petrel 2012.5)

Full Resolution Extraction


The geobodies extraction process can now be performed in full resolution. This means that the segmentation will
be done in the same resolution as your seismic and not limited to the resolution in the active window. The
extraction will use all the samples from the seismic, even though your displayed probe has not reached full
resolution due to graphic-card limitations. This can be achieved by performing the extraction on the CPU rather
than the GPU. The CPU does not have the same memory limitation as seen on the GPU, but it will use more time to
complete the extraction. Extracting in full resolution prevents potential blocky results when extracting geobodies
from large probes or seismic volumes.

Petrel Platform Whats New Guide 2013

51

27 August 2013

Extract beyond Probe Boundaries


The extraction process is no longer limited to the displayed probe. By switching on Extract beyond probe
boundaries, you can perform a segmentation of the full (multi-volume), based on the opacity and blending
settings. This is a great way to expand an extraction to pick from the entire seismic cube if the initial probe
extraction gave good and expected results. It is also possible to extract from all displayed probes in the scene at
once.

Leveraging the GPU and Scales


The latest Geobody version is leveraging all the GPU cores available on high-end graphic cards. Rendering
geobodies is a resource-demanding process. However, you can now be sure to get the best experience possible out
of available hardware. We recommend that geobody interpretation be run on high-end desktop workstations with a
NVIDIA Quadro K-series graphic card or better.
Description

Notes

Misc

Rendering engine

Geobody Interpretation now uses


Open Inventor as rendering engine

New visual quality. Ray


casting technology.
Improved GPU
utilization.

New hardware
requirements. See
below & Release notes
for details

Full resolution
extraction

Extract Geobodies in the same


resolution as input seismic.

Uses mainly CPU to


perform extraction.
Removes blocky
results as seen
previously due to GPU
memory limitations

Unlimited
Geoblobs

Previously there was a limit of 256


Geoblobs within a Geobody. This
limitation is now removed

Extract all visible


probes

Extract from all visible probes in


the scene

Disregard probe
boundaries

Extract based on
Extract based on
opacity/bleeding from the
displayed probe but uses full
(multi-) volume seismic

Requires full resolution


extraction

Memory settings
shared with
seismic texture
cache size

This due to one unified rendering


engine in the 2D and 3D canvas

Seismic texture cache


size is set in System
Settings, Seismic tab

Convert to seismic
(extract value)

Converts a geobody probe into a


seismic volume and brings value
from the seismic directly

Petrel Platform Whats New Guide 2013

Excessive amount of
Geoblobs can affect
performance
Uses threshold and
opacity function from
the probe where the
extraction was triggered

52

27 August 2013

Schlumberger Private Customer Use

Feature

Required Hardware Graphics Card


Please notice that the hardware requirements have been adjusted for Petrel 2012.5 and newer releases.
Recommended

NVIDIA Quadro K5000-series and beyond (Kepler) Desktop edition

Medium

NVIDIA Quadro K4000 or NVIDIA Quadro 6000-series (Fermi) Desktop edition

Minimum

NVIDIA Quadro 4000-series (Fermi) Desktop edition

For more details, see the Petrel 2013 Installation Guide.

Optimal Microsoft Windows Environment


Starting with Petrel 2012.5, both the Windows Aero and Classic themes are supported. For graphical intensive
operations, like Geobody Interpretation workflows, it is advised to activate a Windows Aero theme.

For optimal performance working with geobodies it is recommended to use the specific NVIDIA Driver setting 3D
App Visual Simulation. This setting should be set in the NVIDIA Control Panel (Launched by right clicking in your
Window desktop).

Petrel Platform Whats New Guide 2013

53

27 August 2013

Schlumberger Private Customer Use

NVIDIA Driver setting

Light Tool
The Light Tool is an easy-to-use pop-up dialog that is available in 2D and 3D windows and in immersion mode. It
gives you capability to add and manipulate light sources to enhance geological features. These light sources can
have different colors and can be moved both by varying the elevation as well as the azimuth.
Illumination techniques empower the interpreter to focus on particular structural elements by utilizing different
light sources at different elevations and azimuths. Depending on the information to be obtained or filtered, the
structurally oriented directional light sources are capable of clearly enhancing or suppressing information extracted
from the seismic subsurface response or gridded topographical expressions.

Typical Usage
The Light Tool can be used in several different scenarios. Here are some examples of data where adding colored
light enhances visualization:
Seismic amplitudes (intersections)
Volume attributes applied on seismic
Gridded surfaces (topographical lighting)
Geobodies

Schlumberger Private Customer Use

Figure 39. Lighting applied to a regular 3D seismic amplitude cube. Two lights have been added,
green to highlight the layers and red from the side to enhance the vertical faults.

Petrel Platform Whats New Guide 2013

54

27 August 2013

Figure 40. Light Tool applied on a geobody probe

Feature

Description

Misc

Interactive dialog

Add light sources, manipulate color,


azimuth and elevation

Dialog can be collapsed/expanded

Toggle bump mapping and


headlight options

Easy access to essential buttons to


get the most out of the light tool

Supported by multiple
objects

Seismic intersections, gridded


surfaces, geobody probes

General Depth Conversion


When running General depth conversion in the Volume Attributes process, it is now possible to define an
output range. A higher resolution output dataset can be achieved by specifying a desired Top depth/time and
Sample interval combination. Bottom depth/time is calculated such that the number of samples in the output
dataset is the same as the input dataset.

Petrel Platform Whats New Guide 2013

55

27 August 2013

Schlumberger Private Customer Use

Light Tool Features

3D Edge Enhancement
3D Edge Enhancement is a volume attribute filter which performs an edge enhancement within seismic data. This
attribute has proven useful in enhancing edge detection for any surface, including faults and discontinuities.
Although similar to Edge Evidence (Boe, 2012), 3D Edge Enhancement applies its filter in planes in a three
dimensional environment instead of in lines. In addition, the plane is then applied in rotations (restricted by you) to
filter in all directions and angles.
3D Edge Enhancement improves edge detection by comparing and summing the values of the surrounding pixels
along a plane on the edge-detected cube. After this, the mean of the values is displayed on the output cube. This
process is repeated for each pixel, for all directions and angles for the planes. The resulting cube would enhance
the larger and planar features, while smaller features such as noise are smoothed away.
The parameters set for this attribute include the manipulation of the horizontal and vertical radii, in addition to the
strike and dip ranges and the maximum and minimum values. The radii are used to calculate the total size of the
filter through: (2 ) + 1

The larger the radii selected, the more compute time is necessary. However, by limiting the dip and strike ranges, it
will take less time to compute. Strike is computed from the Inline direction. The computation of dip and strike
angles assumes an isotropic sampling rate where the intervals between pixels are the same in all three
dimensions. The strike and dip angels also limit the rotation of the plane.

Petrel Platform Whats New Guide 2013

56

27 August 2013

Schlumberger Private Customer Use

Volume Attributes

Figure 41. Parameter settings for 3D Edge Enhancement

Schlumberger Private Customer Use

Petrel Platform Whats New Guide 2013

57

27 August 2013

Figure 42. Time-slice, west, with edge enhanced cube (left) and edge cube (right)

Schlumberger Private Customer Use

Figure 43. Effects of minimum and maximum strike. Left: 158, 180. Middle: 103,134. Right: 62, 87

Figure 44: Effects of the horizontal and vertical radius on time slice, west. Left: 6, 2. Right: 27, 12

Petrel Platform Whats New Guide 2013

58

27 August 2013

Grey-Level Co-Occurrence Matrix (GLCM)


GLCM is a method first introduced by Haralick et al. (1973) and later applied to seismic data by Reed & Hussong
(1989) and Gao (2003). This method amplifies geological features such as mass transport complexes, channels, and
dewatering structures that have lateral patterns that exceed mere edges. GLCM is a matrix transformation of the
frequency, in which different combinations of voxel amplitude values occur.
Four parameters need to be defined after constructing GLCM: the quantization level of the image (levels), the size
of the moving window (lateral and vertical), the direction and distance of voxel pairs (split), and the statistics used
as a texture attribute (algorithm).
Figure 45. Parameter settings for the GLCM attribute

Schlumberger Private Customer Use

The parameters are divided into five main categories that directly relate to the required factors mentioned above.
The Algorithm parameter selects the desired algorithm to calculate the statistic, based on the co-occurrence
matrix. The upper- and lower-amplitude limits should be defined by you, as these differ for different datasets. The
Levels parameter controls the levels of quantization in the definition of the co-occurrence matrix. The actual
numbers of levels is set at 2 where n is the selected parameter in the 8-bit grey scale. For the direction and
distance of voxel pairs, the Split parameter is used. It is dependent on the size of the moving window, which is
controlled by the Lateral-&-vertical window parameter, where the half-window size is defined to calculate the
co-occurrence matrix.

Petrel Platform Whats New Guide 2013

59

27 August 2013

Figure 46. Original seismic, where area of interest shows edges of the salt layer

Schlumberger Private Customer Use

Figure 47. GLCM output cube, where stratigraphy is clearly highlighted

Petrel Platform Whats New Guide 2013

60

27 August 2013

Log Conditioning
Petrel 2013 introduces two new functionalities in the Log Conditioning module:

Co-blocking: The algorithm uses as a reference a log and blocks the others taking in consideration the
same depth position for the blocks.

Draw: Replaces log values with values interpolated between start and end depth selected.

Seismic Well Tie


Track Manager gives you the ability to select tracks to display from the respective processes (Sonic
Calibration/Synthetic Generation/Integrated Synthetic). It is a complementary option to the Well Section Window
Template > Settings.
Track Manager can be accessed in Seismic Well Tie Process > Track Manager.

Petrel Platform Whats New Guide 2013

61

27 August 2013

Schlumberger Private Customer Use

Track Manager

Seismic Track
Seismic track allows the visualization of seismic sections in the Well Section Window. Use this track to display
Inline, Xline or 2D seismic sections available in the project. In this environment, the visualization of seismic and its
attributes can be fully adapted to your preferences (position, number of traces displayed and other settings).
Seismic track can be added by going to Well Section Template > Settings > Add Track > Seismic (SWT).

Petrel Platform Whats New Guide 2013

62

27 August 2013

Schlumberger Private Customer Use

The tracks can be hidden/posted by selecting the toggle button; the positioning of each track is still controlled by
Well Section Window Template.

Copy from Template


Once starting a new study, you now have the option to use other Well Section Window Templates and copy them
to use with the current study.

Petrel Platform Whats New Guide 2013

63

27 August 2013

Schlumberger Private Customer Use

Seismic track also gives you the ability to display the well trajectory, 2 logs and a synthetic seismogram.

With this version, the default templates used in the Seismic Well Tie include the display of both Time and Depth
tracks in the Well Section Window.

Petrel Platform Whats New Guide 2013

64

27 August 2013

Schlumberger Private Customer Use

Simultaneous Display of Time and Depth Tracks in Default Templates

Synthetic Generation Process:


Interval Velocity Manipulation
You now have the option of Editing/Manipulating the interval velocity and, on-the-fly, check the impact on results.
The interval velocity values can be graphically edited in the Well Section Window. You can manipulate and delete
interval velocity sections. Additionally, the velocity manipulation can be restricted to vertical or horizontal
directions.

Schlumberger Private Customer Use

QC Interval Velocities
The Synthetic Generation process now adds 2 new tracks for QC of the edits on the synthetic: QC Interval Velocity
track (displaying Input Interval Velocity versus edited/output Interval Velocity) and Drift track, displaying the time
shift applied to the synthetic to tie to the seismic. Those tracks will guide you along synthetic generation process
and velocity editing.

Petrel Platform Whats New Guide 2013

65

27 August 2013

Any log as input for RC calculation


To calculate Reflectivity Coefficient (RC), you now can use any log as a pseudo acoustic impedance log to RC
calculation. This option will extend the possibility of RC calculation when a limited set of logs is available in the
project.

The Correlation Tab has been augmented to include the following:

Trace Options: You can now select where data correlation will start. The options provided are: Match
Seismic traces (to that used in the seismic track), User-defined traces or Single trace (average seismic
trace defined by a radius around the well).

Phase Mistie: This new option calculates not only the level of correlation considering time shifts in the
synthetic, but also in the wavelets phase.
The wavelet is rotated 360 degrees (with a 1 degree step) and at each rotation, the correlation between
synthetic and seismic is calculated. Final output of this process is the optimum phase rotation to be applied
to the wavelet when the maximum correlation between synthetic and seismic was found.

Petrel Platform Whats New Guide 2013

66

27 August 2013

Schlumberger Private Customer Use

Correlation Tab

Schlumberger Private Customer Use

Reflection Coefficient Modeling


The Reflection Coefficient (RC) Modeling tool is used for studying tuning effects. It can help to improve
understanding of the correlation between depth logs and seismic data.
RC Modeling can be accessed during the Synthetic Generation Process and allows the user to select/unselect RC
areas or individual coefficients and see the results as a partial synthetic.
Each component (positive and negative) is the result of the convolution of the active wavelet with a reflection
coefficient. The partial synthetic trace is the sum of the positive and negative components.
This process permits you to better understand how those coefficients impact the synthetic response, as well as
giving the ability to filter problematic areas from your synthetic.

Petrel Platform Whats New Guide 2013

67

27 August 2013

Correlation Track

Wavelet Toolbox

Wavelet Toolbox Isis Time/Isis Frequency methods for Determinist wavelets


Petrel 2013 adds 2 new algorithms to extract Deterministic wavelets using Reflectivity and seismic data:
ISIS Time and Frequency. The selection of the method depends on the degree of correlation between the
seismic data and the reflectivity log.

Petrel Platform Whats New Guide 2013

68

27 August 2013

Schlumberger Private Customer Use

Correlation Track has been improved and now displays time lag labels in the Well Section Window. This tool helps
you find the optimum time shifts in the synthetic to get the maximum correlation with the seismic. Despite being
displayed in a track, the index of this function is not TWT, but Time Lag.

Wavelet Toolbox Invert Polarity


Allows you to invert polarity for Analytical wavelets. This option is shown under Parameters for Analytical
wavelets in the Wavelet Toolbox.
Wavelet Toolbox Visual control of Extraction window in WSW
Extraction windows in the reflectivity and the seismic for deterministic wavelets can now be visually
adjusted directly in Well Section Window by using the slide bars. This option gives more flexibility and
control to get the correct time frame to extract wavelets.

Petrel Platform Whats New Guide 2013

69

27 August 2013

Schlumberger Private Customer Use

Integrated Seismic Well Tie Single template


In the previous versions of Petrel, the Integrated Seismic Well Tie study presented the sonic calibration and
synthetic generation templates under the same WSW. In the current version, the Integrated Seismic Well Tie study
uses one single template. The sonic calibration and the synthetic generation are executed in the TWT domain.

Schlumberger Private Customer Use

Petrel Platform Whats New Guide 2013

70

27 August 2013

The settings for the Well Section Template for an Integrated Seismic Well Tie Study are shown below.

Local Legends
For data objects that have a color table, you can now display local legends in 2D or 3D windows. Right-click the
object, then click Create new local color legend.
Figure 48. Creating a color legend for display in a 2D window

Petrel Platform Whats New Guide 2013

71

27 August 2013

Schlumberger Private Customer Use

Color Table Enhancements

You can create multiple local legends. These will be placed next to each other. Local color legends are created as a
window object that is local to the data it was selected for. They can be switched on or off in the display windows
Settings dialog. Local legends are saved with the window layout, in the Window pane under the Legends folder,
as illustrated below.
Figure 49. Local legends for a 3D window, as stored in the Windows pane

By default, data objects have a predefined global color table. The global color table can be overridden to create a
local color table for the object. This is controlled from the objects Settings dialog. On the Colors tab, choose one
of the following initial min/max settings:

Same as global color table


Set to objects data limits - Set the range to match the objects data limits.
Keep previous local color table min/max This option is only available if a local color table was
previously created.

Petrel Platform Whats New Guide 2013

72

27 August 2013

Schlumberger Private Customer Use

Minimum and Maximum Color Template Settings

Global Seismic Color Table Template Enhancements


The global seismic color table templates (located in the Templates pane and the Seismic color tables folder)
allow you to define opacity curves and set the min/max values for the color range at the template level. This
enables you to easily set predefined opacity curves or min/max values for the color range for each object, rather
than doing this for each object sharing the global color table. The following figure shows the new capabilities in
the settings dialog of a global seismic color template.

Schlumberger Private Customer Use

Petrel Platform Whats New Guide 2013

73

27 August 2013

Geology
2013.2
Multiple LAS Importer
Time series logs introduced in the 2013.1 release were created by a manual workflow: after importing regular logs
and inserting and editing the time step attribute in the log attributes spreadsheet, you could then create individual
time steps from global time series log operations tab. In the 2013.2 release, a new LAS importer allows you to
simultaneously import both regular and time series logs in the same GUI.

