Interactive 2D Basin Modelling on Workstations

Abstract

ABSTRACT Basin modelling is modelling of physical and chemical processes which cause the generation of oil and gas in sedimentary basins. Basin modelling is a valuable tool in the search for new reservoirs. Basin modelling has traditionally been run on minicomputers or mainframes due to the demand for high processing power. With the increasing processing capability of todays personal computers and workstations, the road is open for moving the basin modelling to where it belongs; to the geologist doing the basin modelling. The 2D basin modelling system presented here has emphasized on standardized software, using UNIX as operating system and X Windows for interactive graphics. This makes the basin modelling software fit into the open environment with systems ranging from personal computers to mainframes, thus making basin modelling tools available for the geologist. The system is modular, i.e. each geological process is represented as independent modules. The user has full control over the modelling process, and can modify parameters and monitor the result between each step of the modelling process. A geohistory module reconstructs the sedimentary basin through time, taking into account the progressive compaction of the sediments. The fault blocks can be moved by a fault balance module to balance the profile. The subsidence resulting from the weight of the sediments is computed by the isostatic module, which, together with a tectonic module provides an estimate of the palaeo heatflow in the basin. The palaeo heatflow is an important input parameter for the thermal module, which computes the thermal history of the basin. The kinetic module is used to compute the timing and amount of petroleum generation.