Computational Intelligence for Geosciences and Oil Exploration

In this overview paper, we highlight role of Soft Computing techniques for intelligent reservoir characterization and exploration, seismic data processing and characterization, well logging, reservoir mapping and engineering. Reservoir characterization plays a crucial role in modern reservoir management. It helps to make sound reservoir decisions and improves the asset value of the oil and gas companies. It maximizes integration of multi-disciplinary data and knowledge and improves the reliability of the reservoir predictions. The ultimate product is a reservoir model with realistic tolerance for imprecision and uncertainty. Soft computing aims to exploit such a tolerance for solving practical problems. In reservoir characterization, these intelligent techniques can be used for uncertainty analysis, risk assessment, data fusion and data mining which are applicable to feature extraction from seismic attributes, well logging, reservoir mapping and engineering. The main goal is to integrate soft data such as geological data with hard data such as 3D seismic and production data to build a reservoir and stratigraphic model. While some individual methodologies (esp. neurocomputing) have gained much popularity during the past few years, the true benefit of soft computing lies on the integration of its constituent methodologies rather than use in isolation.