Petrofísica

Petrophysics

Design of a methodology for certainty maps generation in integrated reservoir

studies. Volve field, North Sea. Case study

Diseño de una metodología para la generación de mapas de certeza en estu-

dios integrados de yacimientos. Campo Volve, Mar del Norte. Caso de studio

Desenho de uma metodologia para geração de mapas de certeza em estudos

integrados de reservatórios. Campo Volve, Mar do Norte. Estudo de caso
Alfonso Quaglia1 Roberto Barbato2 Gabriel Rosario3 Rafael Panesso4 Juan C. Porras5 Marlene
Villalba6
Abstract
This work consisted of the design of
a methodology to generate certainty
maps in integrated reservoir studies.
Several attempts to document this pro-
cess had been made some time ago,
when a group of professionals from Inter
Rock began to apply similar procedures
to evaluate data certainty before starting
a reservoir study; preparing information
maps to facilitate the selection of key
wells for a project. This study began with
detailed inventories, followed by the or-
ganization and classification of avail-
able data from 24 wells in the Volve field
located in the North Sea. Subsequently,
the data was grouped into 3 categories:
Well logs, core and production data;
Additionally, subcategories and param-
eters were designated to establish the
specific score for the quantity and qual-
ity of the data and the application cri-
teria, respectively. A matrix was built in
which percentage weights are assigned
to each data category in relation to its
availability and quality criteria, depend-
ing upon the type of project to be de-
veloped. In this study two cases were
considered: a petrophysical project and
a geoscience project. Subsequently, the
information was loaded into a matrix to
obtain, according to each type of proj-
ect, certainty results for the 24 wells. It
is important to highlight that in this work
the term certainty will be used to refer
to the quantity and quality of the infor-
mation to be used. Certainty data from
well logs, as well as from cores and pro-
duction, were computed, which after be-
ing integrated, resulted in one certainty
map for the field/Reservoir. Finally, sev-
eral certainty maps were built showing
the distribution of information classes in
the Volve field for each type of project. In
this way, the usefulness of the certainty
maps has been established for reservoir
studies key wells selection and the op-
timization of both: work efficiency and
projects timeline, without compromising
the quality of the results.
Resumen
Este trabajo consistió en el diseño de una
metodología para generar mapas de certeza
en estudios integrados de yacimientos. Hace
algún tiempo se habían hecho varios inten-
tos de documentar este proceso, cuando un
grupo de profesionales de Inter Rock comen-
zaron a aplicar procedimientos similares
para evaluar la certeza de los datos antes de
iniciar un estudio de yacimiento; elaborando
mapas de información para facilitar la selec-
ción de pozos clave para un proyecto. Este
estudio comenzó con inventarios detallados,
seguido de la organización y clasificación de
los datos disponibles de 24 pozos en el cam-
po Volve ubicado en el Mar del Norte. Poste-
riormente, los datos se agruparon en 3 cate-
gorías: registros de pozos, datos de núcleo
y producción; adicionalmente, se designaron
subcategorías y parámetros para establecer
el puntaje específico para la cantidad y cali-