On the Data tab of the new LAS importer dialog, you can switch on Automatic matching to import only regular
logs, or you can select the Specified option to import both time series and regular logs for matched (property
template based on log name) and unmatched (property template based on unit) sections.

Petrel Platform Whats New Guide 2013

74

27 August 2013

Schlumberger Private Customer Use

The LAS importer now handles simultaneous import of time series and regular logs. This reduces time spent
creating time series logs with the manual workflow implemented in the 2013.1 release. The manual workflow,
which is still available, requires that you first import regular logs into your Petrel project and then create time
series logs from the regular logs.

When using the multiple LAS importer:


Time series logs with the same name and template are overwritten, but different time steps are
appended. The multiple LAS importer supports different date formats, as long as the time step and date
format correspond to the parsed date format.
When importing multiple LAS files, the last file selected should contain most or all the attributes selected,
because it will be loaded first.
A time series log that has the same template and name as a regular log will have (t) as suffix to the name,
for example Gamma (t) for time series log and Gamma for the regular log.
The global time series log is listed in the Well manager spreadsheet if the Show well log option is
selected.

See the online help topic, Importing and Converting Multiple LAS Files for the detailed procedure.

Map-based volume calculation surface uncertainty


This functionality allows you to quantify the uncertainty of your volumes in Uncertainty and Optimization (U&O),
based on stochastic realization of the surfaces used in the volumetric case calculation for the structure and
properties.

The two tabs are activated by toggling the two buttons on the Input tab. Using the Std Dev. column, you can
specify the uncertain inputs and consequently, specify the relevant settings on the Structural uncertainty tab.

Petrel Platform Whats New Guide 2013

75

27 August 2013

Schlumberger Private Customer Use

After importing, you can:


Visualize the time-step logs using the time player in 3D, 2D, Map, and Well section windows and in the
intersection plot viewport
Convert imported time-series logs to regular logs from the context menu for each Time step log in the well
tree
Synchronize your time-series logs using RPT or Studio

You can follow the same procedure for property surfaces using the Properties uncertainty tab where you will be
able to set the uncertain property surfaces by specifying the Std Dev value and the relevant variogram settings.

Stratigraphic chart duplicate column/copy zone


Duplicate column allows you to create an exact copy of a column and place it to the right of the source column. If
there an empty column already exists to the right of the source column, it will be populated with the source
column.

Well labeling trajectory point


A new option on the Trajectory point drop-down menu is added to give you the possibility to snap the label to the
mid-point of a well trace based on the horizontal projection on the map window. This option is called THL Center
which stands for True Horizontal Length.

Petrel Platform Whats New Guide 2013

76

27 August 2013

Schlumberger Private Customer Use

Copy zone option allows you to copy a zone over to the next column along with the bounding events. It requires an
empty interval on the destination column where the zone is being copied.

Fault modeling
In the 2013.1 release, a restriction was placed on the type of the polygons you can select to convert to faults in a
fault model. You can select all the types starting with the word Fault to convert to a fault. This restriction is
retained in the 2013.2 release.

2013.1
Several enhancements were made to Stratigraphic charts and labeling, and there is now a new process for volume
calculations based on gridded surfaces. This release also delivers several client requests related to data
management of well objects. If you work with thousands of wellsfor example in a shale gas portfolioyou can
now classify well attributes by color. You can also view and manipulate many more geology objects directly from
the Inspector window and see those changes reflected dynamically in your display window.

Map-based Volume Calculation

Figure 50. Map-based volume calculation process window

Petrel Platform Whats New Guide 2013

77

27 August 2013

Schlumberger Private Customer Use

If you want volume estimation without creating a model or a 3D grid, the Map-based volume calculation
process calculates the volumes of an interval bounded by two gridded surfaces. The calculations result in a
volumetric case in the Cases tab and a spreadsheet report. The process can also output the intermediate results
used for the calculations.

Process Dialog
The Map-based volume calculation process dialog allows you to define zones and their input in a classic Petrel
table. On the Output tab you can modify the style of the output spreadsheet and other intermediate data. You also
have an option for using boundary polygons to refine the calculation regions.

Reporting
The Map-based volume calculation process outputs the results in the volumetrics spreadsheet in different
formats. The case is also saved in the Cases tab, where you can access the reporting options by right-clicking on
the case.

Workflow Editor
The Map-based volume calculation process is fully supported in the Workflow editor. You can use variables
and object variables to automate the workflows for map-based volume calculations. A number of other commands
provide functionality for extraction of volumes from saved map-based volume calculation cases.

Several enhancements improved the stratigraphic chart functionality. As before, you insert zone boundaries as
events with an age value, to form the data used in the stratigraphic chart display window. In the new data model,
each stratigraphic column is represented as a column object in the tree. You can insert a sub-column for each
column or subdivide the intervals in that specific column.
Two formats from StrataBugs are now supported: .xml and .dex. You can also import Petrel 2012 stratigraphic
charts using the format put in place specifically for those charts.
Figure 51. New stratigraphic chart design

Petrel Platform Whats New Guide 2013

78

27 August 2013

Schlumberger Private Customer Use

Stratigraphic Charts

Chart Tree
In the Input pane, the tree contains data used to render the chart in the display window. In Petrel 2013, you create
one column for each stratigraphic column in the chart. The sub-column allows you to subdivide the intervals in each
column. Changing the column names is now easier with direct update in the display.
Figure 52. Subdivided column intervals

Enhancements to the stratigraphic spreadsheet allow you to perform almost all the actions you perform in the
Input pane. You can navigate through columns to add or remove events and zones, the age value and the type of
events are also editable.
Figure 53. Stratigraphic columns spreadsheet

Petrel Platform Whats New Guide 2013

79

27 August 2013

Schlumberger Private Customer Use

Spreadsheet

Display
With the new display style, you have more control over the look of the chart. You can access the controls for
display settings by double-clicking columns in the tree and clicking the Style tab. See Figure 51.

Well Labeling
While the Map is window active, you can now access well labeling by right-clicking the Wells folder and clicking
Labeling settings. The dialog controls are more accessible, and several new controls were added to the Style
tab.
Figure 54. Adding or deleting events and zones and editing well age and type

Schlumberger Private Customer Use

Rotation
Using this feature, you will be able to rotate the label to align it along the well trajectory. You can also use the
slider to make more adjustments.

Background
If this feature is switched on, the label will be filled with a solid color. You can modify the color source as well as
the transparency.

Petrel Platform Whats New Guide 2013

80

27 August 2013

Geology Inspectors
The Inspector window acts as a heads-up display for essential information about the object pointed to in the
display window. Collapsible tabs dynamically update as you pick different object types. Use Inspector to view
statistics and change common settings quickly, rather than opening a Settings dialog. To open the Inspector,
click View>>Inspector on the main menu.

For example, the Inspector displays information for the well trace of regular and producing wells (not newly
designed wells), well logs, well tops, point well data, and checkshots when these are visualized in a 2D or 3D
window. You can view general information and statistics, modify style settings, and launch the spreadsheet
without accessing the object data tree. See the online help topic Inspector Windows for descriptions of the
generic and object-specific Inspector tabs.
Figure 55. Fault Model Inspector (left) and Skeleton Inspector (right)

Petrel Platform Whats New Guide 2013

81

27 August 2013

Schlumberger Private Customer Use

Inspector now supports quick viewing and updating for these object types:
Fault model
Skeleton
Horizons
Fluid contact
Well tops
Well logs
Well trace
Point well data
Checkshots
Horizons

Figure 56. Horizons Inspector (left) and Fluid Contact Inspector (right)

Schlumberger Private Customer Use

Figure 57. Well Trace Inspector, showing expanded tabs and the RGB color selector

Petrel Platform Whats New Guide 2013

82

27 August 2013

Figure 58. Well Tops Inspector (top left). Trace Inspector (top right) shows shortcut to spreadsheet display (bottom)

Schlumberger Private Customer Use

Well Header Latitude and Longitude


You can now import and export latitude and longitude data for well headers. This new functionality aids people
working with producing fields and unconventional wells, where the well coordinates may only be stored in
latitude/longitude instead of XY coordinates.
To import well data in latitude/longitude, you must set the coordinate reference of the project. Once imported, well
header data is stored in the Well attributes subfolder under the main Wells folder. These ASCII files contain
attributes displayed in columns in the well head import dialog. Petrel creates several default attribute columns, but
you can add an unlimited number of custom attributes. An attribute can be one of these types: Boolean, string,
continuous, discrete, or date.

Petrel Platform Whats New Guide 2013

83

27 August 2013

Figure 59. Importing well header latitude/longitude data

For more details on how to import and edit well headers with latitude/longitude coordinates, see the Core online
help topic, Importing Well Headers. For directions on exporting latitude/longitude, see Exporting Well Headers.

Time-Series Logs
Time-series logs allow production engineers to create, visualize, and evaluate repeat logs recorded in days or
hours, with a maximum of 20 repeats. The logs help identify critical reservoir intervals that return poor quality data,
thereby isolating potential candidates for reservoir analysis.
Petrel time-series logs were added to supplement point well data used in repeat formation tester workflows for
reservoir engineering. In the Input pane, a time-series log icon is marked with a log template icon overlayed with a
clock symbol, for example for a well section time-series log.
Whenever there are changes in global well logs used in creating time-series logs, either by import of new logs or
after modifying a resistivity log using the calculator, the local time-step log must be updated to reflect those
changes.
Time-step objects can be visualized in 2D, 3D, Map, Well section, and Intersection windows. The global time
player is used to play through the different time steps. To visualize and play through time steps in an Intersection
window, first create and activate the vertical well intersection or general intersection plane. Playing through the
time-step logs helps to identify logs with wrong data samples. You can selectively delete the interval or reload the
log data after editing the extraneous sample points. This could aid in the isolation of reservoir intervals with poor
data quality and the selection of the best reservoir interval for analysis.

Petrel Platform Whats New Guide 2013

84

27 August 2013

Schlumberger Private Customer Use

If your well header file has both XY and latitude/longitude coordinates, by default Petrel uses latitude/longitude to
import the well header.

The local time-step log can be converted to a regular global log. Right-click the local time-step log and click
Convert to a regular log. This creates a static time-step log that behaves like a normal global well log in the
well. The parent global log may be deleted to avoid duplicating project data.
Figure 60. Visualizing a time-step log

In the Well section window, time-series logs are supported in vertical tracks:
1. Open the Settings dialog for a cross section template and insert a new track on the Well section
template tab.
2. Right-click the track, then click Time series log.

Petrel Platform Whats New Guide 2013

85

27 August 2013

Schlumberger Private Customer Use

Time-Series Logs Supported in Vertical Tracks

Schlumberger Private Customer Use

3. Select the template of the time-series log.

4. Play the first, current, or last track using the time-step drop-down menu and the time player.

Petrel Platform Whats New Guide 2013

86

27 August 2013

Coloring Time-Series Logs


To color a time series log in a Well section window:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

Open the Settings dialog for a cross section template.


On the Well section template tab, right-click a time-series log track.
On the Curve filing sub-tab, click (or add) the color fill.
Choose one of the following fill styles: As property, Selected, As defined, White, Black.
Vary the color intensity using the Transparency option.

Schlumberger Private Customer Use

Well Log Attributes


User-defined well log attributes and a new log spreadsheet help you to manage log data for large projects.
Attributes can be Boolean, continuous, discrete, date/time, string, or special time-step attribute. They are stored
under the Global well logs folder in the Log attributes subfolder. When you open or upgrade a Petrel project, the
Log attributes subfolder is empty. Log attributes can be transferred to and from Petrel projects using RPT and
Studio for Petrel.

Petrel Platform Whats New Guide 2013

87

27 August 2013

You can create a log attribute in several ways:


From the default folder storage location, by right-clicking the Log attributes subfolder under the Global
well logs folder
From the LAS file import dialog, using settings on the new Log Attributes tab
By syncing attributes using the Reference Project Tool (RPT) and Studio for Petrel.
The log spreadsheet uses icons and special features to manage log data. The spreadsheet updates dynamically, as
you edit wells and well log names in the Input pane. The arrangement of attribute columns in the spreadsheet
always corresponds to their order in the Log attributes subfolder. To open the spreadsheet, right-click this
subfolder and click Log attributes spreadsheet.
Well log attributes and logs are synced using the Reference Project Tool. Log values for all log attributes
common to the two projects are copied. Values for matching log attributes in the target project are
overwritten. If there is a modification to log attributes, the transfer dialog window indicates which well log is
newer. Copying log attributes and well logs in copy mode will not change the well logs in the RPT transfer window
until data is synced. The copy mode provides a canvas from which to compare modified data against the original.
Schlumberger Private Customer Use

For more details, see the Geology online help topic Log Attributes and related procedures.
Figure 61. Log attributes spreadsheet

Well Tops Filtering


You can now filter the Well top spreadsheet to show only a portion of a large well top collection. The filtered
data can then be dynamically visualized in your active display window. An Interpreter filter subfolder is defined
during projects upgrade from versions prior to Petrel 2013.
In addition to filtering on wells and surfaces, you can filter user interpretations. Under the main Well Tops folder,
the Interpreter filter subfolder captures the interpretations using the IDs assigned automatically when anyone
creates or edits well tops. If you are importing well tops from outside Petrel, the interpreter ID can be created
during import or added later to the Well Top spreadsheet. In this spreadsheet you can create, edit, copy, paste, and
rename interpreter IDs.

Petrel Platform Whats New Guide 2013

88

27 August 2013

Figure 62. The interpreter Marit is defined in the project

Example Filtering Settings


In the next two examples, you can see how the spreadsheet changed when we asked to see only a small subset of
the original well top data.
Schlumberger Private Customer Use

Figure 63. Unfiltered well top spreadsheet

Petrel Platform Whats New Guide 2013

89

27 August 2013

Figure 64. Well top filter dialog controlling spreadsheet display

Figure 65. Well top spreadsheet with filters applied to an active Map window

Petrel Platform Whats New Guide 2013

90

27 August 2013

Schlumberger Private Customer Use

In the following example, well tops were filtered by wells and surfaces, and then the resulting spreadsheet was
applied to the active display window, in this case, a Map window.

For more details and procedures, see the Geology online help for Filtering Well Tops.

True Horizontal Length Index


True horizontal length (THL) is length measured along a plane or level ground. At every point along the length, the
line tangent to the level surface must be horizontal. THL is equivalent to the X-axis of a flattened vertical well. A
new THL index supports drilling on real time projection workflows involving long offset drilling. In such cases,
staying in the target reservoir is important for geosteering.
Two workflows for generating logs using THL as depth are implemented in this release:
Generating a log using THL as the geometrical variable
Generating a THL log from a well top continuous attribute
By calculating the THL point for the corresponding MD, you can generate a log for the entire length of a well in the
vertical, deviated, and horizontal sections. During geosteering this is important in the horizontal section of the well,
where data manipulation using true vertical depth is a problem because of repeat depths. To create a THL log for
the entire well path without repeated depth:

A log created from a well top attribute at zone level, with THL as depth scale, gives the calculated thickness per
zone and the corresponding MD. During geosteering, this provides information about the thickness of the reservoir
interval in the horizontal section. Wells are more easily positioned to maintain the well path in the horizontal
section.
For more details, see the Geology online help topic, Creating THL Logs from a Well Top Attribute.

Well Usability
Coloring by Attributes
Data managers working with unconventional wells and shale gas extraction frequently perform classification
workflows. When thousands of wells are involved, coloring wells by attributes before visualizing in 2D, 3D, and
Map windows vastly improves identification and interpretation.
Fig 25 highlights the main settings. See the Geology online help topic, Coloring Wells by Attributes for how to
assign colors, add the information to the Well manager spreadsheet, and display the wells by color in a Map
window.

Petrel Platform Whats New Guide 2013

91

27 August 2013

Schlumberger Private Customer Use

1. Right-click the Global well logs folder and click Calculator. If you launch the calculator by right-clicking a
specific well log, calculations will only affect the local log.
2. In the calculator, click the Geometry button, and in the geometrical function list click Thl().
3. Edit the expression field to insert your THL log name in front of the expression, for example:
My_THL_log=THL().
4. Click ENTER to execute the expression and add the log to your tree.

Figure 66. Setting attribute colors on wells

Log calculator statements can be written to sample from the Global well logs folder, or any sub-folder, and then
output new logs to a new folder structure. This means you do not need all logs to exist in the Global well log folder
before writing calculator statements.
Launch the calculator by right-clicking one of these folders and clicking Calculator:
From the Global well log folder - Creates a calculated log for all wells in the project, provided the logs
being sampled exist in the well.
From a local log in the well tree - Creates a calculated log in the selected well.
For more details, see the Geology online help topic, Specifying Log Calculator Folders.

User Defined Patterns


Two additional user-defined patterns are now available for discrete color templates. If you define patterns in the
Petrel installation director, under Resources/Patterns/UserPatterns.xml, they can now be selected as patterns
in a discrete color table and be used in a Well section window.
In addition, pattern display in a Well section window was improved. There is now better tiling with almost no
mismatching joins.

