Patent Description:
In order to make realistic models to inform reservoir management decisions, such as infill and injector locations, the right-sizing of facilities, and other decisions, seismic data should be integrated into earth models of facies at the reservoir scale. Existing technologies may calibrate seismic attributes to well control using facies probability cubes. However, these facies probability cubes are often fuzzy with probabilities that are not near <NUM> or <NUM> because the seismic property distributions of one facies overlap with each other. As a result, geostatistical realizations may be highly variable from one realization to the next and provide poor representations of the actual subsurface volume of interest.

The present invention is defined by the appended independent claims to which reference should now be made. In a first aspect, the present invention provides a computer-implemented method for generating a set of facies realizations as defined in independent claim <NUM>. In a furher aspect, the present invention provides a system configured for generating facies realizations as defined in independent claim <NUM>. Specific embodiments are defined in the dependent claims.

Features and characteristics of the present technology, as well as the methods of operation and functions of the related elements of structure and the combination of parts and economies of manufacture, will become more apparent upon consideration of the following description and the appended claims with reference to the accompanying drawings, all of which form a part of this specification, wherein like reference numerals designate corresponding parts in the various figures. It is to be expressly understood, however, that the drawings are for the purpose of illustration and description only and are not intended as limiting. As used in the specification and in the claims, the singular form of "a", "an", and "the" include plural referents unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. The use of "angle" or "angles" is to be synonymous with "offset," unless the context clearly dictates otherwise.

The technology disclosed herein, in accordance with one or more various implementations, is described in detail with reference to the following figures. The drawings are provided for purposes of illustration only and merely depict typical or example implementations of the disclosed technology. These drawings are provided to facilitate the reader's understanding of the disclosed technology and shall not be considered limiting of the breadth, scope, or applicability thereof, the scope of the present invention being solely limited by the appended claims. It should be noted that for clarity and ease of illustration these drawings are not necessarily made to scale.

Disclosed are systems and methods for generating facies realizations. The presently disclosed technology discloses systems and methods to integrate seismic data to generate meaningful facies realizations that preserve patterns in seismic data, while at the same time, preserves the variability on a node by node basis across multiple realizations prescribed by the facies probability volume. In implementations, alternative facies realizations can be built from different scenarios of target facies proportions to depict a maximum likelihood facies assignment process. In some implementations, a geobody index identifying geobodies in a subsurface volume of interest may be used to generate average facies probability vectors corresponding to the identified geobodies. The identified geobodies may be assigned facies based on sampling the facies probability vector of a corresponding geobody. In implementations, a target facies proportions identifying the proportions of facies in the subsurface volume of interest may be used to assign facies to the multiple geobodies. For example, the target facies proportions may indicate fifty percent for a first facies, thirty percent for a second facies, and twenty percent for a third facies. In one example, a first geobody assigned to a first facies may be selected. If the first facies in the subsurface volume of interest is above the target first facies proportion, the first geobody may be reassigned a facies based on a facies probability vector corresponding to the first geobody. The facies proportion for the subsurface volume of interest may be updated based on reassigning the first geobody from a first facies to a second facies. This process may be repeated until the facies of the geobodies closely match the target facies proportion (e.g., within about one percent, about five percent, and about ten percent of the facies proportion value).

In other implementations, the facies specified by the target facies proportion may be sorted from a lowest facies proportion value to a highest facies proportion value (e.g., the third facies has the lowest facies proportion which may be about twenty percent, the second facies is the second lowest facies proportion which may be about thirty percent, and a first facies is the highest facies proportion which may be fifty percent). As described above, a facies probability vector may be obtained for each geobody. To the extent any geobodies are assigned a facies, all the geobodies may be unassigned facies and/or otherwise initialized. The geobodies with unassigned facies may be ordered based on their facies probability vector such that the geobodies that are most likely to correspond to the third facies, having the smallest facies proportion, are first and the geobodies that are the second most likely to correspond to the third facies are second, and so on. Once the geobodies with unassigned facies are ordered, the first geobody may be assigned to the third facies, the second geobody may be assigned to the third facies, and so on until the target facies proportion for the third facies is met (e.g., about twenty percent of the geobodies may be assigned to the third facies). This process of ordering geobodies with unassigned facies may be repeated until all the geobodies are assigned a facies (e.g., about fifty percent for the first facies, about thirty percent for the second facies, and about twenty percent for the third facies).

In implementations, larger geobodies may be separately modeled or assigned facies. A representation of a facies realization may be generated based on one or more of the techniques described above. The representation may be displayed on a graphical user interface.

<FIG> illustrates a system <NUM> for generating facies realizations, in accordance with one or more implementations. In some implementations, system <NUM> may include one or more servers <NUM>. Server(s) <NUM> may communicate with one or more client computing platforms <NUM> according to a client/server architecture and/or other architectures. Client computing platform(s) <NUM> may communicate with other client computing platforms via server(s) <NUM> and/or according to a peer-to-peer architecture and/or other architectures. Users may access system <NUM> via client computing platform(s) <NUM>.

Server(s) <NUM> may be configured by machine-readable instructions <NUM>. Machine-readable instructions <NUM> may include one or more instruction components. The instruction components may include computer program components. The instruction components may include one or more of a geobody component <NUM>, a facies component <NUM>, a subsurface data component <NUM>, a representation component <NUM>, and/or other instruction components.