dad de los datos y los criterios de aplicación,
respectivamente. Se construyó una matriz
en la que se asignan pesos porcentuales a
cada categoría de datos en relación con su
disponibilidad y criterios de calidad, depen-
diendo del tipo de proyecto a desarrollar. En
este estudio se consideraron dos casos: un
proyecto petrofísico y un proyecto de geo-
ciencias. Posteriormente, la información fue
cargada en una matriz para obtener, según
cada tipo de proyecto, resultados de certe-
za para los 24 pozos. Es importante resaltar
que en este trabajo se utilizará el término
certeza para hacer referencia a la cantidad
y calidad de la información a utilizar. Se cal-
cularon datos de certeza de los registros de
pozos, así como de los núcleos y la produc-
ción, que después de integrarse dieron como
resultado un mapa de certeza para el cam-
po/yacimiento. Finalmente, se construyeron
varios mapas de certeza que muestran la
distribución de clases de información en el
campo Volve para cada tipo de proyecto. De
esta manera, se ha establecido la utilidad de
los mapas de certeza para la selección de
pozos clave de estudios de yacimientos, y la
optimización tanto de la eficiencia del trabajo
como del cronograma de los proyectos, sin
comprometer la calidad de los resultados.
Recibido: 5-11-23; Aprobado: 28-11-23
Resumo
Este trabalho consistiu no desenho de uma
metodologia para geração de mapas de cer-
teza em estudos integrados de reservatórios.
Várias tentativas foram feitas para documentar
este processo há algum tempo, quando um
grupo de profissionais da Inter Rock começou
a aplicar procedimentos semelhantes para
avaliar a certeza dos dados antes de iniciar
um estudo de reservatório; preparar mapas
de informações para facilitar a seleção de
poços-chave para um projeto. Este estudo
começou com inventários detalhados, seguido
pela organização e classificação dos dados
disponíveis de 24 poços no campo de Volve,
localizado no Mar do Norte. Os dados foram
então agrupados em 3 categorias: perfis de
poço, testemunho e dados de produção; adi-
cionalmente, foram designadas subcategorias
e parâmetros para estabelecer a pontuação
específica para a quantidade e qualidade dos
dados e os critérios de aplicação, respectiva-
mente. Foi construída uma matriz na qual são
atribuídos pesos percentuais a cada categoria
de dados em relação aos seus critérios de di-
sponibilidade e qualidade, dependendo do tipo
de projeto a ser desenvolvido. Neste estudo
foram considerados dois casos: um projeto
petrofísico e um projeto de geociências. Pos-
teriormente, as informações foram carregadas
em uma matriz para obter, de acordo com
cada tipo de projeto, resultados de certeza
para os 24 poços. É importante destacar que
neste trabalho o termo certeza será utilizado
para se referir à quantidade e qualidade das
informações a serem utilizadas. Os dados de
certeza foram calculados a partir de registros
de poços, testemunho e produção, que após
integração resultaram em um mapa de certeza
para o campo/reservatório. Por fim, foram con-
struídos diversos mapas de certeza mostran-
do a distribuição das classes de informação
no campo Retorno para cada tipo de projeto.
Desta forma, foi estabelecida a utilidade dos
mapas de certeza para a seleção de poços-
chave para estudos de reservatórios e para
a otimização da eficiência do trabalho e dos
cronogramas dos projetos, sem comprometer
a qualidade dos resultados.

