Description
It is hard to read road signs if you have poor eyesight, which is why driver’s licenses are issued with restrictions requiring that corrective lenses must be worn. Likewise, it is hard to find and exploit subsurface resources if you can’t clearly see your targets or monitor the movement of fluids in the reservoir. Engineers now have powerful tools to precisely model subsurface reservoir production behavior, but a precise answer is still wrong if derived from an inaccurate subsurface description. Selection of the right depositional model, facies distribution, and geostatistical analog depends on having the sharpest, most detailed and accurate image of the subsurface possible - the Grand Challenge of Higher Resolution Subsurface Imaging. Today, advances in seismic and gravity data acquisition, electromagnetics, signal processing and modeling powered by high-performance computing are at the forefront of improved reservoir imaging. In this talk, Jack will examine the challenges of getting higher resolution subsurface images of hydrocarbons and touch on emerging research trends and technologies aimed at delivering a more accurate reservoir picture.