Geobody component <NUM> may obtain a geobody index as a function of position in a subsurface volume of interest. According to the present invention, the geobody index identifies multiple geobodies as a function of position in the subsurface volume of interest. The "subsurface volume of interest" refers to practically anything under a surface. For example, the subsurface volume of interest may be practically anything under a terrestrial surface (e.g., practically anything under a land surface), practically anything under a seafloor, etc. The subsurface volume of interest may be onshore in some implementations. Alternatively, the subsurface volume of interest may be offshore, with shallow water or deep water above the subsurface volume of interest, in some implementations. The subsurface volume of interest may include faults, fractures, overburdens, underburdens, salts, salt welds, rocks, sands, sediments, pore space, etc. The subsurface volume of interest may include practically any geologic point(s) or volume(s) of interest (such as, for example, a survey area). In implementations, the subsurface volume of interest may include geobodies. In some implementations, the subsurface volume of interest may include large geobodies that are outside a geobody threshold range. For example, the geobody threshold range may be user selected, but may range from the largest geobody size to about the <NUM> percentile geobody size.

A geobody may be clusters of geological elements in a contiguous volume. The contiguous volume may be based on one or more features. An example of such clustering and the one or more features is described in greater detail in <CIT>. In implementations, individual geobodies may be tagged with a unique ID to distinguish themselves from other geobodies in the subsurface volume of interest. According to the present invention, the geobody index is generated based on subsurface data. The subsurface data may include a seismic volume. The geobody index may be assigned such that each index represents a contiguous set of neighboring cells that are statistically similar in feature space.

Geobody component <NUM> may generate a geobody index based on a facies proportion volume as a function of position in the subsurface volume of interest. The facies proportion volume may characterize a probability of a facies as a function of position in the subsurface volume of interest. A facies may be the characteristics of a subsurface unit. This may include information corresponding to its origin and information differentiating the subsurface unit from others around it. For example, the characteristics may include mineralogy, sedimentary source, fossil content, sedimentary structure, texture, grain size, color, subsurface data, chemical, etc. Facies may include petrofacies, lithofacies, biofacies, ichnofacies, hydrofacies, and/or other facies.

Geobody component <NUM> may obtain multiple geobody slices. The multiple geobody slices may be merged to form a coherent geobody. A geobody slice may be a two-dimensional representation of at least part of a geobody. Similarities between geobody slices may be identified to merge the geobody slices. The second geobody slice may include one or more similarities with the first geobody slice. For example, the first geobody slice and the second geobody slice may both cover a first geobody. The outline of the geobody may be a similarity between the two geobody slices. The geobodies slices may be merged based on the similarities. The remaining ones of the multiple geobody slices may be merged, as described above. Merging the geobody slice to form coherent geobodies may generate the geobody index.

Geobody component <NUM> may model one or more large geobodies in the subsurface volume of interest based on a geobody model. The geobody model may be based on variograms, multi-point statistics (MPS)-based geostatistics, and/or other models.

Facies component <NUM> may obtain facies probability vectors for the individual ones of the multiple geobodies. The facies probability vector may characterize a probability of a corresponding geobody having one or more facies as a function of position in the corresponding geobody. The facies probability vector may be based on the facies proportion volume and the volume of the corresponding geobody. In implementations, the facies probability vector may be an average of the facies proportion volume over the volume of the corresponding geobody. In some implementations, it may be a median, a mode, and/or other analysis of the facies probability volume limited to the corresponding geobody. In some implementations, the facies probability vector may include the same values as the facies probability volume for the corresponding geobody, which may provide higher accuracy.

Facies component <NUM> may assign facies to the multiple geobodies based on the facies probability vector. According to the present invention, individual facies are assigned to corresponding geobodies based on randomly sampling from the facies probability vector.

In one example, a first geobody in the subsurface volume of interest may have a facies probability vector including a fifty percent chance of a first facies, a thirty percent with a second facies, and a twenty percent with a third facies; a second geobody in the subsurface volume of interest may have a facies probability vector including a ten percent chance of the first facies, a seventy percent with the second facies, and a twenty percent with the third facies; the third geobody in the subsurface volume of interest may have a facies probability vector including a thirty percent chance of the first facies, a forty percent with the second facies, and a thirty percent with the third facies; and a fourth geobody in the subsurface volume of interest may have a facies probability vector including a twenty percent chance of the first facies, a twenty percent with the second facies, a twenty percent with the third facies, and a twenty percent chance with a fourth facies. Randomly sampling the facies probability vector, the first geobody may be assigned to the first facies (most likely facies), the second geobody may be assigned to the second facies (most likely facies), the third geobody may be assigned to the second facies (most likely facies), and the fourth geobody may be assigned to a first facies (most likely facies). This random assignment of the geobodies to facies may be used to generate a facies realization, as will be described in greater detail below. In implementations, multiple facies realizations may be generated. For example, with ten facies realizations, the first geobody may be assigned to the first facies in five of the facies realizations, the first geobody may be assigned to the second facies in three of the facies realizations, and the first geobody may be assigned to the third facies in two of the facies realizations, which corresponds to the facies probability vector of the first geobody. It should be appreciated that the other geobodies would also have a similar distribution over the ten facies realizations (e.g., the second geobody may be assigned to the first facies in one of the facies realizations; the second geobody may be assigned to the second facies in seven of the facies realizations; and the second geobody may be assigned to the third facies in two of the facies realizations; and so on for the other geobodies).