Palabras clave/Keywords/Palabras-chave:
Certainty maps, estudios integrados de yacimientos, estudos integrados de reservatórios, integrated reservoir studies, key Wells, ma-
pas de certeza, Mar del Norte, Mar do Norte, North Sea, optimización, optimization, otimização, pozos clave, poços-chave.
1
Ing°Geó°, PhD. Inter-Rock, C. A., email: quagliaa@inter-rock-ca.com; 2 Geó°, PhD. Barbato Training, Consulting and Services, email: r_barbato@msn.com; 3 Geó°. Inter-Rock,
C. A., email: gabrielrosario1998@gmail.com; 4 Ing°Geó°, Esp. Inter-Rock Panamerican-Colombia, email: panessor@inter-rock-ca.com; 5 Ing°Geó°, MSc. Inter-Rock Panamerican,
email: porrasjc@inter-rock-ca.com; 6 Ing°Petró°, PhD. Inter-Rock, C. A., email: villalbam@inter-rock-ca.com
GEOMINAS, Vol. 51, N° 92, diciembre 2023 121
A. Quaglia, R. Barbato, G. Rosario, R. Panesso, J. Porras, M. Villalba
Overview
Maps have been one of
the most important human inven-
tions for millennia, allowing hu-
mans to explain global geography
and geology and to navigate the
world. The oldest surviving maps
include cave paintings and sto-
ne engravings, followed by maps
produced in ancient Babylon,
Greece, Rome, China, and India.
In their simplest form, maps are
two-dimensional constructions;
however, since the time of classi-
cal Greece, maps have also been
projected onto a three-dimensio-
nal sphere and nowadays even
four-dimensional when the time
variable also plays its role, as in
simulations.
With the passage of time
and technological advances, the
making of maps has evolved and
developed, reaching what they
are today, quite precise represen-
tations of areas of interest, being
able to be two-dimensional and
three-dimensional, whose variety
of themes range from geographi-
cal representations to properties
present on the earth’s surface
such as minerals existing in a
specific area.
In geology and related
disciplines, the use of maps is
essential from exploration to de-
velopment and production. Spea-
king essentially of the oil and gas
industry there are a variety of
maps that are commonly used
such as geological, isoproper-
ties, reservoir qualities, surface
facilities, etc... but very little about
quantities and qualities of infor-
mation maps. That is why this
work has the purpose of develo-
ping a workflow that allows to de-
monstrate the effect of the quan-
tity and quality of the data used
in reservoir integrated studies, i.e:
well logs, cores, and production
reports, represented in certainty
maps previously to reservoir stu-
dies through a practical workflow,
reducing execution times.
122
Thanks to technologi-
cal growth and its impact on re-
servoir studies, it is advisable to
base the analysis of hydrocar-
bon prospects on more efficient
workflows, optimizing results, re-
ducing uncertainty, and elimina-
ting delays.
The need to establish
this type of workflow is based on
cutting project execution times to
make them more efficient, without
sacrificing quality. There are tools
that allow speeding up projects;
However, these systems need
constant revisions to allow opti-
mization between existing digital
platforms and multidisciplinary
teams. That’s why the need to
implement new methods that are
more practical, fast, and efficient
in order to satisfy the continuous
demands of industry.
Frequently, the results of
a geological or reservoir study are
affected by the quantity and quali-
ty of the available information, re-
gardless of the method used and
the capacity of the professionals
involved. Along with this idea, this
research seeks to optimize the
processes in the work chain for
the search, delimitation and pro-
duction of a reservoir, proposing
the development of a workflow for
the generation of certainty maps
from the elaboration of informa-
tion matrices that allow the selec-
tion of key wells on which a reser-
voir, geological or petrophysical
model of optimum certainty can
be based on. Having said that,
the main task of this workflow is
to design an optimized methodo-
logy to generate certainty maps
considering the quality and quan-
tity of the available data in order
to reduce the execution time of
the projects without affecting the
quality of the results.
The available data is of
public domain from Volve Field
in the North Sea, Norway. This
field was selected due to its di-
mensions together with the fact
that the information is freely ac-
GEOMINAS, Vol. 51, N° 92, diciembre 2023
cessible, facilitating its manage-
ment and distribution. Regarding
the general characteristics of this
field, it is located in the central
part of the North Sea, five kilo-
meters north of the Sleipner Øst
field. The depth of the water is
80 meters. Volve was discovered
in 1993, and the Plan of Deve-
lopment and Operations (PDO)
was approved in 2005. The field
was developed with a jackup
drilling and processing facility.
Production started in 2008. This
field produced oil from Middle
Jurassic sandstone in the Hugin
Formation. The reservoir is lo-
cated at a depth of 2,700-3,100
meters. The western part of the
structure is heavily faulted and
communication across the faults
is uncertain. Pressure support
water injection was used for pro-
duction. It was closed in 2016 and
the facility was removed in 2018.
The Volve field is a large 2x3 km
structure with restricted rejection
and forms as a result of salt mo-
vements and stretching during
and immediately after reservoir
deposition. It was dominated by
the tides, which has resulted in
a great lateral extension of the
sandstone layers. A series of
Triassic-Jurassic formations with
sandy intervals are found throug-
hout the North Sea, as seen in
the lithostratigraphic column in
figure 1. These units constitute
important reservoirs and aquifers.
Thick shale formations with good
sealing capacity occur throug-
hout the Jurassic and Cretaceous
sequences.
A total of 24 wells were
used to carry out this study. Be-
low, in table I, the wells, their ori-
ginal & short names and their res-
pective coordinates are shown.
Background
The scarce bibliogra-
phy on the realization of cer-
tainty maps themselves and the
methodology implemented for
their generation highlight the
 Design of a methodology for certainty maps generation in …

