Title: Hierarchical sedimentary characterisation and modelling of submarine channels
Researchers: Kishan Soni, Dr Tom Manzocchi
Representation and modelling of sedimentary geological architecture over the five-plus orders of magnitude length-scale relevant to hydrocarbon reservoir production remains a challenge despite decades of research. This is not because the research has proven barren; it is because of the need to keep pace with accelerating technical advances in terms of (a) the volume and diversity of available reservoir data (in particular geophysical data), (b) computing power, and hence the sophistication of the numerical models used to assess reservoir performance, and (c) the conceptual and geometrical understanding of geological architectures made possible by study of outcrop analogues of subsurface reservoirs. This PhD project is concerned with characterizing multiple scales of geometry within channels, applying different tools for building reservoir models of them, and using flow simulation modelling to test the importance of different types and scales of reservoir heterogeneity on hydrocarbon production flow in channelized deposits. Project Aims:- To apply and develop improved reservoir modelling methods for channels deposited in diverse sedimentary environments, based on quantitative hierarchical descriptions.