Facies component <NUM> may obtain a target facies proportion for the subsurface volume of interest. According to the present invention, the target facies proportion specifies a ratio of one of the facies in the subsurface volume of interest compared to the other facies in the subsurface volume of interest. In some implementations, the target facies proportion may be user selected. For example, the target facies proportion may specify forty percent of the subsurface volume of interest should be the first facies, thirty percent of the subsurface volume of interest should be the second facies, twenty percent should be the third facies, and ten percent should be the fourth facies.

Facies component <NUM> may reassign a facies assigned to the first geobody. According to the present invention, based on a first facies proportion of a first facies in the subsurface volume of interest being outside a threshold range of a target facies proportion for the first facies, the first geobody having the first facies is reassigned with a facies based on randomly sampling a first facies probability vector of the first geobody. Similar to the example above, the target facies proportion may specify forty percent of the subsurface volume of interest should be the first facies. The subsurface volume of interest may include five geobodies. The first facies proportion, corresponding to the proportion of geobodies assigned to the first facies, of the first facies realization may be sixty percent (e.g., three geobodies may be assigned to the first facies). Since sixty percent is greater than forty percent, the threshold value (e.g., sixty percent) for the first facies is exceeded, and the geobodies with the first facies may be selected.

In implementations, a first geobody may be selected of the geobodies with the first facies. The first geobody may be selected based on a user selection, an initial assignment order by which the geobody was assigned to the first facies, the corresponding facies probability vector, geobody ID, etc. The assigning of facies process, described above, may be repeated again. Randomly sampling the facies probability vector may assign a second facies to the first geobody. The facies proportion of the new facies realization may be adjusted to account for this reassignment. In this example, the adjusted facies proportion of the new facies realization for the first facies may be forty percent in the subsurface volume of interest, which is at the threshold value of the target facies proportion, and the reassignment process can stop with respect to the first geobody. While this example relates to exceeding a threshold value, it should be appreciated that the same discussion could cover going below a threshold value, or otherwise being outside a threshold range.

Alternatively, the randomly sampled facies probability vector may assign the first facies again to the first geobody. In this example, the replacement process, described above, may be applied to the second geobody assigned to the first facies. The second geobody may be reassigned to a second facies or a third facies, and the replacements can stop with the second geobody. Alternatively, the second geobody may be reassigned to the first facies again and the reassignment process may continue onto the third and final geobody with the first facies. In implementations, the three geobodies may be reassigned the same facies based on the random sampling used for every assignment and reassignment; the reassignment may continue until the facies probability volume is at, or under, the threshold value. In some implementations, random sampling may be limited to the other facies that are not being reassigned. Continuing the example above, the facies probability vector corresponding to the first geobody may be randomly sampled between the second facies and the third facies. In order to prevent bias, the process to select a geobody to be reassigned may be randomized. It should be appreciated that other techniques may be used to reassign the first facies of a first geobody with another facies.

Facies component <NUM> may reassign the multiple facies to the remaining geobodies. According to the present invention, remaining ones of the multiple geobodies are reassigned different facies based on corresponding ones of the facies proportions of the other facies being outside threshold ranges of corresponding target facies proportions, wherein the reassigning is based on randomly sampling corresponding ones of the facies probability vectors until the facies proportions of the multiple facies in the subsurface volume of interest match the target facies proportions within the threshold ranges. This may be continued until the target facies proportion is satisfied for each specified facies. It should be appreciated that the target facies proportion may identify one or some of the facies proportions. In some implementations, the target facies proportion may identify all the facies proportions in the subsurface volume of interest. For example, the target facies proportion may specify sixty percent of the subsurface volume of interest should be the first facies. In another example, the target facies proportion may specify sixty percent of the subsurface volume of interest should be the first facies and twenty percent of the subsurface volume of interest should be the second facies. The individual thresholds, sixty percent and twenty percent, may represent different limits (e.g., an upper limit and a lower limit, respectively). The first facies proportion for this facies realization may be eighty percent for the first facies and twenty percent for the third facies. The replacement process, described above, may occur and/or continue so the first facies proportion drops below sixty percent, and the replacement process may occur and/or continue so the second facie exceeds twenty percent, both based on the target facies proportion.

Facies component <NUM> may order multiple geobodies into a facies order. In some implementations, the facies order may be based on the target facies proportion. For example, the target facies proportion may specify fifty percent of the subsurface volume of interest should be the first facies, thirty percent of the subsurface volume of interest should be the second facies, and twenty percent of the subsurface volume of interest should be the third facies. In one example, the facies order based on the target facies proportion may be ordered from smallest facies proportion to the largest facies proportion of the target facies proportion (e.g., the third facies, the second facies, and the first facies). In another example, the facies order based on the target facies proportion may be from largest facies proportion to the smallest facies proportion of the target facies proportion (e.g., the first facies, the second facies, and the third facies). In some implementations, the facies order may be random.

In implementations, the facies order may be based on facies probability vectors. Continuing the example above, using the facies order of smallest facies proportion to the largest facies proportion, a first geobody, that has the highest probability of the third facies based on its facies probability vector, may be ordered first for the geobodies for the third facies; a second geobody, that has the second highest probability of the third facies, may be ordered second for the geobodies for the third facies, and so on. The facies order for the other facies may order the same geobodies identified in the facies order of the third facies. For example, the third geobody, that may have the highest probability of the second facies, may be ordered first for the geobodies of the second facies; a first geobody, that has the second highest probability of the third facies, may be ordered second for the geobodies for the second facies; and a second geobody, that has the third highest probability of the third facies, may be ordered third for the geobodies for the second facies. In implementations, the facies order may be stored.

