Fracture Analysis - a key input to the reservoir model
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All reservoirs are fractured, and in at least 20% the fracture system has a critical effect on production and on recoverable reserves. In such fields successful reservoir management requires accurate fracture models to assist in the planning of wells and discrete fracture network models as key input to the reservoir model. In many more fields, end stage or fault compartment production will be influenced by sub-seismic faults and fractures, which were not anticipated in advance of production.

Midland Valley's products provide a unique environment to develop fracture concepts and models. Structural development and strain history are critical in the generation of fracture systems in the real world. Stress history, coupled with diagenetic and fluid history, control which fractures are open systems. These histories can be used to generate fracture models and realisations based on a range of assumptions within the context of the live structure model. This ability has led a number of key clients, notably BP, to identify Midland Valley's systems as a key new analytical tool in this challenging arena.


Offering optimal fracture reservoir management

A common approach during fracture modelling is to integrate strain history with well data to generate fracture networks. These allow attributes to control fracture distributions and densities as well as using stochastic methods. Well fracture data can be used either to control the modelled fracture system, or to test a range of geo-realistic fracture models as part of a probabilistic approach.

This technique is now being used to successfully guide fracture reservoir management in a wide range of reservoirs, from thrust belts to basement fracture systems to carbonate systems. Critically the approach has proved valuable in providing fracture models and scenarios for exploration and early field appraisal with a wide range of data quantity and quality. A number of projects have also been completed that provide detailed fracture and fault models for production planning in large fields where gas clouds have decreased seismic resolution.