Petrel Platform Whats New Guide 2013

92

27 August 2013

Schlumberger Private Customer Use

Using Folders in the Log Calculator

Well Section Window


2013.1
Enhanced Cross Sections Object
In Petrel* 2013.1, the Cross sections object (X-section) is independent of the Well Section Window (WSW), with an
enhanced process to define its geometry, storage, and overall handling.
In addition to previously supported functionality, a cross sections object can now be created from the Map window,
copied, pasted, renamed, and deleted from the Input pane, displayed in any WSW, and edited graphically in the 2D
or Map window. New style settings options are also available.

Creating X-sections

Figure 67. X-section settings (left) and Well section settings (right)

Petrel Platform Whats New Guide 2013

93

27 August 2013

Schlumberger Private Customer Use

When you create an X-section, a new object will be created in the Input tree in the Cross sections folder. The Xsection settings will manage the well hinges that define the X-section geometry in the Definition tab. Therefore,
you will no longer need to go to the Well Section Window (WSW) settings dialog box to reorder, delete, or add
new well hinges to the X-section. Also, the Well section template will be set from the same dialog box. Only
domain and scale will be handled from the WSW as a result of the decoupling of the Cross sections and the WSW.

To create X-sections:
1. Open a new Well Section Window and display wells from the Input pane.
2. Digitize the X-section in a 2D/3D/Map window by activating the Well Correlation process and using the
new process tools.
When the Well Correlation process is active in a 2D or Map window, the following icons are
available to create and edit the X- section geometry.
- Add well hinge to active x-section ( ) allows you to add the wells that will define the Xsection geometry. You can click the well path, the well symbol, or the well top.
- Edit well hinge of active x-section ( ) changes the well reference of an existing hinge or
allow you to insert a new well between two existing hinges of the X- section geometry. You can
drag the fence to a new well and click the well head.
- Delete hinge ( ) removes a hinge from the active X-section when you click the well head.
If you want to create or edit an X-section in a 3D window only the modes Add well hinge to active
x-section and Delete hinge will be available.
By default, a Well Section Window will be created once the cross section geometry is defined. However,
this setting can be changed by turning off the option from the Well Correlation process dialog box.

Configuring X-section Style Settings in a 2D or Map Window


Style settings are now supported for the X-section when it is displayed in a 2D or Map window. You can customize
the color, line width, and line type in the Settings dialog box, in the Style tab. You can also select to show and
configure the hinges as points. Displaying hinges as points may allow for better precision when editing.

Petrel Platform Whats New Guide 2013

94

27 August 2013

Schlumberger Private Customer Use

3. Create a new X-section object from the Insert menu or right-click the Cross-sections folder and select
Create x-section. This will add an empty X-section to the folder.
You will be able to:
Digitize the cross section geometry using the well correlation tools in a 2D, 3D, and Map window.
Manually add wells to the geometry in the Definition tab in the X-section settings dialog box.
Right-click the new X-section and select Create new Well section window, and then turn on
wells in the Input tab.

Figure 68. Plane settings for an X-section

When you create a Well Section Window, you can choose between displaying an existing X-section or creating a
new X-section. You can also select if you want to use a new or an existing template.
Figure 69. New well section window settings

Any X-section can be displayed in any Well Section Window, and the template will be tied to the object not to the
window.

Petrel Platform Whats New Guide 2013

95

27 August 2013

Schlumberger Private Customer Use

Opening a Well Section Window

Deviated Display
The Well Section Window now supports a deviated track display for wells in an X-section. The Well section
template has been expanded to include settings for the deviated track.
You can enable Deviated display for the X-section wells in the X-section settings dialog, on the Definition tab.
Alternatively, click Show deviated boreholes for the associated X-section ( ) on the toolbar.
Figure 70. Hinges settings

In the X-section settings dialog, on the Deviated track tab, are options to display the projected borehole path,
color options, and style options for rendering the well in front of or behind the X-section fence.
For the track settings, you can apply transparency to the entire display, or to specific tracks from the Well section
template. The track border and deviated header are turned on by default. In addition, the deviated header supports
a Static width and a Dynamic width that adjust when track width varies.

Petrel Platform Whats New Guide 2013

96

27 August 2013

Schlumberger Private Customer Use

By default, the deviated display is turned off, but it can be shown for all wells or specific wells in the window.
Every well has one template that it uses, and the template controls both the vertical and the deviated style. Default
projection is orthogonal for the first and last well, and it is based on the bisecting angle of the plane for all interior
wells. In addition to orthogonal and bisectional projection, you can also manually specify a projection angle.

Figure 71. X-section track settings

Figure 72. Well section template

Petrel Platform Whats New Guide 2013

97

27 August 2013

Schlumberger Private Customer Use

Index tracks, as well as continuous and discrete logs are supported for the deviated tracks in the Well section
template. You can manually add these tracks by updating the template. Adding logs to the deviated tracks from the
Input pane is also supported. Changes to the style for deviated tracks can be done manually from the Well section
template or from the Inspector. Interactive features such as resizing the tracks and curve fill are not currently
supported.

When you add Well Tops to a template, they will be visible on the deviated display. All markers will be rendered
perpendicular to the projected borehole. Stratigraphic and facies interpretation are limited to the vertical tracks,
but will automatically be updated in the deviated tracks.
Figure 73. Well tops visible on deviated well display

The Well section template now supports the new Time series log in the Well Section Window. Like regular logs,
Time series log can be turned on from the Global well log folder or manually added to a Well section template.
Displaying theTime series log in the Well Section Window will also launch the time player, and a time step log will
remain visible until a change in the time player moves it to the next step. However, Time series log do not currently
support interactive editing.
Figure 74. Time series log

Petrel Platform Whats New Guide 2013

98

27 August 2013

Schlumberger Private Customer Use

Time Series Log

Exploration Geology
2013.2
Exploration Geology was previously a plug-in requiring installation after a full Petrel installation. The plug-in was
installed through the Ocean plug-in manager in 2013.1 and earlier versions of Petrel. From 2013.2 onwards,
Exploration Geology is a module on the Petrel platform, which is included in the full installation of Petrel.
Acquiring the right acreage and drilling the best prospects are the two main investments impacting exploration
success. Understanding key risk factors is crucial in making these investment decisions. The Exploration Geology
module provides workflows to support these decisions for regional and prospect-level evaluationfrom early
phase exploration to appraisal.

Since the results are linked to data and interpretations, there is easy reference to the input geology, rapid updates
with new information, and consistency across evaluations.
The module additionally enables you to gain a contextual understanding of the burial history, source rock
maturation, hydrocarbon expulsion potential and changes to properties over time in the reservoir and overburden
through 1D Petroleum Systems Modeling, using the same simulation algorithms as used in the petroleum systems
modeling software PetroMod. The 3D geocellular model for full dynamic forward modeling of geological processes
in PetroMod software can also be constructed on the Petrel platform. Post-simulation resultstransferred to the
Petrel platformenable further, contextual understanding of source rock maturation and hydrocarbon flow-path
migration processes.
Compatibility between Exploration Geology (plug-in until version 2013.1, module version 2013.2), Petrel, and
PetroMod software:
Petrel 2012

Petrel 2013.1

Petrel 2013.2

PetroMod 2012

PetroMod 2013

Exploration Geology
2012.2 plug-in

Yes

No

No

Yes

No

Exploration Geology
2013.1 plug-in

Yes

Yes

No

Yes

No

Exploration Geology
2013.2 module
(built in Petrel
2013.2)

No

No

Integrated
module

No

Yes

Petrel Platform Whats New Guide 2013

99

27 August 2013

Schlumberger Private Customer Use

These workflows enable you to:


Evaluate the key components of exploration uncertainty.
Assess plays with results connected directly to interpretations.
Generate prospects incorporating play level assessments.
Perform estimates of chance of success and probabilistic volumes.

For more details on the following new features and on the use of the Exploration Geology module in general, see
the online help.

Petroleum Systems 1D and 3D


Lithology Database
A new set of lithology templates has been added to the Petrel templates to be used with the Exploration Geology
modules. Lithologies are needed to define the facies of the zones or layers of your petroleum systems model. The
lithology information will be used by the simulator to calculate generation, migration, and accumulation of
hydrocarbons.

You can add the lithologies in the Define facies table process via a drop-down menu. This drop-down menu is
now linked to the Petrel templates, not to the PetroMod lithologies via active link.
All standard PetroMod lithologies are now part of the Petrel templates. If you modify or create new lithologies in
the PetroMod Lithology Editor, you need to merge the PetroMod lithologies with the Petrel lithologies. Your userdefined lithologies will then become part of the Petrel database. Once they have been merged, you do not need the
link to the PetroMod project anymore. Currently, you can only edit the lithologies view their settings in the
PetroMod Lithology Editor. Please refer to the PetroMod Lithology Editor User Guide for more information.

Caution: Each time you change the user-defined lithologies in PetroMod, you need to merge the PetroMod
lithologies again to update the Petrel lithology database. The Petrel lithology database is not an active link to the
PetroMod lithology database.

Invasion Percolation Simulations now visible in Petrel


You can now view the accumulation results of PetroMod 3D invasion percolation calculations in Petrel using the 3D
link.

Separation of Ages and facies table into chronostratigraphic column and facies definition
table
Ages, facies, and default lithologies have been defined and assigned within Petrel and transferred to the PetroMod
Ages and facies table. This process has been split: You can now create a chronostratigraphic column, define the
facies in the facies definition table an d connect the data in the Make 1D or Make 3D petroleum systems model
process.
Petroleum systems processes enable construction of 3D geocellular models in Petrel prior to export to PetroMod
petroleum systems modeling software for dynamic forward modeling of geological processes in sedimentary basins
over geological time spans. To utilize the Petrel model in PetroMod, it needs ages, and the facies data need to be
refined with geothermal, paleo-geometry, etc. data.
Petrel Platform Whats New Guide 2013

100

27 August 2013

Schlumberger Private Customer Use

The notion facies, as it is used in PetroMod, has a different meaning than that of a purely sedimentary (or
tectonic, geochemical, etc.) facies. In PetroMod, the term "facies" includes both lithology and source rock property
information on TOC content and distribution, kerogen type and petroleum generation kinetics. In the PetroMod
simulator, a source rock can only be assigned when a kinetic reaction has been defined for a facies and positive
non-zero values appear in the TOC and HI cells for that facies.

Petrel Platform Whats New Guide 2013

101

27 August 2013

Schlumberger Private Customer Use

The following information gives you an overview of the simplified overall workflow. For more details, see the
online help.
1. Connect the Petrel project to a PetroMod project (mandatory for 3D models, optional for 1D models) if you
want to use user-defined lithologies and kinetics built in PetroMod.
2. Build a chronostratigraphic column from chronostratigraphic charts.
3. Define the facies.
4. a) Create a 1D petroleum systems model by connecting the chronostratigraphy and the facies table with
well and facies information and by assigning facies and depth values through the Make 1D petroleum
systems model process.
b) Create a 3D petroleum systems model by connecting the chronostratigraphy, the facies table and a
simple grid with HI, TOC, and facies information through the Make 3D petroleum systems model process.
5. a) Prepare the 1D model for simulation by creating boundary conditions (heat flow, sediment water
interface temperature, paleo water depth) via the Make time trends process. Then assign them, define the
output and simulate the model. This is through the Make 1D petroleum systems simulation process.
b) Export the 3D petroleum systems model to PetroMod for further refinement and simulation in
PetroMod.
6. View the output in Petrel.

Property Modeling
2013.1
Data Analysis
Enhanced Variogram Analysis
The variogram analysis of the Data analysis process was redesigned and offers greatly improved performance.
The new, intuitive interface offers several easy-to-use features:
Nested variogram model and fitting
Model-dependent estimation of search cone parameters
Data decimation
Enhanced variogram computation performance
Enhanced search cone display

Performing a variogram analysis that fits your data can now be achieved quickly and easily with only a few mouse
clicks. Also, large datasets can be analyzed in a few minutes, thanks to the new data decimation feature.

Petrel Platform Whats New Guide 2013

102

27 August 2013

Schlumberger Private Customer Use

For more details, see the Modeling online help topic, Variograms Tab (Data Analysis).

Petrophysical modeling
Property Modeling with Nested Variogram
The use of nested variogram from data analysis is enabled in all modeling processes:

Trend modeling (discrete)


Facies modeling
Petrophysical modeling

It is only possible to create a nested variogram in the Data analysis process, and then to use it in any of the
processes mentioned above. Nested variogram parameters are also available as read-only in the Modeling Input
Parameters editor for discrete property.

Schlumberger Private Customer Use

Petrel Platform Whats New Guide 2013

103

27 August 2013

Workflow Editor
Multiple 3D Grids Handling Scenarios Uncertainty
To enable accounting for structural uncertainty, the With 3D grid command was upgraded to handle multiple
grids.
An object variable can be inserted in the With 3D grid command and must refer to 3D grids. The workflow will
then run only on the referenced grids. To run a workflow with multiple grids, the specified grid and the reference
grids must follow these constraints:

Zone structures must be identical for all grids


When used in the workflow, property names and contact sets must be unique

Petrel Platform Whats New Guide 2013

104

27 August 2013

Schlumberger Private Customer Use

For more details, see the utilities section of the online help and the Workflow editor topic, Workflow Editor
Processes Pane.

Object Variable Enhancements


Several enhancements for object variables were introduced in Petrel 2013. Object variable can now be used to
define the following parameters:
Local Varying Azimuth in the Facies and Petrophysical modeling processes
All trend/co-kriging inputs in the Facies, Petrophysical, and Trend modeling processes
Continuous property distribution functions in the Petrophysical modeling process
Fluid contacts and input properties in the Volume calculation process

Schlumberger Private Customer Use

For more details, see the utilities section of the online help and the Workflow editor topic, Using object
variables.

Petrel Platform Whats New Guide 2013

105

27 August 2013

Reference List Enhancements


To enable scenario-based uncertainty in the Workflow editor, the Set reference list command was upgraded to
handle numerical and string variables as well as object variables.
In combination with the 3D grid uncertainty developments, the enhanced reference list allows building a whole
new range of uncertainty workflows based on discrete scenarios instead of random realizations.
In the following simple example, the same petrophysical model is run four times in a loop with four different
variogram scenarios.

Facies Conditioning Variable Enablement


In the Workflow editor, it is now possible to use object variables for facies conditioning in both facies and
petrophysical modeling. Inside the Workflow editor instance of the modeling process dialog, a variable name can
be selected from the property list.

Petrel Platform Whats New Guide 2013

106

27 August 2013

Schlumberger Private Customer Use

For more details, see the utilities section of the online help and the Workflow editor topic, Workflow editor
variable commands.

MIP for Facies Modeling


The Modeling Input Parameters (MIP) editor was introduced for discrete properties in Petrel 2012. In Petrel 2013, it
is now possible to edit Facies modeling parameters from the MIP in the Workflow editor by pressing the MIP
button on the Facies modeling command.

Alternatively, parameters can still be changed in the Facies modeling dialog by double-clicking Facies
modeling or the property name. For more details, see the Modeling online help topic, Modeling Input Parameters
Editor.

Petrel Platform Whats New Guide 2013

107

27 August 2013

Schlumberger Private Customer Use

For example, this new feature allows you to run the same conditioned petrophysical model on multiple facies
scenarios inside the Workflow editor.

For more details, see the Modeling online help topic, Modeling input parameters editor and the sub-topic, In the
workflow editor.

Object Modeling
Body Shape Enhancements
The Fan lobe (formerly Deltaic/alluvial fan) and Oxbow lake body shapes in Object modeling have been modified to
offer more flexibility.
It is now possible to select the radial profile geometry of the Fan lobe from among the same four options used by
Ellipse shape: Sharp edges, Rounded, Rounded base, and Rounded top.
In addition the Tapering parameter has been added, to allow the lobe to thin longitudinally.

Schlumberger Private Customer Use

The shape of the Oxbow lake has been changed from an open U-shaped half ellipse to a closing three-quarter
ellipse. The new shape is a more realistic representation of an abandoned meander and offers more possibilities in
terms of customized shapes.
An additional the Channel width parameter allows you to modify the width of the channel independently of the
dimensions of the abandoned meander.

Petrel Platform Whats New Guide 2013

108

27 August 2013

Reporting Enhancements
The output messages for object modeling have been clarified and improved to include detailed result fraction and
geometry statistics per body. This information is now also stored in the Comments tab of the property and
updated every time the property is re-run.

Petrel Platform Whats New Guide 2013

109

27 August 2013

Schlumberger Private Customer Use

For more details, see the Facies Modeling online help topic, Settings in Object Modeling.

