US 11,754,735 B2
Subsurface characteristic modeling
Anthony James Lister Crook, Swansea (GB); Dean Andrew Thornton, Inverurie (GB); and Jose I. Adachi, Houston, TX (US)
Assigned to Three Cliffs Geomechanical Analysis Limited, Swansea (GB); and Chevron U.S.A. Inc.
Filed by Three Cliffs Geomechanical Analysis Limited, Swansea (GB); and Chevron U.S.A. Inc., San Ramon, CA (US)
Filed on Sep. 29, 2020, as Appl. No. 17/36,459.
Prior Publication US 2022/0099853 A1, Mar. 31, 2022
Int. Cl. G01V 1/30 (2006.01); E21B 49/00 (2006.01)
CPC G01V 1/306 (2013.01) [E21B 49/006 (2013.01); G01V 2210/62 (2013.01); G01V 2210/66 (2013.01)] 16 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A system for modeling subsurface characteristics, the system comprising:
one or more physical processors configured by machine-readable instructions to:
obtain subsurface information, the subsurface information defining subsurface geological formations;
generate a subsurface representation based on the subsurface information, the subsurface representation simulating geometry and properties of the subsurface geological formations;
simulate gravitational forces on the subsurface representation, wherein simulation of the gravitational forces on the subsurface representation causes a stress field and an artificial displacement within the subsurface representation;
simulate tectonic forces on the subsurface representation, wherein simulation of the tectonic forces on the subsurface representation changes the stress field and the artificial displacement within the subsurface representation; and
simulate an initial stress state of the subsurface geological formations based on reinitialization of the subsurface representation, wherein the reinitialization of the subsurface representation includes:
modifying the subsurface representation to restore the geometry of the subsurface representation that existed before the simulations of the gravitational forces and the tectonic forces on the subsurface representation via removal of the artificial displacement within the subsurface representation, wherein the removal the artificial displacement within the subsurface representation results in the subsurface representation simulating the geometry of the subsurface geological formations;
removing from the subsurface representation the stress field caused by the simulations of the gravitational forces and the tectonic forces on the subsurface representation; and
increasing values of stress at different locations within the subsurface representation back to values of the stress field caused by the simulations of the gravitational forces and the tectonic forces on the subsurface representation;
wherein resulting stress field within the reinitialized subsurface representation simulates the initial stress state of the subsurface geological formations via removal of the artificial displacement of the subsurface geological formations caused by the simulations of the gravitational forces and the tectonic forces and use of the stress field caused by the simulations of the gravitational forces and the tectonic forces.