Patent ID: 8793110
Filing Date: 2014-07-29
Classification: G01V

Abstract:
1. A computer implemented method for predicting fluid flow, the method comprising: obtaining data describing a stratigraphy, the stratigraphy comprising a fault; predicting a volume of shale in the fault; calculating a thickness of the fault; calculating a permeability of the fault based on the volume of shale, the thickness, an estimated shale smear continuity factor and an estimated cataclastic reduction factor, wherein calculating permeability of the fault is performed using the following formulation: where k f represents the permeability of composite fault zone material at point of interest, Fvsh represents volume of shale in the fault at point of interest, ksh represents permeability of the shale-based fault zone material, kss represents the permeability of sand-based fault zone material, kcat represents the cataclastic reduction factor and Cf represents a shale smear continuity factor; and using a computer to predict fluid flow in a subsurface region based on the fault permeability.