Geometrical Modeling
Seismic Resampling Performance Enhancement
Seismic data or its derived attributes are often used as soft probabilities to condition petrophysical property
models. The introduction of the continuous Trend modeling functionality in 2012.1 allowed creating trend
properties by combining multiple inputs, thus increasing the need for bringing seismic data into 3D models. Seismic
resampling is a computer intensive process and, until 2012.1, it was not using the parallel processing abilities of
modern computers.
The seismic resampling in Geometrical modeling has been made significantly faster through full parallelization
of the algorithms and seismic data access. The table below shows the compared run times between versions for
resampling a 9Gb ZGY cube in a 5 million cells model, using a 32 cores machine :
2011.2.7
30min
19h30min

2012.4
25min
85min

2013.1
35s
78min

Model Extraction from Inside Polygons


The ability to extract part of a model inside a polygon has been added to the Output tab of the 3D grid Settings
dialog. All properties from the original grid will be copied to the output grid.

A new workflow editor command (Operations\Model extraction\Output part of grid inside polygon) allows
automating the operation for multiple polygons.

Petrel Platform Whats New Guide 2013

110

27 August 2013

Schlumberger Private Customer Use

Method
Intersect (Default)
Exact
.

For more details, see the Core online help topic, 3D grids Output tab.

Make Thickness/Proportion Maps Operation


The operations Make thickness/proportion maps and Make thickness/proportion maps (for each zone)
were added to the Settings dialogs for all discrete properties. Click the Operations tab and expand the Make
map from property folder.

Schlumberger Private Customer Use

The Make thickness/proportion maps operation allows you to compute individual maps for all or some of the
codes of a discrete property. This operation can be used to generate maps such as facies, net sand, and net pay.
For more details, see the Core online help topic, Operations tab (Individual Properties).

Petrel Platform Whats New Guide 2013

111

27 August 2013

Facies Probabilities Calculation


The new Facies probabilities operation allows you to compute facies probability properties from multiple facies
realizations. It is located in the Operations tab of the Settings dialog for the 3D grids Properties folder. The
probability properties can be used for quality control, for assessing the spatial uncertainty of the facies distribution,
as trends in the model, etc.

It is now possible to switch the active grid without closing and re-opening the modeling processes. When a
modeling process is open, a different 3D grid can be made active by clicking its name in the Models pane. The
open process then refreshes and the modeling parameters for the first property of the newly activated grid are
displayed.
NOTE: Parameter changes that are not saved or not run in the previously active grid will be lost.
When any modeling processes are open, you can now also:

Copy a grid
Delete a grid
Copy properties of the active grid
Delete properties of the active grid

Inspector for Properties


The Properties Inspector adapts the generic Inspector window to reflect commonly used statistics and settings for
discrete and continuous property in the active window. It provides a quick access to the following information:

Cell statistics
Cell value edition
Color template edition
Property display style

Petrel Platform Whats New Guide 2013

112

27 August 2013

Schlumberger Private Customer Use

Modeling Processes Active 3D Grid Switching

Model-Dependent Default Variogram Ranges Switch


Default variogram ranges calculated from the model dimensions were introduced in 2012.1. In 2013.1 it is possible
to disable the automatic default ranges computation in the System settings of Petrel or through Petrels
configuration file. A button in the variogram tab of Facies and Petrophysical modeling will then allow the modeldependent defaults to be computed manually.

For more details, see the online help topic, General Information on Property Modeling.

Petrel Platform Whats New Guide 2013

113

27 August 2013

Schlumberger Private Customer Use

For more details, see the online help topic, Property Inspector.

Fracture Modeling
2013.2
Petrel 2013.2 is introducing a new geomechanically-based solution to the fracture modeling field, for constraining
the Discrete Fracture Modeling (DFM). This module is based on the iBem3D (Poly3D) engine and aims at computing
maps of both natural fracture orientation and density trends from computed stress field by using observed major
faults (Petrel seismic structural framework) and observed fracture data.

Geomechanical method
Geomechanically-based driver for constraining fracture modeling in Petrel

The process for generating such a driver is conceptually simple: first, you need a faults model coming from a
structural framework and fracture data (associated with wells for this release), and, secondly you need to run a
forward modeling using a tectonic stress (imposed or inverted).
Figure 75. Fault framework, fracture data and generated discrete fracture network

Petrel Platform Whats New Guide 2013

114

27 August 2013

Schlumberger Private Customer Use

This module brings a new geomechanically-based driver for constraining the existing create fracture network
process. The main idea behind this technique is to model the perturbed stress field directly linked to the active
fault under applied tectonic stresses. These tectonic stresses, through geological time, can be deduced from an
inversion using the fracture data and the faults model or, if well known, can be directly imposed. From this
perturbed stress field, on each point of a selected grid, it is then possible to extract geometrical characteristics of
potential natural fractures developed inside this perturbed stress field. A calibration with observed fractures along
the wells is applied in order to provide a calibrated computed density of the fractures. At the end, these
characteristics can be directly used in the create fracture network process to generate a discrete fracture network.

Comparison of data and computed fractures


As each fracture data has its corresponding computed attributes (Dip azimuth, dip angle), you can use the rose
diagram in the Well Section Window (WSW) in order to compare the fracture data and the computed fractures.
Figure 76. Rose diagrams or Fracture data and computed fractures on the WSW

Fracture
data

Computed
fractures

Fracture
data

Computed
fractures

You can use a grid horizon in order to compute chosen attributes, such as stress or strain tensor, displacement,
principal strain or stress. On each point, potential fracture characteristics are computed and can be displayed on
the grid horizon, for example, vector display for fracture strike.
Figure 77. Vector of joint strike and associated discrete fractures network

Joint strike vector map

Petrel Platform Whats New Guide 2013

Discrete Fractures network map

115

27 August 2013

Schlumberger Private Customer Use

Computing map of fractures trend orientation

Discrete Fracture Network


This geomechanically-based driver provides all necessary inputs for creating a discrete fracture network. Using
failure criterion for the particular type of fracture, the computed state of stress on each point will provide the
computed fracture trends and calibrated density with the fracture data along the well.
The created discrete fracture network will follow this fracture density map and the fracture orientation trend as
illustrated in Figure 78.
Figure 78. Computed and calibrated Fracture density and Discrete fracture network

Schlumberger Private Customer Use

Petrel Platform Whats New Guide 2013

116

27 August 2013

Workflow illustration
Figure 79. General workflow for the module

Schlumberger Private Customer Use

Petrel Platform Whats New Guide 2013

117

27 August 2013

Main Benefits of the Geomechanically-Based DFN Driver


Classical fracture analysis
This method is based on a statistical analysis of the fractures sets in terms of orientation. The user defines a
fracture set for each apparent orientation using a stereonet representation. In the following example (Figure 80),
this leads to the generation of two fracture networks based on two apparent fractures sets.
Figure 80. Computed fracture strike and corresponding DFN using classical approach

Set 1

Set 2

Geomechanically-based approach
Assuming that the observed fractures develop during one tectonic event around active faults, there could be only
one set of fractures for this tectonic event, even though the combined rose diagram displays two orientations. The
corresponding fracture network (Error! Reference source not found.) created from the perturbed stress field is
very different from the one using the classical fracture analysis approach.
Figure 81. Computed fracture strike and corresponding DFN using geomechanical approach

Petrel Platform Whats New Guide 2013

118

27 August 2013

Schlumberger Private Customer Use

Fracture orientation maps used to drive DFN

Set 1

Set 1

Fracture orientation maps used to drive DFN

Schlumberger Private Customer Use

Petrel Platform Whats New Guide 2013

119

27 August 2013

Well Design
2013.1
Well Plan Inspector
Style Tab
On the Inspector Style tab, you can edit the styles for Well plans, the Control points and Design points.
The style settings on the Inspector Style tab is synchronized with the settings in the Well plan settings
dialog box.

Well plan

Control
point and
design point

Settings

Option Details

Symbol

To edit the Well plan symbol style, select the Symbol check box.
Position to display the symbol: Top, Centre, Base, or Surface.
Size: move the slider to set the symbol size. The preset range is from 1 to 2000.

Label

To edit the Well plan label style, select the Label check box.
Position to display the label: Top, Centre, Base, or Surface.
Size: move the slider to set the label size. The preset range is from 1 to 2000.
To freeze the size of label regardless of zoom in or out, select the 2D check box.

Path

To edit the Well plan path style, select the Path check box.
Size: move the slider to set the path width. The preset range is from Narrow to Wide.
Color By: As well, Specified, Black, DLS, White, or Z value.

Symbol

To edit the point symbol style, select the Symbol check box.
Size: move the slider to set the symbol size. The preset range is from 1 to 2000.

Label

To edit the point label style, select the Label check box.
Size: move the slider to set the label size. The preset range is from 1 to 2000.
To freeze the size of label regardless of zoom in or out, select the 2D check box.
Property: Azimuth, DLS, Inclination, MD, TVD, or All.
Position: Left or Right.

Petrel Platform Whats New Guide 2013

120

27 August 2013

Schlumberger Private Customer Use

Object

Constrained 3D Editor Tab


On the Inspector window Constrained 3D Editor tab, you can view and edit the well plan data.

The data highlighted in blue color can be edited. The data are highlighted based on the profile selection in
the Well path designer. The selection can be made by clicking on any row that is part of the profile of
interest in the Well path designer spreadsheet or by clicking this profile in the well plan displayed 3D
window.
The information displayed in the tab shows only the attributes of the design point for the selected profile.
Computation Status: Success or Fail indicates the well plan computation status.
The unit system in Petrel Project settings are used to display the data.
For some of the curve profiles, the
down list.

warning indicates that you need to select a value from the drop-

Importing Data from COMPASSTM EDM File


TM

Now you can import EDM file data (Survey, Plan, Prototype, and Target) from Landmark's COMPASS 2003 and
TM
R5000 software product. (COMPASS is a registered trademark of Landmark, a subsidiary of Halliburton.)

Importing Survey Options


In Petrel 2013, when importing Surveys from WITSML or EDM files, you have the options to select the method to
be used to compute the survey points during importing.

Petrel Platform Whats New Guide 2013

121

27 August 2013

Schlumberger Private Customer Use

Six-value method: Compute with MD, INCL, AZIM, NS, EW, TVD as input. This is usually for the second
hand data. This is the preferred way to compute the trajectory if it is unknown which computation method
was used in the source survey. This option will use AZIM(TN), NS(TN) and EW(TN) from input data as
known data and other trajectory values will be calculated by Azimuthal-equidistant method.

Three-value method: Compute the absolute positions (X, Y, Z) of well path points using MD, INCL, AZIM
as input. This is the preferred way if the source trajectory is computed using minimum curvature
algorithm (*).
(*) Minimum curvature algorithm: Between two neighbor points the curve follows a circular ARC.

When importing Surveys from WITSML files, you also have the options to select the MD and TVD elevation
reference:
Kelly bushing (KB)
Mean sea level (MSL)
Other: type the offset distance to the MSL

Petrel Platform Whats New Guide 2013

122

27 August 2013

Schlumberger Private Customer Use

When importing Surveys from WITSML or EDM files, there are two options available:

EDM Data Index Item Manager


You can manage the EDM data source files in EDM data index item manager. Open the Petrel Tools
menu and click EDM data index item manager. The EDM data index item manager dialog appears.

To add a new EDM data source file, click

To remove an EDM source file, select the item and click

To refresh the index status, click


.
The system will refresh the status based by checking
o if the source file has an index
o if the source file still available
o the last modified date of the source file.

.
.

status indicates that the index is good. No need to re-index the file.

status indicates that the EDM source file has been changed after last indexing or the
Corresponding Petrel CRS has been changed. You need to re-index the EDM file.
To index or re-index an EDM source file, click the Index button
for this file. For the
new project in the EDM file, you need to select the Corresponding Petrel CRS accordingly
and then click Index button
.

To expand all the EDM files to see the projects inside, click

To collapse the entire index, click

To re-index all the changed EDM source files, click

To re-index all the EDM source files, click

To remove all the EDM source files, click

Petrel Platform Whats New Guide 2013

.
.

.
.

123

27 August 2013

Schlumberger Private Customer Use

WITSML Risks Importing for Multiple Wells


Well Design allows you to import risks for multiple wells in WITSML 1.3.1 or 1.4.1 format.
To import risks to multiple wells
1. In Petrel Input pane, right-click the root Wells folder and click Import (on selection).

2. In the Files of type list, click Drilling risks (WITSML)(*xml), and then select the risk WITSML file to
be imported.

3. Click Open to see the Well matching dialog box and remove or change the automatic mapping.

Petrel Platform Whats New Guide 2013

124

27 August 2013

Schlumberger Private Customer Use

The Import file dialog box appears.

There are two columns in the table.

Wells in file: This column lists all the wells in the risk WITSML file.
Project wells: This column is to be filled with the matching wells in the Petrel project.

If the wells in the WITSML file have the same names as the wells in the Petrel project Wells folder, the
wells with the same names will be mapped automatically, although you can change this.

5. Click OK to start importing.


During importing, Petrel system checks for duplicated risks using the risk name, type and depth. If
there is any duplicated risk in the matched Petrel well, the Duplicate risk dialog box appears,
displaying the risk name and project well name.

Petrel Platform Whats New Guide 2013

125

27 August 2013

Schlumberger Private Customer Use

4. Map each well in the WITSML file to a well in the Petrel project. To do this, select the destination well
in Petrel Input pane and click the corresponding blue arrow button to add it to the Project well column.
If the well in the WITSML file is not mapped to any Petrel project well, the risk data for this well will not
be imported.

Production
2013.2
New Production Analytics
The Petrel combined core license enables new features including abilities to manually back allocate, visualize
completion level data in the well section window, and generate grid and bubble maps of production data.

Production Bubble Mapping Process


You can post production bubbles at depth and play through time. The new process introduced for generating bubble
maps of production data (well level data, completion level data, and virtual sets) makes it easier for you to visualize
the production data you want at various aggregation levels, such as, completion, well, and zone. The picking mode
is the same as that used for the results charting and analysis process.

Production Mapping Process


You can generate grid maps for production data and play them through time. The new process introduced for
generating grid maps of production data makes it easier for you to visualize the production data you want at
various aggregation levels, such as, completion, well, and zone. The picking mode is the same as that used for the
results charting and analysis process. The production mapping process utilizes a nearest neighbor algorithm to
quickly generate grid maps of the production information.

Petrel Platform Whats New Guide 2013

126

27 August 2013

Schlumberger Private Customer Use

The features of the production analytics module include:


A new production track has been added to the well section window capabilities.
A production mapping process for generation of production data grid maps.
A production bubble mapping process for generation of at-depth bubble maps.
The split set and split set manager functionality to allow for manual back allocation of well level
production data to completion level by time and phase.

Production Track for Well Section Windows


You can post completion level data in a track alongside log and cross section in the production track for the well
section window. There are four pre-defined templates that allow you to display rate-time, cumulative-time graphs
or pie charts at the perforation and play them through time next to the well configuration and any necessary log
information. Behavior of the track is similar to the tadpole or comment track.

Schlumberger Private Customer Use

Split Set and Split Set Manager


The Split set and Split set manager allow you to manually allocate well level production to the completion level.
Use the Petrel Split set manager to back allocate the wellbore production to the completion levels by splitting well
level observed data sets into completion intervals called split sets. One of the most important daily practices for
the Reservoir and Production Engineer is allocating the produced volumes back to the reservoir. This practice is
fundamental for many reasons: Material balance, Injection efficiency and Voidage Replacement Ratios
calculations. This practice is sometimes complicated, especially when you are producing from many reservoirs or
layers within the same wellbore. To that end, we are introducing the Split set and the Split set manager into Petrel.
You can manually enter completion level factors for the entire completion or by phase. You can then apply this split
set to a well level observed data set to create a derived completion level data set and use this for visualization.

Petrel Platform Whats New Guide 2013

127

27 August 2013

OFM Data Connector


Import Completion Level Data with the OFM Data Connector
The OFM Data Connector has been modified so you can now import the completion level data from OFM into
Petrel. This creates a data association between the OFM completion and the Petrel perforation, which can then be
used for visualization and analysis.
The streamlined UI for the OFM Data Connector allows the user to map to different data levels for well information
and production histories. You can now map to the completion level or to the traditional well level. The UI is
responsive to well selections and provides a wizard type format to assist the user in mapping OFM completions to
Petrel completions.

Schlumberger Private Customer Use

Petrel Platform Whats New Guide 2013

128

27 August 2013

Import Well Annotations with the OFM Data Connector


The OFM Data Connector has been modified to support the import of well annotations from OFM for posting on
rate time plots generated with the Results charting and analysis process.
As in OFM, you can explain anomalies in production plots with explanations from well notes. For example, as
shown in the screenshot, you will see markers where events have taken place in the lifetime of the well that will
give you context for a wells behavior. The OFM Data Connector UI has been modified to allow the mapping of the
notes table from OFM.

