The Norwegian Petroleum Directorate (NPD) has reported the results of two studies showing that machine learning and artificial intelligence can be used to study logs from existing wells to find hydrocarbons that were potentially overlooked.
The Norwegian Petroleum Directorate (NPD) has reported the results of two studies showing that machine learning and artificial intelligence can be used to study logs from existing wells to find hydrocarbons that were potentially overlooked.
The NPD contributed to a study commissioned by British authorities that was completed in 2020. The study showed that there are numerous wells with potential missed pay.
Earth Science Analytics (ESA) has followed up this study, on assignment from the NPD, and reviewed 545 wells in the North Sea. Most of the 1250 exploration wells in the North Sea, more than half of which were dry, have now been analysed and the project identified and classified about 350 potential missed pay intervals.
‘By releasing the analyses and underlying data from the studies, we want to challenge the industry to use this to discover new resources and gain new geological insight,’ said Torgeir Stordal, director technology and coexistence at the NPD.
Well analyses can be very time-consuming, and are therefore only conducted in areas of particular interest, said the NPD. With digital tools that use machine learning algorithms and artificial intelligence, industry players can now conduct well analyses for vast volumes of data in a short amount of time, it added.
‘New technology allows us to use existing data from the shelf to provide insight that would previously have required significant investments. The industry can use the analyses, and we hope that the new methods will inspire innovation and, over time, yield increased value creation,’ says Stordal.
ESA also integrated seismic with well data in the Fram area in the northern North Sea. It has created several three-dimensional datasets with the following reservoir properties: lithology, porosity and water saturation.
Initially, the intent has been to test a new technology that enables faster and less expensive integration of well and seismic data. However, the NPD said that the technology has the potential to provide new information about the subsurface that can improve the value of the underlying data.
‘The result can be used to improve our understanding of the petroleum systems in the North Sea and can hopefully lead to new discoveries,’ Stordal added.
The NPD will release the data from the analysis. including well logs prepared for machine learning and other analysis, lithology, porosity, water saturation, as well as intervals of potential missed pay.
The three-dimensional data sets from the Fram area will initially only be used for internal analyses.