Figure 1. Study Area Geological Column.

workflow owned by Inter-Rock, which has accumu-
lated sufficient experience and documentation in
this matter, for which reason the publication of this
work will be an important part of future bibliographi-
cal reference as an innovative tool in the use and
GEOMINAS, diciembre 2023
optimization of information based on its quantity
and quality in integrated reservoir studies.
Since its foundation (2003), Inter-Rock, has
been incorporating in previous delivered project
123
A. Quaglia, R. Barbato, G. Rosario, R. Panesso, J. Porras, M. Villalba
Table I. Volve field wells and their coordinates.
reports, classified information in
an optimized and refined databa-
se where quantity and quality of
available data is considered for
the elaboration of certainty maps
using mainly well log data, cores,
production data and technical re-
ports.
Certainty maps are fun-
damentally based on the quantity
and quality of information, where
it is possible to represent, accor-
ding to predetermined scales, the
variation in the certainty of the
data available for an area under
study. Certainty maps are gene-
rated using a matrix where the
data is weighted according to the
main objectives of the study for
which it will be used. In the case
of geological or reservoir studies,
the main sources of information
are well log data, rock samples,
production data and previous
studies carried out in the area
of interest. (Quaglia & Panesso,
2004).
124
Methodology
Scientific research is a
methodical and systematic pro-
cess aimed at solving scientific
problems or questions through
the production of new knowled-
ge, which constitutes the solu-
tion or answer to such questions.
Three types are recognized: ex-
ploratory, descriptive and expla-
natory (Arias, 2016). Exploratory
research is one that is carried out
on an unknown or little-studied
topic or objective, so its results
constitute an approximate vision
of said objective (Arias, 2016).
Based on the above, and due to
the fact that the certainty maps
are created by the Inter-Rock te-
chnical group, it results in a to-
pic that has been little studied.
That is why this research would
be of an exploratory type, since
it is oriented towards designing a
methodology for the construction
of certainty maps, through the
GEOMINAS, Vol. 51, N° 92, diciembre 2023
creation of a matrix made up of
various categories of information
as data from well logs, drilling
cores , production data and te-
chnical reports. After a rigorous
inventory, the proposed workflow
consist of the following major ac-
tivities:
1. Classification of the catego-
ries of information and amount
of available data from which the
certainty maps are generated.
2. Establish the certainty criteria
per well, formation or reservoir for
which the corresponding certain-
ty maps would be generated.
3. Determination of information
quality parameters based on the
categories of available data.
4. Design a matrix where weight
values and rating corresponding
to each data item from each ca-
tegory can be assigned based on
their quantity, quality and the type
and the objectives of each study.
5. Generate certainty maps by
well/formation/reservoir; from to-