Schlumberger Private Customer Use

Support Full Flow Path in VFP Simulation


In well models where the completion depth is above the bottom depth of tubing or any completion tool depth, the
flow path from completion depth up to the well head is considered in the same way it is considered for Nodal
Analysis calculations. The resulting BHP pressure in the VFP table is calculated in the tubing the same as it is
currently calculated in PIPESIM.
The default reference depth value, the shallowest completion not squeezed, takes into account the entire well
model as it is configured by the user and all downhole tools within the well model are enabled for sensitivity
purposes.
If the reference depth is modified by the user, the well is treated as a modified well model where the model ends
at the modified depth value and only the downhole completions tools down to the modified reference depth are
displayed for sensitivity purposes.
Petrel Platform Whats New Guide 2013

129

27 August 2013

Support Gas Separator and Viscosity Correction in ESP


When sensitizing on ESP in a VFP simulation, you can choose to include a gas separator and apply viscosity
correction. Petrel assumes the efficiency is 100%.

Import Well Location from PIPESIM if the Well Location is


Defined in GIS
When importing PIPESIM data to Petrel, if the well location is defined in the PIPESIM GIS component and you
select a CRS in Petrel, the well head location is converted to the selected Petrel CRS. Otherwise, the well head
location in Petrel defaults to (0,0).

Schlumberger Private Customer Use

Petrel Platform Whats New Guide 2013

130

27 August 2013

Well Deliverability
2013.1
Petrel Well Deliverability 2013 allows you to:

Flow Correlation Data Matching


This feature allows you to optimize Flow Correlation for vertical and deviated wells in order to enhance the
accuracy of pressure and heat loss calculation along the well model. Set of 20 vertical and 17 horizontal flow
correlations can be compared and optimized to enable selection of the concluding curve that best suits field
conditions. With FCDM Case, several sources for pressure and temperature data can be used: survey analysis DTS,
PLTs, observed dataset at BH and TH, etc. This process will optimize vertical and horizontal flow correlation for a
single and multiple wells within one single set-up. . You also have the ability to auto-commit the lowest RMS flow
correlation to or to manually commit the appropriate FC to its corresponding well model (Allow the user to make
decision).

Inflow Performance Relationship (IPR)


User-Defined IPR Model
User-based Inflow Performance Relationships for oil, gas, and water or for an IPR result from a reservoir simulator
such as ECLIPSE or INTERSECT can be retrieved manually in the User-defined IPR. Easily copy and paste data from

a text type file or Excel spreadsheet type data.


The IPR model compares the bottom-hole flowing pressure of a well with its production rate. Combined with
NODAL* analysis techniques, the IPR helps to determine the optimal production scheme (most efficient flow
rate), design production equipment, and simulate artificial-lift systems.

Calculated IPR Variables from Well Test Data


Multi-rate well test data can be used to match the inflow to actual measured data, in addition to using standard
IPR equations.
In the IPR Model Manager you can derive the IPR model based on well test data, to better represent well
performance. The values corresponding to well test data are plotted along with the IPR curve, so you can check the
quality of the IPR curve. The closer the data points are to the curve, the better the model is.

Petrel Platform Whats New Guide 2013

131

27 August 2013

Schlumberger Private Customer Use

import well models from PIPESIM


perform flow correlation data matching on wells
create VFP tables within Petrel and use them in existing RE workflows (such as development
strategies/field management and Uncertainty and Optimization) as part of workflow-enabled steps within
Petrel
consume IPR curves from manually inputted well test data as well as IPRs generated from a reservoir
simulator
create and display the results of Nodal Analysis cases either to distinguish if the well is operating at its
optimum level or to generate the conditions at which the well will operate at its optimum level.

Two types of well test analyses are supported: Multipoint and Isochronal. Multipoint is a short-term test
used mostly in the field. Isochronal is a long-term test wherein the time needed to get a static reservoir
pressure governs the duration.
By automating the iterative calculation process, time is saved in finding these values:

AOFP
Well PI
Constant C

Vertical Flow Performance (VFP)


VFP Workflow Step Enabled

Automated association of distinctive updated VFP table with its correspondent well configuration will be carried
out under development strategy process.

VFP in Uncertainty and Optimization


You can carry out Uncertainty and Optimization analysis in Petrel taking into account several well configuration and
fluid properties associated to a well. This process is facilitated by having enabled automatic VFP table creation as
a function of well configuration and/or fluid properties scenarios. Since VFP table is enabled into the workflow
editor Uncertainty and Optimization studies can be carried out thoroughly.

VFP for Injector Wells


VFP tables for water and gas injection wells can be created in Well Deliverability for Petrel 2013.1.

Support for Electric Submersible Pump ESP


Hydraulic table calculation can account for the effects of artificially lifting the well by ESP. The performance curve
is created with sensitivity analysis on various parameters such as well head pressure, water cut, gas ratios and
liquid or gas or mass flowrates and ESP parameters such as frequency and stages.

Petrel Platform Whats New Guide 2013

132

27 August 2013

Schlumberger Private Customer Use

VFP table collection cases can be inserted under Workflow Editor to create multiple workflows for a project and
store them for running later. By enabling VFP under Workflow Editor, distinctive VFP table are automatically regenerated for each scenario of well configuration. You can perform several simulation cases or development
strategies for as many as infinite combination of well configuration without the need of modifying manually the
well model.

6. To resolve a risk duplication, select one of the following actions and then click OK or OK for all:

Do not load this risk

Override the existing risk

Load this risk with a new name

Click OK to apply the action to this specific duplicated risk. Click OK for all to apply you selection to all
duplicated risks.

Set Plan as Active Work Step


The Set plan as active command can be found in the Workflow editor. It is under the Well path design
(new) folder of the Operations tab. When this command runs, the selected plan becomes the active plan for
its parent borehole.
Schlumberger Private Customer Use

Petrel Platform Whats New Guide 2013

133

27 August 2013

Reservoir Engineering
2013.2
Changes to INTERSECT Support in Petrel
When you install Petrel 2013.2, you have the choice between installing the connector to INTERSECT 2012.2 or
INTERSECT 2013.1. The connector is that part of Petrel that creates Field Management strategies and exports
INTERSECT simulation cases. The default choice is to install the connector to INTERSECT 2013.1, the newest
release of INTERSECT. You can later change the connector by using the Modify option in the Petrel E&P Platform
installer.

In addition, in your INTERSECT simulation cases you can now include the new INTERSECT 2013.1 functionality,
which was previously only available for ECLIPSE cases.
You can use two-phase black oil fluid models
You can specify the use of the Forcheimer equation for non-Darcy flow using the check box option on the
Function tab of Define Simulation Case dialog. This is relevant for non-laminar flow regimes, for example, in
high flow areas around fractured wells
You can include gas adsorption functions which can be created in the Rock Physics process. These models are
needed, for example, when simulating shale reservoirs.

Correct specification by Petrel of valve pipe diameters may result


in changes to the frictional pressure drop
WSEGVALV pipe diameter and cross-sectional area are taken from the devices inner diameter or the constriction
diameter (whichever is the greater), rather than using the WELSEGS-attributes.
The WSEGVALV keyword generates pressure drops due to both the constriction and friction within the device. The
frictional component is generated using a pipe diameter and cross sectional area as specified on the WSEGVALV
keyword (items 6 and 8). These items were left at their default values. Under these circumstances, ECLIPSE uses
the diameter and cross sectional area of the segment defined in WELSEGS, where the diameter and cross sectional
area set to those of the constriction. Any calculated frictional pressure drop was therefore artificially too big;
especially when the constriction was particularly small.
This calculation error has been resolved by specifying the pipe attributes directly on WSEGVALV as either the inner
diameter/cross sectional area of the devices tubing (see the device attributes in the Completions Manager) or the
maximum constriction diameter/cross sectional area, whichever is the larger (the latter is just to protect against a
pipe that is smaller than the constriction which ECLIPSE does not allow). Tubing diameter is generally large
(several inches) and so results in a negligible frictional pressure drop across the valve. This change affects Nozzle
ICDs (NICD), Annular and Inline flow control valves (AFCV/IFCV).

Petrel Platform Whats New Guide 2013

134

27 August 2013

Schlumberger Private Customer Use

The INTERSECT 2013.1 connector provides an enhanced Field Management feature that allow the import of a Field
Management strategy into Petrel, and the export of a strategy for review and use in an INTERSECT simulation run.
In addition to the existing supported completion types, the Field management process can now be used to create a
strategy utilizing the new sliding sleeve devices in multi-segment wells.

Unrecognized summary results are now visible in the Results


pane
Unrecognized summary results are now listed in the Results pane, and can be viewed through the Results
Charting and Analysis process. These identifiers are now imported and are visible under the Other folder of the
Results pane. These identifiers are listed by their identifier name used in the data files.

Improvements to the reference valve calculation when


converting to simulation design
Completion design operations that make use of the 'physical valves equivalent' attribute allowing a single device
to represent any number of physical valves on export to the simulator now have all WSEGVALV and WELSEGS
items scaled correctly.

In previous versions, not all keyword items (in particular 'maximum cross sectional area' on WSEGVALV and
'segment cross sectional area' and 'diameter' on WELSEGS) were scaled correctly, potentially resulting in the
current cross sectional area in WSEGVALV being larger than maximum specified. This difference would cause the
simulator to fail with an error, and has been resolved by this change.

2013.1
Behavioral Changes
VFP Tables with GRAT ALQ Type Unit Measurement
If your project contains VFP tables with an ALQ type GRAT, prior to upgrading to 2013, you will need to export
those tables and re-import in the new version of petrel after upgrading the project.
Before the 2012.1 release, VFP tables with an ALQ type GRAT were imported using the IGLR and TGLR units
3
3
3
(that is, MSCF/STB field or sm /sm metric). The import now uses MSCF/day field units or SM /day metric units to
match the treatment in ECLIPSE

Non-midnight Time Steps in Existing Projects


Improvements that optimize project load in Petrel 2013 mean that time step information is read from the RSSPEC
file, rather than Restart files. RSSPEC files produced by 2013 simulators contain both date and time information,
unlike previous RSSPEC files, which contain date information only.
Most existing projects will have all time steps at midnight, in which case this change is not a problem. These
projects will benefit from the project load speed improvement.

Petrel Platform Whats New Guide 2013

135

27 August 2013

Schlumberger Private Customer Use

Certain completion design operations make use of a device attribute called physical valves equivalent. This
attribute allows a single device to represent any number of physical valves on export to the simulator and is
defined by scaling the simulator keyword attributes for that device by the number of physical devices it is
representing.

For existing projects with non-midnight time steps, the time steps will now be assumed to be at midnight. In Petrel
2012 there was already a problem with non-midnight time steps for summary results, so this workflow was already
problematic. These issues have been resolved in Petrel 2013 for newly created projects.
If you have an existing project with non-midnight time steps that you would like to open in Petrel 2013 without
losing time information, delete the RSSPEC file from the relevant simulation case directory and it will be
regenerated with both date and time information. This is not done automatically because some information (that is
not used by Petrel) is lost during the regeneration process.

Pressure Equivalent Radius r0 Exported for OPEN Connections Only


In previous releases, there was an inconsistency in the export of the pressure equivalent radius (r0) data to the
COMPDAT and COMPDATL keywords. If r0 is not explicitly exported, the value is set by ECLIPSE to the cached
value for the cell in question, if this has been defined. Petrel explicitly exported a value for the pressure equivalent
radius of zero for SHUT connections in COMPDAT but not in COMPDATL.

Longer Lines Written to ECLIPSE Deck Files


Petrel now uses a higher limit for writing lines to ECLIPSE deck files (132 characters instead of 70).
If you re-export a simulation case in Petrel 2013 that shares Petrel generated deck files with a base case (and many
such cases do), the case will probably no longer share files with its base case. Re-export the base case, and then
re-export the derived case. File sharing will be restored.

Change of Default Number of Rows in Capillary Pressure Tables in Make Rock Physics
In previous versions of Petrel, by default the capillary pressure table contained twice as many rows as the relative
permeability table. The number of table entries should generally be set to the same value for capillary pressure and
relative permeabilities in order for the combined table exported to simulators to match the tables seen in Petrel.

On Upgrade
The current (2008.12012.1) behavior is conserved by default. On upgrade, if you open Make rock physics on an
existing saturation subject, populate the relative permeability, table entries field with the existing tables entries
value (N), and populate the capillary pressure table entries fields with 2N.
When Make rock physics is opened and Create new used, the auto-populated default values enter the same
value into both the relative permeability table entries and the capillary pressure table entries fields. After this, you
can independently change the values and thereby revert to the 2008.12012.1 behavior if required.

Petrel Platform Whats New Guide 2013

136

27 August 2013

Schlumberger Private Customer Use

The net result of this is that:


For normal cells r0 is set to zero for SHUT connections.
For LGR cells r0 can be set to a previously calculated value (that is, for an OPEN connection at the cell
earlier on). Since connections can be forced open by the simulator (for example, by using the WELLOPEN
keyword), this behavior is considered to be correct. Therefore, the explicit export of r0 to COMPDAT is now
performed only for OPEN connections.

License Module Changes

Performance Improvements
Numerous targeted performance improvements have been made to Petrel Reservoir Engineering, as follows. The
benefits depend on the hardware specification of the machine used, for example memory, graphics card, and disk
access speed.
The following operations are faster for models with many cells:
Loading simulation results (especially with a .GRID file over the network).
Picking a cell in a 3D window to view the cell information in the status bar.
The following operations are faster for models with many wells:
Displaying summary vectors using the Results charting and analysis process.
Displaying all wells in a 3D window with simulation results present.
Switching between 3D windows with simulation results present.
The following operations are faster for models with many LGRs:
Displaying LGRs in a 3D window with simulation results present.
Updating the LGR stepping toolbar when displaying a property for the first time.
The following operations are faster for cases with many 3D report steps:
Loading the project.
Displaying a property for the first time.
Displaying Composite Saturation.
Creating a 1D filter.
Displaying generated streamlines.
The following operations are faster for INTERSECT cases:
Exporting a case using a development strategy with many wells.
Copy case and Insert restart case.

Petrel Platform Whats New Guide 2013

137

27 August 2013

Schlumberger Private Customer Use

The following license changes have come into effect with Petrel 2013:
The Make Contacts process is now available through both Geoscience and Reservoir Engineering Core
licenses. This means you are now able to use the process where only the RE core license is available. As
in previous releases, the Make Contacts process is available through the Geoscience Core only or
Combined Core licenses.
A new, single-license module, called Combined Assisted Matching and Production Forecasting has been
introduced in 2013.
As the name suggests, this provides access to all the history matching and optimization functionality in
Petrel. It is equivalent to having both the Optimization and History Match Analysis modules in previous
releases of Petrel.
The Optimization license module has been renamed Production Forecasting Optimization to clarify the
workflow types enabled by this module.
Note: Access to the history matching objective function is no longer available when using the Reservoir
Engineering Core license only with the Production Forecasting Optimization module. To use the history
matching objective function, you either need the Combined Assisted Matching and Production Forecasting
license module, or the History Match Analysis license module.

The following operations are also faster:


Importing an ECLIPSE data file containing large numbers (thousands) of keywords.
Displaying a simulation log with many messages when the simulation has failed.
Closing the Results charting and analysis process.
RESQML file import and export for typical models. The improvements are most notable for grids which are
not highly faulted, or where a large number of grid properties are used.

Documentation
Following on from the 2012.1 restructuring of the reservoir engineering sections of the online manual, the following
areas have been refreshed in 2013:
Wells & completions
Uncertainty & optimization

Results Charting and Analysis

New Plotting Data Options


Picking modes are the methods of selecting data in Results charting and analysis to plot against each other.
The following modes are available:

Data vs. time Plot 2D results and observed data on the y-axis against time or date on the X-axis.
Data vs. time (additive) Extension of Data vs. time. You can make a selection and add this to the
results with one click. You can then select and add different properties, building up a more complex
custom plot. This plot type displays the following buttons in the dialog:
Add Lines Adds the current selection to the Selected series list, provided it is not already there.
Delete highlighted Deletes highlighted series in the select series pane, customizing your
selection further.
Delete all Clears the selected series. Use this if you need to start your plot again.
Clear all Clears all selections made everywhere, except for selected series.

Scatter by time Plot two data series from the same source (case / observed data set) and identifier
(well / group / field) against each other. Each point represents a single identifier at a single time, with X
and Y values representing the values of two different properties.

Scatter by identifier Plot multiple time-based data series from the same source (case/observed data
set) against each other. Each point represents a single identifier at the time selected in the Time player.

Simulation vs. observed Plot data from one or more cases against an observed data set to analyze
any differences. The graph plots data at a particular time step, chosen using the time player. Each point
represents a single identifier for a single property at a single time. The Time player can be used to play
the data through time.
The Y value is chosen from a simulation case and the X value is chosen from the observed data set. Any
points on the X=Y line are exact matches. For points below the line, the observed quantity is larger than
the simulated quantity. For points above the line, the observed quantity is smaller.

Petrel Platform Whats New Guide 2013

138

27 August 2013

Schlumberger Private Customer Use

Within this process, Petrel now provides five picking modes, that is, five different ways to plot data. The splitting
modes provide numerous ways to organize your charts. There are three new chart tools are available: Well player,
Case player, and the Charting window inspector.

