Dominique P. Berta

Fractal distributions of reservoir properties and their use in reservoir simulation

Geostatistics has become a popular way to distribute reservoir properties between wells. One of the geostatistical methods being used is fractal geostatistics. Most porosity well logs have been found to have a fractal character. An analysis of vertical and horizontal logs, core photos, and outcrop photos has led to a rather simple model to describe porosity and permeability distributions. This representation has been tested in reservoir simulation of a mature waterflood and found to match production history with very little history matching. Fractal distributions were found to require much less history matching than classical layer cake models. Conoco is now actively applying this new technology to a number of its reservoirs.