Facies component <NUM> may assign a first geobody to a facies based on the facies order. Continuing the example above, the target facies proportion may specify forty percent of the subsurface volume of interest should be the first facies, forty percent of the subsurface volume of interest should be the second facies, and twenty percent of the subsurface volume of interest should be the third facies. The subsurface volume of interest may include five geobodies. The facies order may be from smallest target facies proportion to the largest facies proportion. The first geobody, that has the highest probability of the third facies, may be assigned to the third facies first. For the five geobody volume of interest, the twenty percent target facies proportion for the third facies is satisfied because the first geobody is assigned to the third facies.

Facies component <NUM> may assign the remaining ones of the multiple geobodies to the one or more facies until the target facies proportions are satisfied. Continuing where the last example left off, the first facies proportion and the second facies proportion are equal, and the next facies to be assigned may be random. In one example, the first facies could be assigned next. The fourth geobody, that has the highest probability for the first facies, may be assigned to the first facies first. The fourth geobody, that has the second highest probability for the first facies, may be assigned to the first facies second, thereby satisfying the first facies proportion requirements. The final two geobodies, the third geobody and the fifth geobody, would be assigned to the second facies.

Subsurface data component <NUM> may obtain target subsurface data from a subsurface volume of interest. Subsurface data may include seismic data and/or well data. In some implementations, the subsurface data may be obtained using a set-up as illustrated in <FIG> illustrates an example layout to obtain subsurface data. The subsurface data may be obtained by sending energy <NUM> into a subsurface volume of interest <NUM> using subsurface sources <NUM> and receiving the signal reflected off of a subsurface feature <NUM> at subsurface receivers <NUM>. Zero-offset source-receiver pairs <NUM> may send energy waves <NUM> into subsurface volume <NUM>. Energy waves <NUM> may reflect or refract off subsurface feature <NUM>. Source-receiver pairs <NUM> may receive the reflected and refracted energy waves <NUM> which may be converted into subsurface amplitudes.

In some implementations, a subsurface source may send subsurface energy into the subsurface, which may then be reflected and/or refracted by subsurface features and may be recorded at subsurface receivers at various distances away from a subsurface source. Subsurface energy may include acoustic compression waves. For example, the subsurface source may generate acoustic compression waves and direct them towards a subsurface region that includes various lithologies (e.g., underground rock structures). According to the present invention, the subsurface data is generated from subsurface signals (e.g., the reflections of the subsurface energy off of the various subsurface lithologies) received by subsurface sensors, such as geophones and/or other acoustic detectors. The subsurface data may be stored.

Referring back to <FIG>, representation component <NUM> may generate a representation of a facies realization in the subsurface volume of interest. The facies realization may include one or more geobodies assigned to corresponding facies. The representation may use visual effects to depict at least one of the multiple geobodies and corresponding facies. In some implementations, the representation may use visual effects to depict at least one of the multiple geobodies and at least one of the one or more large geobodies and corresponding facies for both. In some implementations, multiple representations may be presented in a single interface. For example, multiple facies realizations may be presented in a single interface. The individual facies in the facies realization may be identified using colors, patterns, and/or other visual effects.

Representation component <NUM> may display the representation. The representation may be displayed on a graphical user interface and/or other displays. The graphical user interface may include a user interface based on graphics instead of text; uses a mouse as well as a keyboard as an input device, according to some implementations. In implementations, a user may zoom in on and/or view one or more locations of the subsurface volume of interest to illustrate more detail on a given location.

In some implementations, server(s) <NUM>, client computing platform(s) <NUM>, and/or external resources <NUM> may be operatively linked via one or more electronic communication links. For example, such electronic communication links may be established, at least in part, via a network such as the Internet and/or other networks. It will be appreciated that this is not intended to be limiting, and that this disclosure includes implementations in which server(s) <NUM>, client computing platform(s) <NUM>, and/or external resources <NUM> may be operatively linked via some other communication media.

A given client computing platform <NUM> may include one or more processors to execute computer program components. The computer program components may enable a user associated with the given client computing platform <NUM> to interface with system <NUM> and/or external resources <NUM>, and/or provide other functionality attributed herein to client computing platform(s) <NUM>. By way of non-limiting example, the given client computing platform <NUM> may include one or more of a desktop computer, a laptop computer, a handheld computer, a tablet computing platform, a NetBook, a Smartphone, a gaming console, and/or other computing platforms.

External resources <NUM> may include sources of information outside of system <NUM>, external entities participating with system <NUM>, and/or other resources. In some implementations, some or all of the functionality attributed herein to external resources <NUM> may be provided by resources included in system <NUM>.

Server(s) <NUM> may include electronic storage <NUM>, one or more processors <NUM>, and/or other components. Server(s) <NUM> may include communication lines, or ports to enable the exchange of information with a network and/or other computing platforms. Illustration of server(s) <NUM> in <FIG> is not intended to be limiting. Server(s) <NUM> may include a plurality of hardware, software, and/or firmware components operating together to provide the functionality attributed herein to server(s) <NUM>. For example, server(s) <NUM> may be implemented by a cloud of computing platforms operating together as server(s) <NUM>.