tal certainty matrix, based on the quantity and qua-
lity of available data.
6. Rank the wells based on the score obtained in
the certainty matrix according to the applied criteria
and areal distribution, in order to select the key wells
for geological & petrophysical models in Integrated
Reservoir Studies.
7. Document a workflow for the generation of cer-
tainty maps, using a weighted matrix of information
categories.
Determining the quality of the available data
such as records, cores, production data, etc... com-
prises an important part in carrying out the inven-
tory and the status of the data, in this segment it
must be identified if the quality is good , acceptable
or unacceptable.
Description of the main activities for the
Certainty Maps workflow
1. Classification of information categories from
available data
The available data from the Volve field were
validated, QC’d, studied and grouped into 3 large
categories, which are: logs, cores and production
data. Specialists and interpreters of Inter-Rock crea-
ted a master table (Table II) to classify the available
data within the three pre-selected categories.
2. Certainty criteria per well based on the Quan-
tity and Quality parameters designation for each
category of information
First of all, the quantity, type and subsurface
coverage of available information will be considered
as main factor to assign weight numbers which are
related directly with the type of study, i.e.: Petrophy-
sical, geological, geophysical study among others.
On the other hand, the quality of the data will de-
pend upon the type of available information; For the
LOGS category, the main quality parameter will be
the caliper log; in its absence the density correction
log will be used, if neither of the two logs mentioned
above are available, the tension curve will be used
as the quality parameter. Figure 2. These curves,
in that same order, somehow are similarly affected
and provide important information about the irregu-
larities of the drilling hole and consequently warn
about the uncertainty of the log measurements
depending on the depth of their investigation, this
allows to build a “Badhole flag” (Depth Track). In the
case of the core category, the parameter is given
by the presence or absence of the core manage-
ment and analysis protocol report. For the produc-
tion category, the parameter will be assigned at the
discretion of the interpreter, in this case a reservoir
GEOMINAS, diciembre 2023
Design of a methodology for certainty maps generation in …
engineer, production engineer, or personnel trained
to analyze production data, who will apply or adjust
correction/penalty percentages based on available
Lab procedure reports, data source or origin.
3. Application criteria corresponding to each pa-
rameter
For the log category quality parameter, the
borehole geometry represents an important factor
since every tool will have a specific depth of investi-
gation in the logging borehole, it can be affected to
a greater or lesser extent, resulting in altered data,
directly proportional to the section(s) of bad hole.
For this purpose, it is important to be knowledgea-
ble about this factor, which is displayed in figure 3,
where the depth of investigation of the logging tools
are shown.
For the core category, the core manage-
ment protocol report provides the necessary sup-
port to manage reliability and credibility to the core
data that is available, for this it is worth mentioning
the main factors that affect the core data:
1. Sample extraction methods.
2. Alteration of wettability.
3. Clay damage
4. Porosity evaluation.
5. Pore volume compressibility
6. Laboratory handling & management.
7. Laboratory reporting requirements.
All of these factors already mentioned have
a great weight on the quality of the core data, so, ha-
ving a core management protocol report is very im-
portant; in its absence, great uncertainty is created
regarding the reliability of the available information.
For the production category, it uses entirely
the experience and knowledge that the interpreter
has when analyzing the available data, considering
whether the initial tests were properly performed, at
what time in the life of the field the PVT analysis
were done as well as the water sampling and physi-
cal-chemical analysis comply with protocols.
4. Matrix Design and weight qualification values
for each type of data based on its quantity, quali-
ty and the type and the objectives of each study
To create the matrix Excel program was
used, starting from the already established catego-
ries, 4 different spreadsheets were created which
would contain the information for logs, cores, pro-
duction, and total well certainty.
Specifically for this work, for each data ca-
tegory, that is, logs, cores and production, a weight
is assigned according to the type of project being
125
A. Quaglia, R. Barbato, G. Rosario, R. Panesso, J. Porras, M. Villalba

Table II. Master Table with categories for available data.

worked on, also in the Total Well
Certainty sheet, in the column so
called Total Certainty, percenta-
ge weight values are assigned
126
to each of the 3 categories de- this research, two types of pro-
pending on the project, in such a jects were established, one for
way that the sum results in 100%. petrophysics and the other one
Additionally, for the purposes of for geosciences, using the data
GEOMINAS, Vol. 51, N° 92, diciembre 2023
 Design of a methodology for certainty maps generation in …

Figure 2. Borehole condition important curves in the application of the quality criteria of well logs, represen-
ted in the last 4 tracks corresponding to the hole conditions (Borehole). CALX (Caliper), DRHO/ZCOR (Density
Correction), TTEN (Tension).