Splitting Options
Use the Split by: list in the Results charting and analysis dialog to specify how to present your charts.
The options, which depend on the picking mode selected, are listed below.

Option Produces
Only one chart.

Source

One chart for each selected source.

Case

One chart for each selected case.

Property

A chart for each selected property.

Primary identifier

A chart for each selected primary identifier (for example, well)

Quantity

A chart for each quantity that the selected properties have. For example,
"Cumulatives", "Limits", and "Rates" will each produce a different chart.

Series

A chart for each series.

Source type

A chart for each type of source. The possible types (which may not all be present in
every project) are "Simulation", "Simulation collection", "Proxy collection",
"Development strategy", and "Observed".

Secondary
identifier

A chart for each secondary identifier. Series without any secondary identifiers are all
placed on a separate chart.

Measurement

A chart for each distinct measurement available for the selected properties, for
example "Liquid flow rate", "Gas flow rate" and so on.

Property
component

A chart for each distinct component available for the selected properties.

Combined

This useful option attempts to group commonly related items in the same charts.

Phase

A chart for each distinct phase available for the selected properties.

Production type

A chart for each distinct production type of the selected properties. Possible values are
"Production", "Injection", and "General".

Well Player
The Well player buttons appear on the plotting toolbar when it is possible to move between identifiers in a chart.
You can move between identifiers when data for just one primary identifier, probably a well, is plotted. Identifiers
which have no data are excluded. Suppose you have three wells, P1, P2 and P3 and your chart is showing data for
P1. Clicking the Move forwards ... button displays data for P2; clicking it again shows data for P3.
The Well player is only available for the following picking modes:
Data vs. time.
Data vs. time (additive).
Scatter by time.

Petrel Platform Whats New Guide 2013

139

27 August 2013

Schlumberger Private Customer Use

Don't split

NOTE: If the Results charting and analysis dialog is open when you use these buttons, the dialog reflects
your identifier selection.
The buttons are:
Move forwards through identifiers
- moves forward one identifier. This displays the next identifier
(if one is available and has data to display). The display wraps around all available identifiers at the same
level.
Move backwards through identifiers
- moves back one identifier. This displays the previous
identifier (if one is available and has data to display). The display wraps around all available identifiers at
the same level
Jump to specific identifier
- shows a list of identifiers. Select the identifier you want and click OK
to display it on the chart. You can use the Filter field to reduce the number of identifiers to select from.
As you enter characters in this field, identifiers which do not match them are removed from the list.

Case Player

To do this:
1. Choose one of the following:
To change the selected sources for a single chart, right-click the chart in the Results pane and select
Replace source.
To change the selected sources for all the charts in a study, right-click the study in the Results pane
and select Replace source.
A table is displayed with a single row per source, showing:
Chart - the chart in which the given source is used.
Picking mode - the picking mode used to create the chart.
Source- the source to replace in that chart.
Target - the source to replace the above source with.
2. Specify the target to use to replace any particular source. You can change the sources independently of
each other. Repeat this for each source you want to change.
3. If you want to replace sources for all charts in a study, select Lock sources between charts of the
same plot type. With this option selected, changing the target on one row automatically changes the
target for any rows which use the named source and plot type.
4. Click OK to replace the sources.

Charting Window Inspector


In a charting window, you can use the Inspector to examine values on the chart. It has three modes, crosshairs,
general, and continuous.
The Inspector is available for all charts, but operates differently depending on the chart's picking mode. The
Inspector collapses data into the most suitable form for display.

Petrel Platform Whats New Guide 2013

140

27 August 2013

Schlumberger Private Customer Use

You can change the selected source for a single chart, or the sources for all the charts in a study. You can change
sources independently of each other.

Crosshairs Mode
This is the default mode for charts produced using the Data vs. time and Data vs. time (Additive) picking modes, the
only modes it is available for. When you click on a chart, a vertical slice is taken and values from this displayed in
the Inspector, for example:

General Mode
This is the standard General mode, where the Inspector displays data for the closest point to the cursor location,
that is, for one primary identifier.

For charts that do not have a Crosshairs mode (Scatter by time, Scatter by identifier, and Simulation vs. observed),
this is the default mode.

Petrel Platform Whats New Guide 2013

141

27 August 2013

Schlumberger Private Customer Use

If you switch off Crosshairs mode, the Inspector reverts to General mode.

Continuous Mode
This is the standard Continuous mode. The Selection and Window linking options are not available in a charting
window.
After you enable Continuous mode, you do not need to click on the chart; the Inspector is updated as you move
your mouse over the chart. This works with crosshairs enabled or disabled, and across all plotting modes.

Date/Time Format
The format of the date/time displayed is set by the chart theme. In most cases this might be auto which results
in the generic MM/DD/YYYY HH:MM style display of time. If you want a more specific date/time format, you must
change it in the chart theme settings.

Sliding Sleeve and FCV Simulation


In Petrel 2013, sliding sleeve and FCV control data can be imported from a file. A new rule controls sliding sleeve
completions' open/closed status over time from historical observations.

You can import control data for sliding sleeves and Annular Flow Control Valves (AFCVs) from a file.
The imported data appears in the Input pane, stored in a folder called Device control data under Global
completions in the Wells folder.
1. Expand the Wells folder in the Input pane.
2. Right-click the Global completions folder and select Import (on selection).
3. In the Import file dialog, select Sliding sleeve history data (ASCII) (*.ssd) in the Files of type: list.
Browse for the sliding sleeve history file you want to import, and click Open.
4. The Import sliding sleeve history data dialog opens. Its Wells tab lists the well names obtained from
the file, and the wells that exist in your project.
NOTE: If Petrel cannot find a match for a well name in the file, the data for that well is ignored.
5. To view the information on a well, click it in the Petrel well trace column, and select the well from a
drop-down list.
6. Review the Unknown data tab. This is where any data in the file that Petrel cannot interpret is shown.
Edit the file as required.
7. You can choose to import the data into a new Sliding sleeve history data set, or merge the data into an
existing set. Use the Create new and Merge with options at the top of the dialog.
8. If you want to build well completions from the SlidingSleeve section of the file, select the Build
well completion from Sliding Sleeve data check box. This check box is disabled if the file does not
contain SlidingSleeve sections, or if the Merge with option is used. If this option is not selected,
Petrel expects to find completion devices on the wells in the Input pane with the same names as those
given in the file.
9. Click OK to import the file. Check the message log for any issues and make corrections if necessary.

Petrel Platform Whats New Guide 2013

142

27 August 2013

Schlumberger Private Customer Use

Import of Historical Sliding Sleeve Data from New File Format

Sliding Sleeve Device Control Data File Format


Use this file format to import Sliding Sleeve Device (SSD) or Annular Flow Control Valve (AFCV) control data into
Petrel.

Example Format

Format Requirements
If you choose not to build the completion from the file contents, each well's completion (including all SSDs and/or
AFCVs) must have been defined in Petrel before the file is imported. Petrel uses the well and device names in the
file to identify each completion device and associate the device 'status' data with it.
When mapping the file contents to an existing Petrel completion, if a well and device name pair cannot be matched
to a Petrel completion device, Petrel writes an error message to the log window.
The WellDef, SlidingSleeve and SlidingSleeveStatus sections must be scoped with curly brackets '{ }'. If
names contain spaces they must be within quotes, otherwise quotes are optional.
MDUnit
The Measured Depth (MD) unit, either m (the default) or ft. If this is omitted from a WellDef
section, the previously encountered MDUnit value (if there is one) in the file is used.

Petrel Platform Whats New Guide 2013

143

27 August 2013

Schlumberger Private Customer Use

WellDef "P9" {
MDUnit=ft
SlidingSleeve { -- Optional section
ValveType "SSD" -- Optional, determines type of device to build, SSD by default
-- Name
StartMD EndMD
SSDA
5640
6000
"SSDB"
6000
6400
"SSDC"
6400
6950
}
SlidingSleeveStatus {
DATE 1-Feb-2000
-- Name FractionOpen
"SSDA"
1.0
"SSDB"
1.0
"SSDC"
1.0
SlidingSleeveStatus {
DATE 1-May-2000
SSDB
0.00
}
SlidingSleeveStatus {
DATE 1-Jul-2000
"SSDA"
0.02 -- Value reflects leaking device
"SSDB"
1.00
"SSDC"
0.00
}
} -- End of P9 definition

SlidingSleeve
This section defines the Measured Depth intervals that flow through each sliding sleeve device. This
section is optional and is only used if you choose to build a functional well completion from the file
contents, in which case the well completion is built based on this section, using the following rules:

Each line in the SlidingSleeve section defines both the well MD interval that flows through a
device (StartMD to EndMD) and the location of the device (at StartMD).
A sliding sleeve device with default parameters is placed at every StartMD in the section. A default
tubing string is added, extending to the most upstream EndMD within the section.
A packer is placed at every StartMD and EndMD depth.
The well is cased to the most downstream packer.
Well intervals must not overlap each other.

ValveType (optional)
By default the completion is built with SSDs. To build another type of controllable device, change this
value. Currently the only supported device types are SSD and AFCV.

Comments
All text on a line that follows two dashes '--' is treated as comments.

Sliding Sleeve History Development Strategy Rule


This new rule controls sliding sleeve completions' open/closed status over time from historical observations. It
must be used in conjunction with the Multi-segmented well option.
Wells
Drop in a well or folder of wells from the strategy tree. For this rule to work correctly, all wells with sliding sleeve
control should be segmented using Define well segmentation and the segmentation set used when building the
simulation case.
Sliding sleeve history data set
Drop in the set of imported sliding sleeve control data from the Input pane. This can be found in the Device
control data folder under the Global Completions folder.

Petrel Platform Whats New Guide 2013

144

27 August 2013

Schlumberger Private Customer Use

SlidingSleeveStatus
This section defines when devices are controlled and to what setting (fraction open). There are two items:
DATE This must come first. All devices are assumed fully open at their start date, unless stated
otherwise in the well's earliest SlidingSleeveStatus section. When mapping the file contents
to an existing Petrel completion, if data is given for a device at a DATE that is earlier than the
completion device's start date, the data is ignored and a warning written to the log window.
FractionOpen If a device is not specified in a section, its FractionOpen remains unchanged at
that time. If the value is outside the range 0.0 to 1.0, the value is constrained within that range and a
warning is written to the log.

Shift
Choose one of the following:
No shifting - all dates at which the sliding sleeves are 'controlled' are injected into the simulation
timeline. This is the recommended approach as it is not possible to average out these discrete changes to
the sliding sleeve status.
Shift - control data are shifted to the previous reporting date in the simulation timeline. If the device is
controlled more than once in a report interval, the first control state in the interval is shifted to the start of
the interval. If the following report interval has no control data, the last control state in the interval is
shifted to the end of the interval. If any control data will be lost as a result of the above, a warning
message is written to the simulation log on export.

Connection Factor Enhancements


Connection Factor Calculation Options

The calculation method is selected from the Well connection factor options field on the Strategies tab of the
Define simulation case process. The options offered are:
Calculate using E300 method (Petrel default) - the net-to-gross value is used as a multiplier on the Z
component of the well penetration vector through a cell.
Calculate using E100 method - the net-to-gross value is used as a multiplier on the Z component of the well
penetration vector through a cell and as a multiplier on the height of the block.
Calculate using scaled permeabilities - the net-to-gross value is used as a multiplier on the X and Y direction
permeabilities.
Use default calculation in simulator - Petrel does not calculate and export values for the following data. It sets
the values in the simulation input files to the simulator default code, for example '1*' for ECLIPSE.
Transmissibility factor for the connection.
KH.
Skin.
Pressure equivalent radius.
Look up from grid property the connection factor is looked up directly from the specified input grid property.
Connection factors for wells within an unstructured grid are always calculated using the Scaled permeabilities
option. In a case where structured grids contain unstructured LGRs, any connection factors calculated for the LGRs
use the Scaled permeabilities option.
When the Use default calculation in simulator option is chosen, the well bore diameter is not set to the default
because the ECLIPSE 100 default value is undefined

Petrel Platform Whats New Guide 2013

145

27 August 2013

Schlumberger Private Customer Use

Petrel 2013 now offers five options for how the calculation of connection factors between the well and the
reservoir should be done. The three methods from the ECLIPSE suite Schedule application are supported, and in
addition you have the option to default the calculation to the simulator for those simulators that can calculate the
connection factor internally.

Visualizing Well Connection Properties


When available, the Connection transmissibility factor (CF) and Effective Kh (KH) are loaded and displayed as
dynamic 3D simulation results. This is currently only supported for ECLIPSE simulation cases.
For cells connected to one or more wells, the corresponding well connection property is displayed. For any other
cells, no property is shown. In cases where more than one well is connected to a single cell, only one value is
displayed.
To obtain the required data from the simulator, select Grid properties in the Define simulation case process
Results tab, 3D simulation results sub-tab.
Like other dynamic 3D simulation results, these properties can change with time step, for example if a connection
is squeezed. If a well connection is completely shut, no CF or Kh property for that connection is shown.
NOTE: Existing projects are not automatically upgraded to include these dynamic results. If you wish to
load ECLIPSE results for an existing project, reload the simulation results for a case.
Schlumberger Private Customer Use

This example shows the display for the Connection transmissibility factor:

Petrel Platform Whats New Guide 2013

146

27 August 2013

Capillary Pressure and Relative Permeability Tables


Independent Creation and Editing
In previous versions of Petrel you could not separately control the editing of the capillary pressure and the relative
permeability functions within a saturation function when the Make rock physics process was run. In 2013.1 you
have this separate control.
The Make rock physics process is used to make changes to functions that are generated from correlations, for
example to change the Corey coefficients of a relative permeability function or the exponent b of the J-function
correlation J = a.eb.Swat. Unless the Use correlation or Use J-function options have been ticked for that part of
an existing saturation function, Petrel does not change it. In this way you can within the same Petrel saturation
function, use relative permeability and capillary pressure / J function functions that are created by Petrel from
correlations and defined by entering the tables directly in the spreadsheet view

Change of Default Number of Rows in Capillary Pressure Tables


In previous versions of Petrel, by default the capillary pressure table contained twice as many rows as the relative
permeability table. The number of table entries should generally be set to the same value for capillary pressure and
relative permeabilities in order for the combined table exported to simulators to match the tables seen in Petrel.

On Upgrade
The current 2008.1- 2012.1 behavior is conserved by default. On upgrade, if you open Make rock physics on an
existing saturation subject, populate the relative permeability, table entries field with the existing tables entries
value (N), and populate the capillary pressure table entries fields with 2N.
When Make rock physics is opened and Create new used, the auto-populated default values enter the same
value into both the relative permeability table entries and the capillary pressure table entries fields. After this, you
can independently change the values and thereby revert to the 2008.1- 2012.1 behavior if required.

Enhanced ECLIPSE Deck Import and Export


Header Information Written to all ECLIPSE Deck Files
Header information is now written to all ECLIPSE deck files exported by Petrel.
Previously, Petrel only wrote header information into exported *.GRDECL files. It now writes such information
into all exported deck files (that is, *.DATA, *.INC, and *.GRDECL).

Support for SKIP/ENDSKIP Keywords


SKIP and ENDSKIP are now supported when importing ECLIPSE decks into Petrel. However, there are some

limitations at present:
Skipped keywords are not reported as skipped when importing decks, they are just silently ignored.
SKIP100 and SKIP300 are not supported.
Skipped sections cannot be edited using Petrel's keyword editor (as they are not loaded).

Petrel Platform Whats New Guide 2013

147

27 August 2013

Schlumberger Private Customer Use

This is valuable when for example you wish to run uncertainty on your relative curves generated by Petrel from
correlations, but have fixed capillary pressure functions defined in tables that you do not wish to be changed.

Support for PATHS Keyword


Keyword PATHS are now supported when importing ECLIPSE decks to Petrel. ECLIPSE data sets containing PATHS
keywords can now be imported to Petrel.
NOTE: PATHS keywords are not generated in exported data sets, but can be added as user keywords.

Support for Non-Darcy Flow Forchheimer Correction


The Forchheimer correction to the Darcy fluid flow equation takes into account the inertia effects due to high
velocity flow that may occur in high permeability regions such as fractures. The correction adds an additional term
to the equation with a coefficient called the Forchheimer parameter.
There is a new field and checkbox Use non-Darcy flow (Drainage relative permeabilities only) in the
Functions tab of the Define simulation case process that enables you to select this option and enter the
2 -1
Forchheimer parameter . Units are entered in atma.s .g (known as Forchheimer units). Petrel exports the more
general VDFLOWR keyword in all cases.

