INDUSTRY

Paradigm, the premier provider of advanced petroleum geoscience and drilling technology to the oil and gas exploration and production industry, will be showcasing a collection of advanced technologies and workflows that dramatically improve the productivity of geoscientists tasked with interpreting the structural framework of geologic basins from seismic images. The structural framework, defined by rock boundary interfaces and discontinuities (faults), can have a significant impact on exploration and production programs, often controlling both the compartmentalization of hydrocarbons in the reservoir and overpressures in the subsurface. The former can be a strong determinant in the selection of economic drilling targets, while the latter is often the source of unexpected drilling hazards. Paradigm's efficiencies in interpreting the structural framework from subsurface seismic images come from the creative and collective application of four technologies: The Coherence Cube technology, the industry-leading solution for enhancing discontinuities in the seismic image; the 3D Propagator, the industry's leading solution for automatically tracking reflected events (rock boundaries) in the seismic image; a new Automatic Fault Outline generation solution that calculates intersections between horizons and faults; and a new Automatic Fault Extraction (AFE) technology that both automates and enhances the process of identifying, extracting, and modeling geologic discontinuities from subsurface seismic volumes. The fault extraction technology (AFE) has been developed in conjunction with the BP Center for Visualization at the University of Colorado. These technologies have been engineered to run directly in Paradigm's industry-leading seismic volume interpretation solutions - VoxelGeo and Reservoir Navigator, significantly reducing the time from interpretation to a validated structural geologic model. Phil Neri, Vice President Vice President Technology - Interpretation, Earth Modeling and Drilling Solutions at Paradigm, stated, "The benefits of running these technologies directly within Paradigm's volume interpretation and modeling solutions are enormous. Interpreters can make use of automation to transform reflection amplitudes to interpreted horizons, amplitudes to discontinuities, discontinuities to faults, and structural frameworks into solid geologic models... all within the same integrated environment". Duane Dopkin, Senior Vice President Technology - Seismic Imaging and Reservoir Characterization Solutions for Paradigm, added, "This integrated solution is founded on our desire to set a new standard in the quality, accuracy and efficiency of performing complex subsurface structural interpretations from seismic images. The collective use of these technologies will have a huge impact for seismic interpreters tasked with defining the structural framework of complex fault networks. The system provides interpreters with the solution to 'fast-track' the structural interpretation process." Background: Paradigm provides information solutions to the leaders of the oil and gas industry worldwide. The company has a global network of sales, services and user support, with 23 offices in 20 countries, serving all major oil and gas producing provinces in the world. Paradigm's advanced set of Software Solutions and Integrated Services for prospect generation and evaluation supports every stage in the oil and gas E&P process, from Data Processing and Imaging; through advanced Visualization, Interpretation and Earth Modeling; to Reservoir Characterization and Petrophysics; up to Petroleum Engineering, Well Planning and Drilling. These solutions are supported by the epos Data Management and Interoperability integration framework. For more information about Paradigm, please visit: http://www.paradigmgeo.com. BP Center for Visualization at the University of Colorado at Boulder The BP Center for Visualization was established in October 2000 as a new research Center at the University of Colorado at Boulder as part of both the College of Engineering and Applied Science and the College of Arts and Sciences. The Center is devoted to the research and development of advanced visualization technology across a wide range of disciplines and is developing an extensive program of research and development initially focusing on the energy industry, aerospace and medical visualization. For more information about the BP Center for Visualization, please contact Astrid McNellis at (303) 735-5490 or visit: http://www.bpvizcenter.com.