Nicolas Cherpeau

Research

Subsurface modeling is a key tool to describe, understand and quantify geological processes. As the subsurface is inaccessible and its observation is limited by acquisition methods, 3D models of the subsurface are usually built from the interpretation of sparse data with limited resolution. Therefore, uncertainties occur during the model building process, due to possible cognitive human biais, natural variability of geological objects and intrinsic uncertainties of data. In such context, the predictibility of models is limited by uncertainties, which must be assessed in order to reduce economical and human risks linked to the use of models.
My work focuses more specifically on uncertainties about geological structures. In this context, I develop a stochastic method for generating structural models with various fault and horizon geometries as well as fault connections. Realistic geological objects are obtained using implicit modeling that represents a surface by an equipotential of a volumetric scalar field. Faults have also been described by a reduced set of uncertain parameters, which opens the way to the inversion of structural objects using geophysical or fluid flow data by baysian methods.

Publications

2015

2013

in: Closing the gap : advances in applied geomodeling for hydrocarbon reservoirs, pages 43-52, Canadian Society of Petroleum Geologists

2012

2011

in: SPE Reservoir Characterisation and Simulation Conference and Exhibition, SPE

2010

in: SEG Technical Program Expanded Abstracts 2010, pages 2366-2370, Society of Exploration Geophysicists