available from the Volve Field. These weights were
assigned with the advisory of interpreters and expe-
rienced professionals from the consulting company
Inter-Rock.
GEOMINAS, diciembre 2023
Either for the petrophysical or Geoscience
project, the percentage values that each category
represents for carrying out the total certainty cal-
culation are shown in tables III and IV respectively.
These weights or percentage values are considered
127
A. Quaglia, R. Barbato, G. Rosario, R. Panesso, J. Porras, M. Villalba
Figure 3. Depth of investigation of main logging tools. (University of
Houston, 2009). Modified by authors.
variable or conveniently modifia-
ble, depending on the nature of
each project, always based on a
multidisciplinary consensus.
Table III. Percentage weights of
each information category for the
petrophysical project.
Table IV. Percentage weights of
each information category for the
geoscience project.
In the case of the pe-
trophysical project the assigned
weights and certainty results per
item within each category are
shown in tables V, VI and VII for
logs, cores and production ca-
tegories respectively. If the well
has the mentioned data, the in-
teger value is entered, and in
its absence, it is left blank in the
matrix. The Total Certainty Ma-
128
trix for Petrophysical Project is
shown in table VII. Likewise, the
same procedure is applied for the
Geoscience Project where the
assigned weights are shown in
tables IX, X and XI for logs, cores
and production categories res-
pectively, and the Total Certainty
Matrix for Geoscience Project is
shown in table XII.
5. Generate certainty maps by
well, formation or reservoir
based on the results obtained
from the certainty matrix, de-
pending on the quantity and
quality of the available data
The Surfer 16 tool from
“Golden Software” was used to
generate the certainty maps. The
aforementioned maps were pre-
pared for each of the categories
of information: Logs, Cores, Pro-
duction as partial steps before to-
tal certainty maps are built either
for the petrophysical and geologi-
cal projects, after obtaining partial
and final results of the certainty
matrix. To load the data into the
mapping software, the North and
East bottom coordinates of each
well were used, as these wells
were offset. Additionally, a Z value
was needed, which in this case
was certainty. In this research,
GEOMINAS, Vol. 51, N° 92, diciembre 2023
the population or universe of data
is conceived as the space from
which the sample has been ex-
tracted. Balestrini, (2006) stated
that: The sample is a “representa-
tive subset of a universe or popu-
lation.” In this sense, the sample
of this project is made up of 24
wells from the Volve field, located
in the North Sea. It was ensured
that the selected wells had basic
information, well logs, eventually
cores and production reports.
For the purposes of this
work, total certainty maps resul-
ting from the two exercises ca-
rried out for both the petrophysi-
cal and geoscience projects were
generated and shown in figures
4 and 5. It is important to mention
that certainty maps by category
were also generated and discus-
sed based on the quantity and
quality of the data from records,
cores and production reports
available, which were somehow
added and normalized to mana-
ge the total certainty maps. for
each project.
It is observed that speci-
fic areas of petrophysical project
certainty map, have good cer-
tainty toward the central-western
and north-eastern areas of the
field, this means that these areas
have considerable amount of in-
formation as well as good quality.
Furthermore, other smaller areas
located toward the center and the
northernmost area of the map
show low certainty, that is, the
quantity and quality of the data is
low.
In the total certainty map
of the Volve field for the geological
project, it is observed a high per-
centage of certainty in the majo-
rity of the Volve field, highlighting
specific wells located between
the SW and NE zones, that is,
in those zones the quantity and
quality of the data is greater. On
the other hand, there is a specific
area with very low certainty, loca-
ted toward the central-northern of
 Design of a methodology for certainty maps generation in …

the total certainty map, this means that this

area has scarce data and/or its quality is
low as well.

6. Wells Ranking based on the score

from resulting certainty matrix.

As mentioned before, this article

based its case study developing the cer-
tainty maps methodology on two types of
studies using the same database, a petro-
physical and a geological study. Said that,
a Hierarchy of the wells based on the score
obtained in the certainty assessments was
made based on correspondent criteria for
both projects.

Regarding the petrophysical pro-

ject, the values previously obtained for total
Table V. Log Category Certainty Matrix. Petrophysical Project.

well certainty, it was possible to highlight

nine (9) key wells with a good certainty
qualification (>40%), as well as the case of
four (4) wells with extremely low certainty
(<12%), which we can be seen in figure 6.
It’s important to mention that, in any case
and for this study, there is not a scientific
criterion or a magic number under which a
limit of “acceptable” or “unacceptable” cer-
tainty will be assigned. It all depends on
available data, the nature and specific ob-
jectives of the project.

In the case of the geoscience pro-

ject, a ranking of the wells based on the
certainty matrix was done. From previously
geology study total well certainty as-
sessment, 7 key wells were identified with
acceptable certainty over a total of 24 wells.
Figure 7.

Finally, the ranking of the wells ba-

sed on the resulting score from the certain-
ty matrix assessments, there are 9 selected
key wells with good certainty for the Petro-
physical Project and 7 selected key wells
with good certainty for the geoscience pro-
ject. Tables XIII & XIV.

7. Documentation of a detailed workflow

for the generation of certainty maps,
using a weighted matrix of information
categories.

This work represents an explora-

tory research since it is carried out on an
unknown or little studied topic or objective.
The results obtained constitute an approxi-
mate vision of what a certainty map should
be based on the stated objectives. Based on
the above, and because the certainty map
GEOMINAS, diciembre 2023 129
A. Quaglia, R. Barbato, G. Rosario, R. Panesso, J. Porras, M. Villalba

workflow is an original procedure created by

Inter-Rock, it is an understudied topic. This is
why the main objective of this research is the
design of a methodology for generating cer-
tainty maps, through the creation of a matrix
made up of various categories of information,
well log data, drilling cores and production
data. The results obtained have given rise to
a workflow which has been documented and
represented in figure 8, defining each of the
steps to follow in the generation of the cer-
tainty maps.

