Event-Based Geostatistical Modeling: Description and Applications

Event-based methods provide unique opportunities to improve the integration of geologic concepts into reservoir models. This may be accomplished over a continuum of rule complexity from very simple geometric models to complicated dynamics. Even the application of simple rules, including few conceptual interactions based on an understanding of stratigraphic relationships and parametric geometries for event scale depositional and erosion features, have been shown to efficiently produce complicated and realistic reservoir heterogeneities. In more complicated applications, initial and boundary conditions from analysis of paleobathymetry and external controls on sediment supply and the event rules may be informed by process models. These models have interesting features that depart from typical geostatistical model; they demonstrate emergent behaviors and preserve all information at all scales during their construction. These models may be utilized to produce very realistic reservoir models and their unique properties allow for novel applications. These modeling applications include; impact of model scale, seismic resolvability, value of information, flow relevance of advanced architecture, iterative and rule-based conditioning to sparse well and seismic data, numerical analogs for architectural concepts, statistical analysis and classification of architectures, unstructured grid construction and utilization as training and visualization tools.