Patent ID: 7369980

Claim:
A method for constructing a geologic model of a hydrocarbon reservoir in a subsurface region and using the model to plan development or predict hydrocarbon volumes or production rates of the reservoir, comprising: (a) determining an outline of a composite sedimentary body in the subsurface region from stratigraphic surfaces identified from seismic data, other subsurface imaging techniques, well logs or outcrop observations, said composite sedimentary body comprising a plurality of fundamental bodies created by flowing, sediment-laden water; (b) characterizing properties of fundamental bodies in the composite sedimentary body; (c) simulating generation of a fundamental body based on the characterized properties of fundamental bodies, wherein the fundamental body grows until it becomes large enough to divert the sediment-laden flow that creates it; (d) placing the fundamental body into the outline of the composite sedimentary body; (e) repeating steps (c) through (d) one or more times until the outline of the composite sedimentary body contains a plurality of fundamental bodies; (f) constructing a geologic model of a hydrocarbon reservoir in the subsurface region, said model being based on the fundamental bodies from the preceding step; and (g) using the geologic model to plan development or predict hydrocarbon volumes or production rates of the reservoir.