Hydrocarbon Shows database: the power of systematic analysis (2017)

This intern report has been written by former intern Constantijn Blom.

Hydrocarbon (HC) shows can be concisely defined as significant increases of HC gases or fluids coinciding with changes in lithological properties. HC shows may provide valuable information with respect to HC migration paths, kitchen maturity and source rock typing in the Dutch subsurface. Therefore, the HC shows are documented in a well-structured database.

The goal of this project is to expand the HC shows database towards the south and make improvements when required. In this study the HC show classification have been refined to self-explanatory classifications that are uniform for all three data types used in the database. Additionally, a more detailed classification system to describe HC observations in well tests has been designed. An extensive QC has been performed by actively searching for inconsistencies and errors in the HC shows database. This QC resulted in a list of common user input errors that are now checked for automatically. Spotfire has been used in this project for several studies including a regional HC source rock study; a comparison between a missed pay analysis by Panterra and the HC shows database; a study investigating the effect of mud type on gas readings; and a study on the effect of lithology on HC show classifications. Spotfire is proven to be a powerful tool for analyzing the HC shows database. Furthermore, a positive correlation was found between test data and mudlog data indicating a high database quality. Lastly, the project has been handed over successfully to my successor. To his aid the workflow for the HC shows database has been reviewed and updated with the latest improvements. Additionally, two chapters were added to the HC shows example ATLAS that future analysts can refer to.