Precision Changes for Keyword Export


Numeric Precision in Templates
The numeric precision for each template can be set, either in terms of the number of significant figures or the
number of decimal places. A maximum precision of eight decimal places or eight significant figures can be set.
The Numeric precision field in a Petrel template can be used to control:
The precision with which numerical values are displayed in Petrel dialogs.
The precision with which some values are written to file by some Petrel exporters.
The default precision for most templates is two or four decimal places. This works well for many, but not all, cases.
Examples of where more precision is required include the following:
For unconventional fields, a higher precision and use of significant figures is required to represent
nanoDarcy permeabilities.
For some simulation cases, the rock physics functions require higher precision to correctly simulate multiphase flow within the reservoir.

Controlling Numeric Precision for Export


The numeric precision for each template can be set, either in terms of the number of significant figures or the
number of decimal places. The default precision for most templates is from two to four decimal places and these
values work well for many, but not all, cases. You can set a maximum precision of eight decimal places or eight
significant figures.
The Numeric precision field in a Petrel template can be used to control:
The precision with which numerical values are displayed in Petrel dialogs.

Petrel Platform Whats New Guide 2013

148

27 August 2013

Schlumberger Private Customer Use

NOTE: For the Petrel 2013 release, this is an ECLIPSE only functionality. INTERSECT 2012 and earlier
versions do not support non Darcy flow and will ignore this option if used. However, non-Darcy flow will
be supported for an INTERSECT case for INTERSECT 2013.1 (and later versions) through the Petrel
2013.1INTERSECT 2013.1 connector upgrade that will be release with INTERSECT 2013.1

The precision with which some values are written to file by some Petrel exporters. For example, templates
control the export precision for those parts of simulation case files that most often need user control,
either to preserve information by increased precision, or to reduce the volume of the exported files by
reducing the number of digits written to file.

NOTE: Not all numbers in a simulation case are controlled by the template. See Templates used by ECLIPSE
keywords for the details of which templates map to which ECLIPSE keyword item in the ECLIPSE file format
and ECLIPSE simulation case exporter.
For example, for unconventional fields where permeability magnitudes are of the order of nanoDarcies, the default
four decimal places would result in zero values being shown and exported. When importing an existing ECLIPSE
case, it can be critical to preserve the full precision of the original keyword arguments when converting these to
Petrel subjects and then exporting the converted case. Examples are the values within the relative permeability
tables where the step from zero to "not quite zero" is critical for controlling the phase mobility and hence simulated
breakthrough behavior.

The following tables list the templates used by various ECLIPSE keywords.
The Petrel template can be used to control the precision with which some values are written to file by some Petrel
exporters.

Grid Templates
The numeric precision of some Grid keyword items is controlled by templates. The table below shows which
template controls the numeric precision of each Grid keyword item. All other Grid properties use the
template assigned to grid property.
NOTE: Where no item is specified, the template applies to all items in the keyword.
Keyword Item

Template

COORD

Distance

HXFIN

Fraction

HYFIN

Fraction

HZFIN

Fraction

MAPAXES 1 to 6

Distance

MULTX

Transmissibility multiplier

MULTY

Transmissibility multiplier

MULTZ

Transmissibility multiplier

ZCORN

Elevation depth

Petrel Platform Whats New Guide 2013

149

27 August 2013

Schlumberger Private Customer Use

Templates Used by ECLIPSE Keywords

Rock Physics Templates


The numeric precision of the following keyword items is controlled by templates. The table below shows which
template controls the numeric precision of each keyword item.
Keyword

Item

Template

DIFFCBM

Diffusivity

DIFFCOAL 1

Diffusivity

JFUNCR

Oil-water surface tension


Oil-gas surface tension

1
2

Pressure
Coal gas volume per mass

LANGMUIR 1

Pressure
Gas concentration

SGFN

1
2
3

Gas saturation
Gas relative permeability
Capillary pressure

SGOF

1
2
3
4

Gas saturation
Gas relative permeability
Oil relative permeability
Capillary pressure

SOF2

1
2

Oil saturation
Oil relative permeability

SOF3

1
2
3

Oil saturation
Oil relative permeability
Oil relative permeability

SWFN

1
2
3

Water saturation
Water relative permeability
Capillary pressure

SWOF

1
2
3
4

Water saturation
Water relative permeability
Oil relative permeability
Capillary pressure

Petrel Platform Whats New Guide 2013

Schlumberger Private Customer Use

LANGMEXT 1

150

27 August 2013

Rock Compaction Keywords


Keyword

Item

Template

ROCK

1
2

Pressure
Rock compressibility
Bulk modulus
Compressional modulus
Rock compressibility
Rock compressibility

ROCKPAME 1

2
3

Bulk modulus
Compressional modulus
Rock compressibility

ROCKTAB

1
2
3

Pressure
Pore volume multiplier
Transmissibility multiplier

2
3
4

Schlumberger Private Customer Use

ROCKPAMA 1

Development Strategy Templates


The numeric precision of the following keyword items is controlled by the templates shown.
Keyword

Item

Template

GCONINJE

4
5
6
7
13

Oil injection rate, Water injection rate, Gas injection


rate
Reservoir injection rate
Fraction
Fraction
Gas injection rate

GCONPROD

3
4
5
6
14
15
16
17

Oil production rate


Water production rate
Gas production rate
Liquid production rate
Reservoir production rate
Fraction
Gas production rate
Enthalpy flow rate

GCONSALE/GRUPSALE 2

Gas production rate

GCONSUMP/GRUPFUEL 2

Gas production rate

GECON

Oil production rate


Gas production rate
Water cut
Gas-oil ratio
Water-gas ratio

2
3
4
5
6

Petrel Platform Whats New Guide 2013

151

27 August 2013

Keyword

Item

Template

GEFAC

Uptime fraction

GLIFTOPT

Gas injection rate

GPMAINT

5
7

Pressure
Simulation time
Gas production rate

LIFTOPT

Gas injection rate

WCONINJE

5
6
7, 8
10
11

Gas injection rate, Oil injection rate, Water injection


rate
Reservoir injection rate
Pressure
Gas-oil ratio, Oil-gas ratio
Gas-oil ratio, Oil-gas ratio

WCONPPROD

4
5
6
7
8
9
10
13
14
15
16
17
18

Oil production rate


Water production rate
Gas production rate
Liquid production rate
Reservoir production rate
Pressure
Pressure
Gas production rate
Molar rate
Water production rate
Pressure
Relative temperature
Enthalpy flow rate

WCYCLE

2
3
4
5

Simulation time
Simulation time
Simulation time
Simulation time

WDRILTIM

Simulation time

WECON

2
3
4
5
6
11
13
14
15

Oil production rate


Gas production rate
Water cut
Gas-oil ratio
Water-gas ratio
Water cut
Gas-oil ratio
Liquid production rate
Relative temperature

WECONINJ

Water injection rate, Gas injection rate, Oil injection


rate

Petrel Platform Whats New Guide 2013

152

Schlumberger Private Customer Use

GRUPFUEL/GRUPSALE 2

27 August 2013

Item

Template

WEFAC

Uptime fraction

WELDRAW

Pressure

WELLWAG

11
12
13
14

Pressure
Pressure
Pressure
Pressure

WELSPECS

Elevation general

WELTARG

Pressure, Water injection rate, Gas injection rate, Oil


production rate, Water production rate,
Gas production rate, Liquid production rate, Reservoir
production rate, Pressure, Relative temperature

WINJTEMP

3
4
5

Relative temperature
Pressure
Molar enthalpy

WLIFTOPT

3
5

Gas injection rate


Gas injection rate

WTEST

2
5

Simulation time
Simulation time

Schlumberger Private Customer Use

Keyword

Fluids Templates
The numeric precision of the following keyword items is controlled by the templates shown.
Keyword Item

Template

COMPVD

1
4

Elevation general
Pressure

MW

list

Molar mass

MWS

list

Molar mass

PCRIT

list

Pressure

PCRITS

list

Pressure

RTEMP

Absolute temperature

TCRIT

list

Absolute temperature

TCRITS

list

Absolute temperature

TEMPVD

1
2

Elevation general
Absolute temperature

ZMFVD

Elevation general

Petrel Platform Whats New Guide 2013

153

27 August 2013

Wells and Completions Templates


The numeric precision of some wells and completions keyword items is controlled by templates. The table below
shows which template controls the numeric precision of each keyword item.
Item

Template

COMPDAT

8
9
10
11
14

Connection transmissibility
Completion diameter
Permeability-length
Skin
Drainage radius

COMPDATL

9
10
11
12
15

Connection transmissibility
Completion diameter
Permeability-length
Skin
Drainage radius

COMPSEGL

6
7
10
11

Measured depth
Measured depth
Measured depth
Measured depth

COMPSEGS

5
6
9
10

Measured depth
Measured depth
Measured depth
Measured depth

COMPVE

8
9
10

Measured depth
Measured depth
Measured depth

HEATER

5
6
7

Enthalpy flow rate


Absolute temperature
Heat transmissibility

HEATERL

6
7
8

Enthalpy flow rate


Absolute temperature
Heat transmissibility

MULTX, MULTY,
MULTZ

list

Transmissibility multiplier

WELPI

PI gas

WELSEGS

2
3
4

Measured depth
Measured depth
Completion diameter

WELSEGS
(thermal)

13
14

Completion area
Thermal conductivity matrix-fracture

Petrel Platform Whats New Guide 2013

154

Schlumberger Private Customer Use

Keyword

27 August 2013

Keyword

Template

15

Thermal conductivity matrix-fracture

WELSEGS Record
list

5
6
7
8
9
10

Measured depth
Measured depth
Completion diameter
Roughness
Completion area
Completion diameter

WSEGAICD

Completion depth

WSEGHEAT

5
7

Thermal conductivity matrix-fracture


Absolute temperature

WSEGLABY

6
7
8
9
10

Completion area
Completion depth
Completion depth
Completion diameter
Roughness

WSEGSICD

Completion depth

WSEGVALV

Completion area

Field Management
Drag and Drop Modes in the Field Management Dialog
Petrel 2013 introduces two drag and drop modes in the Field management dialog. You can:

Drag from the Toolbox onto the Strategy pane. This is the same as right-clicking the node and selecting
New and a child node. When you start to drag an item from the Toolbox, nodes that you can drop it into
turn green. If a node which the item can be dropped into is currently hidden (as its parent node has
collapsed children), hovering the mouse over the parent node highlighted in green causes that node to
expand.
Drag and drop between nodes in the Strategy pane. When a node is dragged from one parent node to
another, if it can be dropped into a property on that node, the node expands showing the list of properties
that the node can be dropped into. This is the same as selecting the target node, and then using the drop
control for the property on the Properties pane.

Drop Mode Active


When you are about to add entities to the Entity list field of an item in the Properties pane, clicking in the entity
list field highlights the entities that can be dropped in. At this point, you are in "drop mode" and a Drop mode
active button appears in the Strategy pane.
To exit drop mode, click Drop mode active. From this point, entities can no longer be dropped in. To reactivate
drop mode, just click in the Entity list field again.

Petrel Platform Whats New Guide 2013

155

27 August 2013

Schlumberger Private Customer Use

Item

If you want to change the behavior of the drop mode, you have the following options:

Cancel drop mode after drop - drop mode ends once an entity has been dropped using the blue arrow.
Alter background color in drop mode - changes the background color of the Strategy pane when in
drop mode.

Entering an Expression as Text


You can enter an expression name as text, and then replace the text with a reference to the expression. To insert
an expression, say as a constraint in a guide rate balancing action.

In the Constraints field, enter the name of an expression in the format "Expression('<Expression
name>')". For example, for an expression named "New Expression 2", you would enter:
Expression('New Expression 2').
Click Switch to expression reference
adjacent to the field to replace the text with the expression
itself.

You can create a region list based on any "region" 3D grid property. The created regions can be used in
expressions.
1. In the Strategy pane, right-click Regions then select New and Create 3D property region. A New
Region List entry is created.
2. Select the New Region List entry. In the Properties panel, drop the 3D property to use into the Grid
region property field. A region is created for each region defined in the 3D grid property. The region list
is named to match the selected 3D property.

Field Management Options


Use the Options button on the Field Management dialog to configure aspects of its operation. The options appear
in a list when you click the Options button, except for Switch to IX World tree view, which is itself a button. By
default, only the first three options listed below appear.

Always show advanced fields Select this if you want the Advanced pane to be expanded whenever
a node is selected in the tree. Otherwise, the Advanced pane is only expanded if it was expanded for the
last selected node.
Cancel drop mode after drop If selected drop mode ends once an entity has been blue arrow
dropped.
Alter background color in drop mode Changes the background color of the tree panel when in drop
mode.
Show hidden nodes & fields Select to show hidden items.
Show programmatic nodes & fields Select to show these items.
Show partner nodes & fields Select to show partner items.
Switch to IX World tree view Click to show the tree in INTERSECT format.

Petrel Platform Whats New Guide 2013

156

27 August 2013

Schlumberger Private Customer Use

Creating a Region List for a 3D Property

Enabling the full set of options


To access the other options, edit the FMOptions element in the PetrelConfiguration.xml file.
CAUTION: Take great care editing this file.
The FMOptions element has three attributes, shown on the left of the table. Their effect is shown in the body of
the table (y makes the UI item visible).

Effect
Show partner
nodes & fields

Attribute PartnerEnabled

Show hidden Show programmatic


nodes and
nodes & fields
fields

y
y
y

Support for INTERSECT Workflows


Petrel 2013 is released with a connector to the latest version of INTERSECT, that is to INTERSECT 2012.2.
Note these INTERSECT 2012.2 features are supported in the Petrel 2012.3 update release and later updates of
Petrel 2012

Support for Temperature vs. Depth Tables (TEMPVD) in INTERSECT


Support for temperature vs. depth tables has been extended to INTERSECT cases for Compositional and Thermal
models where Temperature can be set as a user function. The TEMPVD keyword is not written to the intermediate
ECLIPSE deck; instead the data is communicated to INTERSECT via the TEMPI property in the GSG file.

Modeling Fault Threshold Pressure


Petrel, through the Petrel-INTERSECT connector, supports the modeling and simulation of fault threshold pressure.
There are two options:
Constant fault threshold pressure, that is, a single value across the whole fault. This is equivalent to the
THPRESFT keyword support in the existing Petrel-ECLIPSE workflow.
Variable fault threshold pressure where, using the Structural and fault analysis process, you can model
the variation in threshold pressure from the physical properties of a fault and pass this to the simulator.
This is a Petrel-INTERSECT only workflow that offers a more realistic approach to simulating the effects of
faults on reservoir behavior.
NOTE: Fault threshold pressure is not supported for stair step faults.

Petrel Platform Whats New Guide 2013

157

27 August 2013

Schlumberger Private Customer Use

FMSchemaViewEnabled
HiddenNodesEnabled

Switch to IX
World tree view
(button)

Figure 82. Variable fault threshold pressure

Schlumberger Private Customer Use

Petrel Platform Whats New Guide 2013

158

27 August 2013

Studio
2013.2
Studio Database Compatibility
Petrel 2013.1 and Petrel 2013.2 can be connected to any Studio Database 2013.X. The following table shows the
details for the compatibility of the Petrel versions with the Studio Database versions.
Studio Database
Version

Compatibility

2013.1
2013.1
2013.2
2013.2
2013.1
2013.2
2012.X

2013.1
2013.2
2013.1
2013.2
2012.X
2012.X
2013.X

Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
No
No
No

Original CRS
Studio stores the Original CRS information and it can be retrieved from the Database to Petrel. The value of the
Original CRS is displayed in the Repository Data Table.

Petrel Platform Whats New Guide 2013

159

27 August 2013

Schlumberger Private Customer Use

Petrel Version

The following data types are supported:


Wells
Seismic 3D Survey, any folder with 3D data
Seismic Cube
Horizon 3D Interpretation
Lines
Boundaries
Fault Sticks
Fault Interpretation
Regular Surface
Points
Polygons
2D Line navigation
Custom domain objects

When Seismic Data (ZGY/SEGY) is transferred to Studio, you have the option to enable the generation of a time
slice that is also sent to Studio. With this option enabled, when the repository is indexed, the seismic cube is
represented spatially by a bounding cube and a time slice at the mid-way point. With the option disabled, you will
only see the bounding cube.

Petrel Platform Whats New Guide 2013

160

27 August 2013

Schlumberger Private Customer Use

Option to enable/disable Seismic image generation during


transfer

Schlumberger Private Customer Use

Support of Raster Logs


Studio will support Raster logs. Images will be stored externally and Studio will store the location of these files.
Send and Retrieve of a well with these logs automatically transfer the custom logs under the selected well.

Enabling Well Tops Folder Synchronization Status


You can enable a synchronization status icon displayed for the Well Tops folder in the Database tool Project
and Repository trees. This icon indicates if a well top in the Well Tops folder has been added, deleted, or changed
in either your Petrel project or the repository since the last refresh of the Database tool.

