Patent · US Active

Probabilistic earth model for subterranean fracture simulation

US8392165B2 · kind B2 · utility

36Cited by
16References
35Claims
0Family size

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Key dates

Filing dateNov 25, 2009
Grant dateMar 5, 2013
Priority date
Expiry dateJul 30, 2031

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC G)Physics
  • CPC primaryG01V1/42
  • WIPO fieldCivil engineering
  • WIPO sectorOther fields

Abstract

Systems, methods, and instructions encoded in a computer-readable medium can perform operations related to generating a model of a subterranean formation based on a probabilistic earth model. An earth model including a probability distribution for a property of a subterranean region is received. A subterranean formation model is generated based on sampling the probability distribution for the property. The subterranean formation model includes information on boundaries of rock blocks of a formation in the subterranean region. The subterranean formation model may be used for simulating an injection treatment applied to the formation, for example, to predict fracture propagation in the formation. In some implementations, the subterranean formation model may be used for designing an injection treatment for the formation.

Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.