AI to unlock new insight from old wells

The Norwegian Petroleum Directorate (NPD) reports that machine learning and artificial intelligence (AI) can be used to study well logs from existing wells to find hydrocarbons that were potentially overlooked in so-called ‘potential missed pay’.

According to a study commissioned by UK authorities that was completed in 2020 and involved the NPD, there are numerous wells in the North Sea that have potential missed pay. Earth Science Analytics followed up this study, on assignment from the NPD, reviewing some 545 wells.

The NPD estimates thatabout 1,250 exploration wells have been drilled in the North Sea to date. Despite many discoveries, more than half of the wells are dry. ‘By releasing the analyses and underlying data from the studies, we want to challenge the industry to use AI to discover new resources and gain new geological insight,’ says Torgeir Stordal, Director Technology and Coexistence at the NPD.

Well analyses can be very time-consuming and are, therefore, only conducted in areas of particular interest. With new digital tools that use machine learning algorithms and AI, industry players can now conduct well analyses for vast volumes of data in a short amount of time, says the NPD.