Electronic storage <NUM> may include non-transitory storage media that electronically stores information. The electronic storage media of electronic storage <NUM> may include one or both of system storage that is provided integrally (i.e., substantially non-removable) with server(s) <NUM> and/or removable storage that is removably connectable to server(s) <NUM> via, for example, a port (e.g., a USB port, a firewire port, etc.) or a drive (e.g., a disk drive, etc.). Electronic storage <NUM> may include one or more of non-transient electronic storage, optically readable storage media (e.g., optical disks, etc.), magnetically readable storage media (e.g., magnetic tape, magnetic hard drive, floppy drive, etc.), electrical charge-based storage media (e.g., EEPROM, RAM, etc.), solid-state storage media (e.g., flash drive, etc.), and/or other electronically readable storage media. Electronic storage <NUM> may include one or more virtual storage resources (e.g., cloud storage, a virtual private network, and/or other virtual storage resources). Electronic storage <NUM> may store software algorithms, information determined by processor(s) <NUM>, information received from server(s) <NUM>, information received from client computing platform(s) <NUM>, and/or other information that enables server(s) <NUM> to function as described herein.

Processor(s) <NUM> may provide information processing capabilities in server(s) <NUM>. As such, processor(s) <NUM> may include one or more of a physical computer processor, a digital processor, an analog processor, a digital circuit designed to process information, an analog circuit designed to process information, a state machine, and/or other mechanisms for electronically processing information. Although processor(s) <NUM> is shown in <FIG> as a single entity, this is for illustrative purposes only. In some implementations, processor(s) <NUM> may include a plurality of processing units. These processing units may be physically located within the same device, or processor(s) <NUM> may represent processing functionality of a plurality of devices operating in coordination. Processor(s) <NUM> may execute components <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, and/or other components. Processor(s) <NUM> may execute components <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, and/or other components by software; hardware; firmware; some combination of software, hardware, and/or firmware; and/or other mechanisms for configuring processing capabilities on processor(s) <NUM>. As used herein, the term "component" may refer to any component or set of components that perform the functionality attributed to the component. This may include one or more physical processors during execution of processor readable instructions, the processor readable instructions, circuitry, hardware, storage media, or any other components.

It should be appreciated that although components <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, and <NUM> are illustrated in <FIG> as being implemented within a single processing unit, in implementations in which processor(s) <NUM> includes multiple processing units, one or more of components <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, and/or <NUM> may be implemented remotely from the other components. The description of the functionality provided by the different components <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, and/or 114described below is for illustrative purposes, and is not intended to be limiting, as any of components <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, and/or 114may provide more or less functionality than is described. For example, one or more of components <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, and/or <NUM> may be eliminated, and some or all of its functionality may be provided by other ones of components <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, and/or <NUM>. As an example, processor(s) <NUM> may execute one or more additional components that may perform some or all of the functionality attributed below to one of components <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, and/or <NUM>.

<FIG> illustrates a method <NUM> for generating facies realizations, in accordance with one or more implementations. The operations of methods <NUM>, <NUM>, and <NUM> presented below are intended to be illustrative. In some implementations, methods <NUM>, <NUM>, and <NUM> may be accomplished with one or more additional operations not described, and/or without one or more of the operations discussed. Additionally, the order in which the operations of methods <NUM>, <NUM>, and <NUM> are illustrated in <FIG>, <FIG>, and <FIG> and described below is not intended to be limiting.

In some implementations, methods <NUM>, <NUM>, and <NUM> may be implemented in one or more processing devices (e.g., a physical computer processor, a digital processor, an analog processor, a digital circuit designed to process information, an analog circuit designed to process information, a state machine, and/or other mechanisms for electronically processing information). The one or more processing devices may include one or more devices executing some or all of the operations of methods <NUM>, <NUM>, and <NUM> in response to instructions stored electronically on an electronic storage medium. The one or more processing devices may include one or more devices configured through hardware, firmware, and/or software to be specifically designed for execution of one or more of the operations of methods <NUM>, <NUM>, and <NUM>.

According to the present invention, <NUM> includes obtaining a geobody index, as described above. The geobody index identifies multiple geobodies as a function of position in the subsurface volume of interest. <NUM> may be performed by one or more physical computer processors configured by machine-readable instructions including a component that is the same as or similar to geobody component <NUM>, in accordance with one or more implementations.

According to the present invention, <NUM> includes obtaining facies probability vectors, as described above. <NUM> may be performed by one or more physical computer processors configured by machine-readable instructions including a component that is the same as or similar to facies component <NUM>, in accordance with one or more implementations.

According to the present invention, <NUM> includes assigning facies to the multiple geobodies. Assigning is based on facies probability vectors. <NUM> may be performed by one or more physical computer processors configured by machine-readable instructions including a component that is the same as or similar to facies component <NUM>, in accordance with one or more implementations.

According to the present invention, <NUM> includes obtaining target facies proportions. A given target facies proportion specifies a ratio for one of the facies in the subsurface volume of interest compared to the other facies in the subsurface volume of interest. <NUM> may be performed by one or more physical computer processors configured by machine-readable instructions including a component that is the same as or similar to facies component <NUM>, in accordance with one or more implementations.

