Geological modeling

The aim of this module is to master fundamental techniques applied to subsurface geological modeling issues: thermal modeling of a sedimentary basin (basin modeling), stratigraphic modeling, reservoir modeling (hydrogeology, petroleum geology, geothermal energy, storage), deposit modeling (quarry or mine). The need for a multi-disciplinary approach will be demonstrated by the integration of concepts and skills acquired during the course.
Courses will be systematically applied to real-life case studies.

- Environmental Sciences program- Engineering Sciences program- 2nd year Natural Resources option program

The following topics will be covered:
- Basin modeling: essential parameters and necessary steps for thermal modeling of a sedimentary basin, creation of subsidence curves. Practical application on PetroMod software.
- Introduction to stratigraphic modeling: use of sequence stratigraphy concepts to model the stratigraphic evolution of a sedimentary basin (presentation of Dionisos software). Application to the prediction of reservoir distribution, geometry and properties.
- Static reservoir modeling: general architecture of a reservoir model, structural and stratigraphic models, different principles for modeling geological units in a hierarchical framework, understanding the relationships between sedimentary processes at different scales and important reservoir properties such as porosity and permeability, methods for upscaling reservoir properties, statistical data processing and uncertainty analysis.
A static modeling project will be carried out in groups (multi-disciplinary teams) using Petrel software, providing a concrete illustration of all the concepts covered in the course. This project will give students experience in using a 3D geomodeler.
- Dynamic reservoir modeling: links with 2nd year hydrogeological modeling courses.