Re-parenting of seismic interpretation


The re-parenting of seismic interpretation has been enhanced. You now have the ability to re-parent more than one
horizon at a time and to a survey that has a similar geometry (i.e., different CRS in the database). You can also reparent seismic interpretation to a survey in the database with a greater survey range.
Petrel Platform Whats New Guide 2013

161

27 August 2013

2013.1
Studio Installer
Studio now has its own installer for the following components:
Studio Manager - Includes previous data environment manager functionality (indexing), database
manager functionality and new data management workflows. This functionality replaces tools that were
previously listed under the Custom option for Petrel installation. New database configuration functionality
has also been added, which includes installation and upgrade functionality for your Studio Database.
Studio Manager is a licensed application with licensing options for Oracle and Microsoft SQL Server.
Runtime Installer

Schlumberger Private Customer Use

For information on new features inside Studio 2013 (Database, Manager and Runtime), please see the Studio
Release Notes available with the Studio installer, which is available through the Software Download Center or the
Studio DVD.

Find
Saved Selection
You can now share a list of data items via email or a shared disk with other users. This facilitates a central team or
a specific data administrator to load data on someones behalf. It also allows certain data sources to be visible to
users while allowing control over how the data is loaded. It is also now possible to import data items using a
previously saved list.

Petrel Platform Whats New Guide 2013

162

27 August 2013

You can define several multi-level, customized tree views under Search results to arrange data items in a custom
hierarchy.

Petrel Platform Whats New Guide 2013

163

27 August 2013

Schlumberger Private Customer Use

User defined search result hierarchy

Favorites
You can now highlight one or more objects in the Search results pane that are contained within your local project
and then add them to objects in the Favorites pane.

Importing and Exporting Shape Files


When importing shape files to Petrel, shape files and attribute names can be greater than or equal to 8 characters.
You can now export Petrel object shapes to shape files, which can then be imported into other applications.

Map Service preview


When adding a new map service, you are now given a thumbnail preview.

Petrel Platform Whats New Guide 2013

164

27 August 2013

Schlumberger Private Customer Use

General

Support for URLs in the Inspector


For Webmap services, the Inspector now supports URLs, where the underlying map service has defined the
attribute as a URL type.

Schlumberger Private Customer Use

Petrel Platform Whats New Guide 2013

165

27 August 2013

Framework
2013.2
Spline/Linear interpolation switch for opacity curve
For objects that support templates and color tables, a new option in the color table editor allows you to switch
between linear and spline interpolation for the opacity curve. The default is spline interpolation, which was the
only option in previous version of Petrel. To use this option, open the objects Settings dialog and click the Color
tab.

Schlumberger Private Customer Use

Petrel Platform Whats New Guide 2013

166

27 August 2013

Rendering geo-referenced images in geographic space


In previous Petrel versions, images geo-referenced in latitude/longitude were often inaccurately rendered in the
large geographic areas, such as those used in regional exploration workflows. In the 2013.2 release, you can
replace latitude/longitude coordinates for geo-referenced images with a user-specified scheme. To do this,
explicitly specify four corners from the image CRS (by default, WGS1984), which can differ from your projects CRS.
Rendering an image in a 2D or 3D window morphs it into spatial correctness by texture-mapping onto tiled grids.

Schlumberger Private Customer Use

Petrel Platform Whats New Guide 2013

167

27 August 2013

General
2013.2
CRS Consolidation
Restructured Tools menu
A specific menu entry for the review and consolidation of the project Coordinate Reference System (CRS) has been
added. The project CRS can now be reviewed directly using Project CRS review. This option launches the CRS
Consolidation dialog with the project CRS in context. All CRS consolidation related menu items are now grouped in
a cascading sub-menu.
Schlumberger Private Customer Use

2013.1
User Interface
The Petrel 2013 release brings several enhancements to the general user interface: a unified help center, updated
window scheme and icons, and changes in the way the data tree synchronizes with actions in the display window.

Petrel Platform Whats New Guide 2013

168

27 August 2013

Help Center
A new Help Center was introduced in 2013.1, putting all documentation associated with Petrel and your installed
Ocean Plug-ins in one place. The Help Center contains the latest Petrel documentation artifacts as well as
documentation from the two previous Petrel versions. It also features a universal search, capable of searching
through all installed documentation. In addition, you are provided with links to access the Support Portal, NExT
training portal, and the Ocean Store.

Schlumberger Private Customer Use

Petrel Platform Whats New Guide 2013

169

27 August 2013

Display
The user interface was upgraded to a modern, fresh look by introducing a new color scheme and application
background, a new set of icons, and updated tooltips.
Figure 83. New Petrel 2013 user interface

Schlumberger Private Customer Use

Figure 84. Sample Petrel icons in 2012 (left) and 2013 (right)

Selection Synchronization to Data Tree


New functionality was added to the data tree, synchronizing it with selections made in the display window.
Previously the data tree only updated to reflect the selected object when using the right mouse button. By
introducing this behavior for left button actions, you can now see which object is selected in the display by looking
at the data tree. Petrel automatically scrolls and expands the tree as necessary. Right mouse button behavior
remains unchanged.

Petrel Platform Whats New Guide 2013

170

27 August 2013

Many processes in Petrel work on the active object. A process is made active by selecting it in the tree or from the
right mouse button option, Toggle active in tree. In Petrel 2013 this was augmented so that selecting an object
in the window also makes it active. This slightly changes some workflows and makes others more efficient and
more ergonomic. The following example compares the steps required to change the relationship between fault A
and fault B when using the 2012 and 2013 versions of Petrel.
Petrel 2012

Petrel 2013

1. Right-click fault A.

1. Select fault A.

2. Click Toggle active in tree.

2. Right-click fault B.

3. Right-click fault B.

3. Click the desired action.

4. Click the desired action.

This behavioral change results in reduced interaction with the data tree. For example, if grid A and grid B are
displayed in the 3D window and you want to set the Property player direction:

In Petrel 2012, you must make the appropriate grid active in the Model tab.
In Petrel 2013, selecting the property in the 3D window automatically makes it active, and the Property
player is immediately available for that property.

Petrel Platform Whats New Guide 2013

171

27 August 2013

Schlumberger Private Customer Use

Activation Follows Selection

Process-Dependent Window Activation Removed


The automatic activation and creation of certain window types for select processes is now turned off. This change
allows you to be in charge of such events. Examples of processes where this change takes effect are fault
modeling, pillar gridding, and automatic fault extraction. For example, Pillar gridding in 2012 automatically opened
a 2D window and populated it with the faults, trends and borders of the active 3D model. That could be confusing
when working with more than one 3D model. In 2013 the choice of window and selection of the data is left up to
you.

Visualization of Points and Polygons


New Point and Polygon Rendering

Large cultural data sets consisting of thousands of polygons could cause severe performance issues in previous
Petrel releases. These are now solved by using graphic card hardware to display the data in the Petrel 3D or 2D
window.
These improvements allow you to continue working interactively in 2D and 3D windows while handling larger and
more datasets without compromising fidelity or accuracy.

Point and Polygon Editing Tools


The ability to create, edit, and select operations are now compounded into a single tool. This enables a more
seamless work pattern. The most significant changes are:

A single polygon editing mode covers point and line selection, bounding-box selection, moving of points
and lines, and appending and inserting points (through a key modifier).

Previously Petrel restricted interactions to the active object at all times. It is now an explicit setting of the
editing mode. This allows active object dependency to be turned off, thereby broadening the scope of
selection to include all points on visible polygons (similarly for points).

Undo will always undo every change from the last interaction, regardless of how many polygons (or
points) was affected

You can find the tools in the Make/edit polygons process toolbar. Tools whose capabilities are subsumed into
the new modes are omitted.

Petrel Platform Whats New Guide 2013

172

27 August 2013

Schlumberger Private Customer Use

Points and Polygons are two of the most important data types in Petrel, and their display performance is critical in
2D and 3D windows. Many workflows utilize points (such as surface representations) or polygons (such as cultural
data with textured infill). Petrel 2013 introduces a new rendering algorithm for points rendered in 3D spheres. This
default display style replaces the existing 3D Sphere Style (selectable through the Settings dialog or the Point
Data Inspector window), and it utilizes graphic card hardware and memory for display purposes, boosting the
visualization performance significantly. Displaying point sets with >20 million points on a recommended hardware
configuration (essentially impossible on previous versions of Petrel) is now possible while still preserving full
interactivity in a 2D or 3D window.

Figure 85. Process tools in Petrel 2013 (top) and 2012 (bottom)

System Enhancements
Refer to the Petrel 2013 Installation Guide for more information about the following improvements.

Startup Optimization
Petrel 2013 introduces a Startup Optimization setting which is enabled with the Petrel installer.
Figure 86. Petrel startup optimization setting in the installation GUI

Petrel Platform Whats New Guide 2013

173

27 August 2013

Schlumberger Private Customer Use

The following list summarizes the keyboard and mouse actions you now use to edit points and polygons:
Select points Click a point. To add or remove points from the selection, hold down Shift and click.
Selected points can be dragged in the 3D window, deleted, or acted upon by operations in the Process
actions toolbar.
Select polyline Click the line between points to select all points in the line.
Select bounding box Click the background to initiate a bounding box selection. To add or remove
points from the selection, hold down Shift and click.
Deselect all points Click the background to deselect all points.
Add points to an existing polygon With at least one point already selected, hold down Ctrl and click
a point to append it to the polygon. To insert a point between existing points, hold down Ctrl and Shift and
click a point.
Make new polygon If no points are selected when you start adding points, a new polyline will be
created in the active polygon. If there is no active polygon, a new one will be created.

The Startup Optimization runs a native image generator (Ngen) tool that improves performance of managed
applications. Ngen.exe creates native imagesfiles containing compiled processor-specific machine codeand
installs them into the native image cache on the local computer. The runtime can use native images from the cache
instead of using the just-in-time (JIT) compiler to compile the original assembly.
Startup optimization is switched on by default. After Petrel has been installed and the system is idle, Ngen starts
to create native images and stores them on the local PC. This will only take a couple of minutes, depending on the
system load. The whole process is invisible to users, and the system controls when to create the native images and
when to use them.
Once the native images are created, they are used every time Petrel is launched and this improves startup
performance significantly. For further information please read the relevant section of the Petrel 2013 Installation
Guide.

Installation Progress

Figure 87. Progress bar during installation and Petrel startup

Memory Monitoring
Physical RAM memory utilization is further increased with Petrel 2013. Many operations use the CPU and persist in
the machines physical memory (RAM). It is therefore useful to be informed about the utilization level of the
memory buffer, because the overall Petrel performance is affected when operating at memory-size limits.
Petrel 2013 introduces a monitor gauge in the lower-right menu bar. It measures current usage of physical RAM
memory. When usage reaches 90%, the monitor turns red to indicate that you should show caution when executing
further memory-intensive tasks. Petrel will not abort, but performance gradually degrades when consistently
operating > 90% memory usage. A gauge tooltip provides detailed information on the memory usage. Clicking the
RAM gauge is a shortcut to launching Tools>>Free memory from the main menu.

Petrel Platform Whats New Guide 2013

174

27 August 2013

Schlumberger Private Customer Use

Petrel 2013 introduces a progress bar for the installation procedure, informing you about progress and status on
every installation step. In addition, a progress bar is shown when launching Petrel indicating the current task
executed while launching Petrel. This makes the Petrel installation a transparent process with immediate user
feedback.

Figure 88. RAM Gauge with Tooltip

Version Identifier
Petrel projects stored on disks identify themselves through the name, extension, and Petrel icon. However, it is
often useful to know which Petrel version was used the last time the project was saved. Previously you needed to
open the project to discover this information. Petrel 2013 introduces a version identifier in Windows Explorer.
To enable display of the Petrel version:
1. Open Windows Explorer to your project directory, right-click any column heading, and click More.
Schlumberger Private Customer Use

2. In the Choose Details dialog, check the File version option and click OK.
Figure 89. Adding the File Version parameter to Windows Explorer

Once selected, the Petrel version displays in Explorer, as illustrated in the following example. The File Version
identifies Petrel projects from Petrel 2011 or later. From Petrel 2013 forward, minor versions (2013.x) are also
exposed.
Figure 90. Example File version displays for Petrel projects

Petrel Platform Whats New Guide 2013

175

27 August 2013

Coordinate Reference System (CRS)


CRS Consolidation
You may need to reconcile Coordinate Reference System (CRS) data, if your project references external data
sources that are not represented in the Petrel CRS catalogs or naming errors are introduced into the catalog. The
CRS Consolidation process helps resolve such issues.

When importing data into Petrel, you choose the CRS that your data refers to by using the CRS selector. The
catalog choices are typically provided and maintained by your geodetic department using the Coordinate System
Manager in Studio* Manager.
Other data connectors or CRS definitions (for example, from OpenSpirit* Petrel Adaptor or Joint Ventures and
Partners), create data in Petrel with original CRS references to the external data sources. In this case, the new CRS
definitions entering your Petrel project may not be listed in the Petrel CRS catalogs.
CRS matching is complex. For data loaders and transfers, it is generally better to leave the CRS definitions as close
as possible to the original CRS and avoid matching. In the long run, however, it is not desirable to keep multiple,
synonymous CRS definitions in parallel. This is particularly undesirable in the Studio environment, where a CRS
must be present in the reference tables prior to data transfer.
Over time, human error may introduce undesirable CRS naming conventions, e.g., as the result of a typo in a name.
The CRS definitions then become replicated inside multiple Petrel projects. Corrections in the CRS catalogs address
the problem only for new projects and newly-loaded data. Existing projects continue to refer to the old, misnamed
CRS definition.

Petrel Platform Whats New Guide 2013

176

27 August 2013

Schlumberger Private Customer Use

A representation of the user interface is shown above.

Use CRS consolidation to:


Change non-standard CRS definitions to standard definitions
Adjust local CRS naming conventions
Correct typographical errors in CRS names, descriptions, datums, etc.
Consolidate authority codes

Upgraded ESRI Projection Engine


Petrel 2013 deploys a new version (10.1) of the ESRI projection engine. The new version comes with a number of
new coordinate reference systems and transformations, as well as corrections for a few mistakes, which requires
that the Petrel coordinate reference system (CRS) catalogs have to be upgraded. This happens automatically the
first time Petrel opens a CRS selector or the Coordinate System Manager utility is launched. Petrel project data are
upgraded on the fly during project load.
Details:
Catalog handling
o The <Petrel.exe-path>\xml\ CoordinateCatalogConfiguration.xml contains the definition of the
catalog location on disk/network as well as where the user and enterprise catalogs of previous
versions are expected.
o The <Petrel.exe-path>\xml\ESRI10AddOnsCatalog.ctl contains the new CRSs and transformations
known to the new ESRI 10.1 engine; the content is merged into the CRS enterprise catalog on
upgrade.
o Old Petrel projects and catalogs are updated when first loaded to Petrel 2013
ESRI corrections are managed via upgrade files. These files contain the instructions
how to preserve the previous engine behavior. The upgrade files are deployed in:
<Petrel.exe-path>\EsriCatalog\upgrade\CatalogUpgrade9.3.0.txt contains the
replacement instructions for project upgrades from Petrel 2010 to 2011/2012.
<Petrel.exe-path>\EsriCatalog\upgrade\CatalogUpgrade10.0.txt contains the instructions
for upgrade from Petrel 2011/2012 to Petrel 2013.

Petrel Platform Whats New Guide 2013

177

27 August 2013

Schlumberger Private Customer Use

Any Petrel user can submit a CRS consolidation request, which is then approved by a geodetic expert. This is a
four-step process:
1. In the data context of a Petrel project, users propose a new CRS definition for existing data. This is done
by selecting a CRS from the catalog. The proposals are gathered in a separate proposed CRS replacement
table. Once a set of replacements are proposed, the geodetic expert is notified about the proposals, for
example by email with attached proposed CRS replacements.
2. The geodetic expert reviews the proposed CRS replacements and validates them. The validated
replacement pairs are compiled into the approved replacement table, which is a separate data file. The
file format is xml, which can be edited by text editors or in Microsoft Excel. The geodetic expert should
also review the description of the reason for the replacement, because the rational will appear in the data
history.
3. The approved CRS replacement table is deployed to Petrel users. The procedure depends on the
configuration.
4. After deployment, Petrel users can apply the CRS replacement by either interactive execution (logging into
the message window) or by a workstep in a Petrel workflow (logging into a log file).

Upgrade
o Deprecated CRSs and transformations will appear with authority codes [PE_9_3_1, 999<previous
code>] or [PE_10_0_0, 999<previous code>] and carry the previous behavior. These items should
not be used for new projects. Sometimes the old definitions contain serious errors (unit issues,
wrong datum, etc.)
o Projects using deprecated CRSs must be reviewed. If the CRS was used to convert/transform
data into the project CRS the conversion/transformation has to be undone by
converting/transforming from a project with deprecated CRS to a project with correct CRS. If it is
guaranteed that the wrong CRS was never used for conversions/transformations, the definition
can be swapped using the CRS consolidation (see previous section).
o For further details please contact Support for ESRI upgrade documentation.

Schlumberger Private Customer Use

Petrel Platform Whats New Guide 2013

178

27 August 2013

You might also like