According to the present invention, <NUM> includes reassigning a first geobody. Based on a first facies proportion of the first facies in the subsurface volume of interest being outside a threshold range of a target facies proportion for the first facies, the first geobody having the first facies is reassigned with a facies based on randomly sampling a first facies probability vector of the first geobody. The first geobodies may be reassigned to another facies based on the facies probability vector for the first geobody. <NUM> may be performed by one or more physical computer processors configured by machine-readable instructions including a component that is the same as or similar to facies component <NUM>, in accordance with one or more implementations.

According to the present invention, <NUM> includes reassigning remaining ones of the multiple geobodies. <NUM> may repeat the process of <NUM> until the target facies proportions are satisfied. <NUM> may be performed by one or more physical computer processors configured by machine-readable instructions including a component that is the same as or similar to facies component <NUM>, in accordance with one or more implementations.

<NUM> may include modeling large geobodies. The modeling may be based on variograms, statistics, and/or other analysis, as described above. <NUM> may be performed by one or more physical computer processors configured by machine-readable instructions including a component that is the same as or similar to geobody component <NUM>, in accordance with one or more implementations.

<NUM> may include generating a representation. The representation may be of a facies realization of at least one of the multiple geobodies and corresponding facies. In some implementations, the representation may also include at least one of the large geobodies and corresponding facies. <NUM> may be performed by one or more physical computer processors configured by machine-readable instructions including a component that is the same as or similar to representation component <NUM>, in accordance with one or more implementations.

<NUM> may include displaying a representation. <NUM> may be performed by one or more physical computer processors configured by machine-readable instructions including a component that is the same as or similar to representation component <NUM>, in accordance with one or more implementations.

<FIG> illustrates a method <NUM> for generating facies realizations, in accordance with one or more implementations. <NUM> may be substantially similar to <NUM>.

<NUM> may be substantially similar to <NUM>.

<NUM> may include ordering the multiple geobodies. The multiple geobodies may be ordered based on the facies order, as described above. <NUM> may be performed by one or more physical computer processors configured by machine-readable instructions including a component that is the same as or similar to facies component <NUM>, in accordance with one or more implementations.

<NUM> may include assigning a first geobody. The first geobody may be assigned based on the facies order. <NUM> may be performed by one or more physical computer processors configured by machine-readable instructions including a component that is the same as or similar to facies component <NUM>, in accordance with one or more implementations.

<NUM> may include assigning remaining geobodies. <NUM> may be repeated until all the geobodies are assigned to a corresponding facies. <NUM> may be performed by one or more physical computer processors configured by machine-readable instructions including a component that is the same as or similar to facies component <NUM>, in accordance with one or more implementations.

<NUM>-<NUM> may be substantially similar to <NUM>-<NUM>.

<FIG> illustrates an example workflow, in accordance with one or more implementations. Workflow <NUM> includes obtaining subsurface data <NUM>, as described above. <NUM> illustrates a facies proportion volume. As illustrated, the subsurface volume of interest may include four different facies. Each facies uses a color map to illustrate a probability of each facies as a function of position in the subsurface volume of interest. Using the subsurface data <NUM>, the facies proportion volume <NUM> can be generated. <NUM> illustrates seismic geobodies in the subsurface volume of interest, as described above. As illustrated, it may be a three dimensional subsurface volume of interest with multiple geobodies. Each color may represent a different geobody.

Using the facies proportion volume <NUM>, the seismic geobodies <NUM> can be generated, as described above. The facies proportion volume <NUM> and the seismic geobodies <NUM> can be used to generated facies realizations in <NUM>, as described above. As illustrated, five example realizations may be generated. For example, facies realization #<NUM> may illustrate more shale on the top and bottom of the facies realizations. Facies realization #<NUM> may illustrate more poor sand toward the bottom of the facies realization and more distinct layers separating the good sand and the mid sand. Facies realization #<NUM> may illustrate more shale in the top and the bottom left of the facies realization and a piece of mid sand enveloped by the good sand. Facies realization #<NUM> may illustrate more good sand and mid sand than other facies realizations in the top and middle of the facies realization. Facies realization #<NUM> may illustrate more shale on the top and bottom of the facies realization and a bigger portion of mid sand than good sand compared to facies realizations #<NUM>, #<NUM>, and #<NUM>.

<FIG> illustrates example geobodies and examples facies realizations, in accordance with one or more implementations. <NUM> represents an example subsurface volume of interest with five different geobodies <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, and <NUM>. Yellow may represent a fictional facies to more easily represent the presently disclosed technology. The facies proportion, or probability of yellow facies as illustrated, indicates the likelihood of a yellow facies for each geobody. Facies proportion <NUM>, which indicates a sixty percent chance of being characterized as a yellow facies, corresponds to geobody <NUM>. Facies proportion <NUM>, which indicates a zero percent chance of being characterized as a yellow facies, corresponds to geobody <NUM>. Facies proportion <NUM>, which indicates a hundred percent chance of being characterized as a yellow facies, corresponds to geobody <NUM>. Facies proportion <NUM>, which indicates a forty percent chance of being characterized as a yellow facies, corresponds to geobody <NUM>. Facies proportion <NUM>, which indicates an eighty percent chance of being characterized as a yellow facies, corresponds to geobody <NUM>. The facies realizations <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, and <NUM> correspond to the facies proportions <NUM>. As illustrated, geobody <NUM> is characterized as having a yellow facies sixty percent of the time in the five realizations, or in three out of the five realizations (e.g., <NUM>, <NUM>, and <NUM>). Geobody <NUM> is never characterized as having a yellow facies. Geobody <NUM> is characterized as having a yellow facies a hundred percent of the time in the five realizations, or in five out of the five realizations (e.g., <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, and <NUM>). Geobody <NUM> is characterized as having a yellow facies forty percent of the time in the five realizations, or in two out of the five realizations (e.g., <NUM> and <NUM>). Geobody <NUM> is characterized as having a yellow facies eighty percent of the time in the five realizations, or in four out of the five realizations (e.g., <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, and <NUM>). It should be appreciated that while the geobodies are somewhat rigidly defined in <FIG> (e.g., as triangles), the geobodies can have various shapes and sizes and may be clustered according to other features, as described in <CIT>.