Discussion

For this work, two case studies iden-

tified as: petrophysical project and geological
Table VI. Core Category Certainty Matrix. Petrophysical Project.

project were considered, so it would be pos-

sible, after the certainty maps were genera-
ted, not only to differentiate them, but also to
demonstrate the power of this tool. For both,
the same categories of information and qua-
lity parameters were used for each type of
information, the difference lies in the weights
assigned to each data according to the type
of study. Under these circumstances, the
weights assigned were as faithful as possible
to the characteristics of the site studies.

The differences in the resulting cer-

tainty maps for each category, and between
the total certainty maps for each case study,
are due to the specific objectives of both dis-
ciplines; petrophysics and geology.

Certainty maps can also be used in early

diagnosis of hydrocarbon potential and pros-
pect evaluations, as well as serving as a gui-
de to show where the best quantity and qua-
lity data is available in a field. They will surely
provide the opportunity to save and in many
cases avoid losses.

Certainty maps find their special use

in the development of projects, for very large
fields and limited budgets, since they function
as a tool to optimize time and investment. It
is possible to locate wells or areas where the
quantity and quality of information is greater
and better, or lesser and worse, depending
on the case, the specific objectives and the
type of study being carried out, to identify
which areas of the field do not represent a
good perspective or could need an additional
investment to capture data.

The Certainty Maps Workflow can be

summarized starting with a general inventory
130 GEOMINAS, Vol. 51, N° 92, diciembre 2023
 Design of a methodology for certainty maps generation in …

Table VII. Production Category Certainty Matrix. Petrophysical Project.

Table VIII. Total Certainty Matrix. Petrophysical Project.

of the available information, followed by analyzing
and establishing the information categories and
classification criteria for the available data, deter-
mining the quantity and quality parameters for each
category. to establish the corresponding application
criteria for each parameter. Finally, create a weighted
matrix for the corresponding qualification of quantity,
GEOMINAS, diciembre 2023
quality and type of study; followed by the certainty
maps for each category of information and the total
certainty according to the type of study, ending with
the ranking of the key wells based on the scores ob-
tained throughout the entire process.
131
 A. Quaglia, R. Barbato, G. Rosario, R. Panesso, J. Porras, M. Villalba

Evidently, in this Certainty Map Gene-

ration procedure, it is possible to realize that
this workflow is 100% compatible with machine
learning. Artificial intelligence through machine
learning could even, without any doubt, gene-
rate numerically the key wells from a certain
cutoff of certainty, without the need to generate
the maps; However, knowing where wells or re-
servoir areas are located with greater or lesser
certainty is as important as the actual work of
classifying wells or classifying deposits accor-
ding to the best or worst areas with greater or
lesser certainty and the better or worse quality of
the information. That is why maps are essential
to establish the location and the reasons of Cer-
tainty variations. In a project like this, geographi-
cal location definitely has an important weight.

It is definitely advisable to promote the

Table IX. Log Category Certainty Matrix. Geoscience Project.

implementation of certainty maps as a valua-

ble diagnostic tool for the available data prior
to the execution of integrated reservoir studies.
This procedure will also be of great help as it
will lead to improvements in planning to capture
new and missing data. Obviously, the participa-
tion of experienced professionals in multidiscipli-
nary teams would be pertinent for the purposes
of assigning weights to the categories and sub-
categories of information in the corresponding
matrices for the generation of certainty maps
according to the nature of the study.

Finally, it would be undeniable that being

able to select the true key wells for integrated
reservoir studies would lead to solid results and
more reliable models.

Acknowledgement

The authors would like to greatly appreciate the

valuable collaboration of Dr. Alfredo Fernandez,
a Senior Reservoir Geophysicist who knew how
to facilitate and introduce the team to the huge
and intricated dB of Volve Field.

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134 GEOMINAS, Vol. 51, N° 92, diciembre 2023

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138 GEOMINAS, Vol. 51, N° 92, diciembre 2023