Patent ID: 8457997
Filing Date: 2013-06-04
Classification: G06Q

Abstract:
1. A method comprising: (a) a computer system receiving information specifying decision variables and uncertainty variables for a plurality of assets associated with a petroleum exploration and/or production project, wherein the information also specifies for each asset a corresponding set of one or more algorithms, wherein the set of one or more algorithms for at least one of the assets includes an algorithm to estimate oil and gas production over time; (b) the computer system generating a decision vector, wherein the decision vector includes a single value for each of the decision variables; (c) the computer system executing an evaluation process on the decision vector to determine at least a value of a global objective for the decision vector, wherein said executing the evaluation process includes: (d) the computer system executing an optimizer, wherein said executing the optimizer includes performing (b) and (c) repeatedly, thereby generating a plurality of decision vectors and corresponding global objective values, and, wherein the optimizer uses the plurality of decision vectors and the corresponding global objective values to generate and repeatedly update a reference set of decision vectors in order to optimize the global objective; (e) the computer system storing data including the plurality of decision vectors and their corresponding global objective values in a memory.