<FIG> illustrates example facies realizations, in accordance with one or more implementations. Facies realization <NUM> illustrates that a first facies is more spread out through the subsurface volume of interest. Facies realization <NUM> illustrates that the first facies is more concentrated in the center of the subsurface volume of interest. Facies realization <NUM> illustrates that the first facies is more concentrated toward the center-right of the subsurface volume of interest.

As used herein, the term component might describe a given unit of functionality that can be performed in accordance with one or more implementations of the technology disclosed herein. As used herein, a component might be implemented utilizing any form of hardware, software, or a combination thereof. For example, one or more processors, controllers, ASICs, PLAs, PALs, CPLDs, FPGAs, logical components, software routines or other mechanisms might be implemented to make up a component. In implementation, the various components described herein might be implemented as discrete components or the functions and features described can be shared in part or in total among one or more components. In other words, as would be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art after reading this description, the various features and functionality described herein may be implemented in any given application and can be implemented in one or more separate or shared components in various combinations and permutations. Even though various features or elements of functionality may be individually described or claimed as separate components, one of ordinary skill in the art will understand that these features and functionality can be shared among one or more common software and hardware elements, and such description shall not require or imply that separate hardware or software components are used to implement such features or functionality.

Where components of the technology are implemented in whole or in part using software, in one implementation, these software elements can be implemented to operate with a computing or processing component capable of carrying out the functionality described with respect thereto. One such example computing component is shown in <FIG>. Various implementations are described in terms of this example-computing component <NUM>. After reading this description, it will become apparent to a person skilled in the relevant art how to implement the technology using other computing components or architectures.

Referring now to <FIG>, computing component <NUM> may represent, for example, computing or processing capabilities found within mainframes, supercomputers, workstations or servers; desktop, laptop, notebook, or tablet computers; hand-held computing devices (tablets, PDA's, smartphones, cell phones, palmtops, etc.); or the like, depending on the application and/or environment for which computing component <NUM> is specifically purposed.

Computing component <NUM> may include, for example, one or more processors, controllers, control components, or other processing devices, such as a processor <NUM>, and such as may be included in circuitry <NUM>. Processor <NUM> may be implemented using a special-purpose processing component such as, for example, a microprocessor, controller, or other control logic. In the illustrated example, processor <NUM> is connected to bus <NUM> by way of circuitry <NUM>, although any communication medium may be used to facilitate interaction with other components of computing component <NUM> or to communicate externally.

Computing component <NUM> may also include one or more memory components, simply referred to herein as main memory <NUM>. For example, random access memory (RAM) or other dynamic memory may be used for storing information and instructions to be executed by processor <NUM> or circuitry <NUM>. Main memory <NUM> may also be used for storing temporary variables or other intermediate information during execution of instructions to be executed by processor <NUM> or circuitry <NUM>. Computing component <NUM> may likewise include a read only memory (ROM) or other static storage device coupled to bus <NUM> for storing static information and instructions for processor <NUM> or circuitry <NUM>.

Computing component <NUM> may also include one or more various forms of information storage devices <NUM>, which may include, for example, media drive <NUM> and storage unit interface <NUM>. Media drive <NUM> may include a drive or other mechanism to support fixed or removable storage media <NUM>. For example, a hard disk drive, a floppy disk drive, a magnetic tape drive, an optical disk drive, a CD or DVD drive (R or RW), or other removable or fixed media drive may be provided. Accordingly, removable storage media <NUM> may include, for example, a hard disk, a floppy disk, magnetic tape, cartridge, optical disk, a CD or DVD, or other fixed or removable medium that is read by, written to, or accessed by media drive <NUM>. As these examples illustrate, removable storage media <NUM> may include a computer usable storage medium having stored therein computer software or data.

In alternative implementations, information storage devices <NUM> may include other similar instrumentalities for allowing computer programs or other instructions or data to be loaded into computing component <NUM>. Such instrumentalities may include, for example, fixed or removable storage unit <NUM> and storage unit interface <NUM>. Examples of such removable storage units <NUM> and storage unit interfaces <NUM> may include a program cartridge and cartridge interface, a removable memory (for example, a flash memory or other removable memory component) and memory slot, a PCMCIA slot and card, and other fixed or removable storage units <NUM> and storage unit interfaces <NUM> that allow software and data to be transferred from removable storage unit <NUM> to computing component <NUM>.

