Applications

ParaGeo encompasses the key features required to simulate all the processes and complex phenomena occurring during basin evolution over geological time scales from the deposition of the first basin formation to the present day configuration. You can simulate the whole basin history including deposition, mechanical compaction, tectonic deformation, diagenesis, erosion, creep, overpressure development, salt diapir formation, salt inflow/outflow from the model domain, fluid flow, hydraulic fracture, fault initiation and fault propagation and offset, heat generation and heat transfer, etc.

The available material models enable the capture of the evolution of material properties from an unconsolidated sediment at deposition to litified materials at depth in present day configurations. The models are able to simulate ductile to brittle transition, viscoplastic behaviour, creep, etc, facilitating characterisation of a wide range of lithologies. The implemented diagenesis kinetic models enable the capture of the effect of diagenesis on sediment properties such as porosity and permeability, strength, stiffness, compressibility as well as overpressure generation.

The adaptive remeshing algorithm enable the capture of large strains and define a criteria to optimize element size so that the new mesh will consider relatively coarse elements in regions of the model which are not deformationally active whereas finer elements will be considered in high strain and high strain rate regions. This enables the proper capture of the initiation and evolution of strain localizations (continuum equivalent of faults).

The available continuum fracture models in ParaGeo with pore pressure and minimum stress criteria enable the prediction of natural fracturing with subsequent permeability enhancement and overpressure dissipation.

The contact algorithms implemented for the mechanical, fluid flow and thermal fields enable simulation of fault frictional behaviour, fluid flow along and across faults and temperature transfer across faults. You can simulate fault permeability decrease due to fault closure upon an increasing compressional stress or prescribe the evolution of fault conductivity with time. In addition you can prescribe fault propagation pathways so that contact surfaces are propagated into newly deposited units.

ParaGeo model for GoM style mini-basins

Engineers and geoscientists routinely perform geological restorations to understand the development and evolution of geological structures that led to the observed present day configuration. In addition geological restorations provide useful data that may help to constrain forward geological models over geological time scales such as the initial geometry configuration (which is the final restored state) and constraint on the kinematics of the model boundaries. In ParaGeo, you can perform 2D and 3D geomechanical restorations and use the output data to generate input data for forward modelling thanks to the integrated Restoration --> Forward modelling workflow.

In ParaGeo restorations, you may define a restoration datum with any shape you want to which the current top surface of the model will be back-stripped at each restoration stage. During back-stripping you can apply different constraints to the top surface horizon according to what suits best your target application including definition of horizon-length preservation. Decompaction curves are input with full flexibility on the curve shape via definition of porosity vs. depth pairs and you may use the implemented directional decompaction model to perform non-vertical decompaction in compressional problems.

The geometry configuration at the end of each restoration stage is output so that you can process it with the available Restoration --> Forward simulation conversion utilities to derive boundary conditions for the corresponding forward simulation. The starting geometry for the forward simulation is derived from the final restored geometry, restoration boundary displacements are reversed for the forward model and fault topology at paleo-times may be used to constrain fault propagation pathways into newly deposited units during forward simulations.

ParaGeo geomechanical restoration with vertical decompaction for an isolated thrust structure in the Niger Delta. Present day trust structure obtained from Higgins et al. (2009)

ParaGeo can be used to analyse wellbore stability in open-hole, cased hole and cemented case wellbore holes. A specialized boundary condition is used to gradually release displacement constraints in the wellbore wall after model initialization. The material models available in ParaGeo enable to calibrate material properties to capture the rheological behaviour of any type of rock. You can use MATINA to back-analyse any experimental data you may have and after calibration add the material to your data base and export the material properties in a ParaGeo material file format for usage in your wellbore model. Automatic generation of a wellbore sub-model from a MEM model is currently on development.

Effective horizontal stress contours in a ParaGeo open hole wellbore model