Computing component <NUM> may also include a communications interface <NUM>. Communications interface <NUM> may be used to allow software and data to be transferred between computing component <NUM> and external devices. Examples of communications interface <NUM> include a modem or softmodem, a network interface (such as an Ethernet, network interface card, WiMedia, IEEE <NUM>. XX, or other interface), a communications port (such as for example, a USB port, IR port, RS232 port Bluetooth® interface, or other port), or other communications interface. Software and data transferred via communications interface <NUM> may typically be carried on signals, which may be electronic, electromagnetic (which includes optical) or other signals capable of being exchanged by a given communications interface <NUM>. These signals may be provided to/from communications interface <NUM> via channel <NUM>. Channel <NUM> may carry signals and may be implemented using a wired or wireless communication medium. Some non-limiting examples of channel <NUM> include a phone line, a cellular or other radio link, an RF link, an optical link, a network interface, a local or wide area network, and other wired or wireless communications channels.

In this document, the terms "computer program medium" and "computer usable medium" are used to generally refer to transitory or non-transitory media such as, for example, main memory <NUM>, storage unit interface <NUM>, removable storage media <NUM>, and channel <NUM>. These and other various forms of computer program media or computer usable media may be involved in carrying one or more sequences of one or more instructions to a processing device for execution. Such instructions embodied on the medium, are generally referred to as "computer program code" or a "computer program product" (which may be grouped in the form of computer programs or other groupings). When executed, such instructions may enable the computing component <NUM> or a processor to perform features or functions of the present application as discussed herein.

While various implementations of the disclosed technology have been described above, it should be understood that they have been presented by way of example only, and not of limitation. Likewise, the various diagrams may depict an example architectural or other configuration for the disclosed technology, which is done to aid in understanding the features and functionality that can be included in the disclosed technology. The disclosed technology is not restricted to the illustrated example architectures or configurations, but the desired features can be implemented using a variety of alternative architectures and configurations. Indeed, it will be apparent to one of skill in the art how alternative functional, logical or physical partitioning, and configurations can be implemented to implement the desired features of the technology disclosed herein. Also, a multitude of different constituent component names other than those depicted herein can be applied to the various partitions. Additionally, with regard to flow diagrams, operational descriptions, and method claims, the order in which the steps are presented herein shall not mandate that various implementations be implemented to perform the recited functionality in the same order unless the context dictates otherwise.

Although the disclosed technology is described above in terms of various exemplary implementations and implementations, it should be understood that the various features, aspects, and functionality described in one or more of the individual implementations are not limited in their applicability to the particular implementation with which they are described, but instead can be applied, alone or in various combinations, to one or more of the other implementations of the disclosed technology, whether or not such implementations are described and whether or not such features are presented as being a part of a described implementation. Thus, the breadth and scope of the technology disclosed herein should not be limited by any of the above-described exemplary implementations.

Terms and phrases used in this document, and variations thereof, unless otherwise expressly stated, should be construed as open ended as opposed to limiting. As examples of the foregoing: the term "including" should be read as meaning "including, without limitation" or the like; the term "example" is used to provide exemplary instances of the item in discussion, not an exhaustive or limiting list thereof; the terms "a" or "an" should be read as meaning "at least one," "one or more" or the like; and adjectives such as "conventional," "traditional," "normal," "standard," "known," and terms of similar meaning should not be construed as limiting the item described to a given time period or to an item available as of a given time, but instead should be read to encompass conventional, traditional, normal, or standard technologies that may be available or known now or at any time in the future. Likewise, where this document refers to technologies that would be apparent or known to one of ordinary skill in the art, such technologies encompass those apparent or known to the skilled artisan now or at any time in the future.

The presence of broadening words and phrases such as "one or more," "at least," "but not limited to," or other like phrases in some instances shall not be read to mean that the narrower case is intended or required in instances where such broadening phrases may be absent. The use of the term "component" does not imply that the components or functionality described or claimed as part of the component are all configured in a common package. Indeed, any or all of the various components of a component, whether control logic or other components, can be combined in a single package or separately maintained and can further be distributed in multiple groupings or packages or across multiple locations.

Claim 1:
A computer-implemented method (<NUM>) for generating a set of facies realizations, implemented in a computer system that includes a physical computer processor and data storage, the computer-implemented method comprising:
receiving target subsurface data from a subsurface volume of interest, wherein the subsurface data is generated from subsurface signals received by subsurface sensors;
obtaining (<NUM>) a geobody index, wherein the geobody index identifies multiple geobodies as a function of position in the subsurface volume of interest, and wherein the geobody index is generated based on the subsurface data from the subsurface volume of interest;
obtaining (<NUM>) facies probability vectors for the multiple geobodies;
assigning (<NUM>) facies to the multiple geobodies based on the facies probability vectors, wherein individual facies are assigned to corresponding geobodies based on randomly sampling the facies probability vector of a corresponding geobody;
obtaining (<NUM>) target facies proportions for the subsurface volume of interest, wherein a given target facies proportion specifies a ratio for one of the facies in the subsurface volume of interest compared to the other facies in the subsurface volume of interest;
based on a first facies proportion of a first facies in the subsurface volume of interest being outside a threshold range of a first target facies proportion for the first facies, reassigning (<NUM>) a first geobody having the first facies with a facies based on randomly sampling the facies probability vector of the first geobody; and
reassigning (<NUM>) remaining ones of the multiple geobodies with different facies based on corresponding ones of the facies proportions of the other facies being outside threshold ranges of corresponding target facies proportions, wherein the reassigning is based on randomly sampling corresponding ones of the facies probability vectors until the facies proportions of the multiple facies in the subsurface volume of interest match the target facies proportions within the threshold ranges.