Exploratory Spatial Data Analysis - Petroleum GIS

23 April 2009, 10:31am

Exprodat announces white paper entitled "Exploratory Spatial Data Analysis - Optimizing Interpolation of E&P Datasets" for use by Petroleum exploration and production (E&P) sector geoscience and GIS professionals. The paper explains techniques for selecting suitable interpolation methods for creating accurate surface models using Geographical Information System (GIS) technology.

White Paper on Exploratory Spatial Data Analysis for Petroleum GIS Sector

Exploratory Spatial Data Analysis (ESDA) is a group of techniques used to describe and visualize spatial distributions, to highlight patterns affecting the distribution of observations and to identify outlier values. Each interpolation technique has its own advantages and disadvantages, depending on the characteristics of the input dataset. ESDA techniques provide the GIS user with guidance on how to decide which interpolation method to use when gridding and contouring data.

The techniques in Exprodat’s white paper were first presented at ESRI’s 2009 Petroleum User Group (PUG) Conference (www.esri.com/events/pug/) in Houston, Texas. By publishing the white paper Exprodat are now able to share the full results of their research with the wider oil and gas GIS community.

Exprodat’s Managing Director, Gareth Smith, says, “Geoscientists are commonly faced with the problem of selecting the most appropriate gridding algorithm when generating grids. Often, they’ll just select the defaults provided in their E&P mapping tools without understanding the implications of their choices. Our research in this area shows that GIS, when used alongside traditional mapping packages, provides powerful tools for evaluating data in order to make these key decisions correctly.”

“Choosing an interpolation method for the type of phenomenon the geoscientist is trying to model, and one that fits the distribution of the data in hand, should not just be a matter of luck - they need to understand the spatial behavior of the phenomenon they are investigating, and need to answer to some critical questions before attempting to apply any interpolation technique. This can help produce defendable results that reflect a deep understanding of the way the phenomenon of interest varies spatially. It also helps us to quantify the uncertainty in the modeling.”

In this paper Exprodat focuses on the use of ESDA techniques available in ESRI’s ArcGIS platform and on guiding the user in choosing a suitable interpolation method among the many available in ArcGIS Spatial Analyst and ArcGIS Geostatistical Analyst.

ArcGIS is a scalable family of software products comprising a complete geographic information system (GIS) built on industry standards. ArcGIS is used for the creation, management, integration, analysis, display, and dissemination of spatial data. Visualization, editing, and analysis, along with advanced data management, distinguish the ArcGIS software family as the leading GIS software. Much more than a specialized offering for a small niche of specialists, ArcGIS is designed as a scalable system that can be deployed in every organization, from an individual desktop to a globally distributed network of people.

ArcGIS extensions such as ArcGIS Spatial Analyst and ArcGIS Geostatistical Analyst extend the functional capabilities of the ArcGIS Desktop products, which include ArcView, ArcEditor, and ArcInfo. GIS users worldwide can use ArcGIS and extensions to maximize the potential benefits of geographic information and address specific GIS application requirements.

For additional information on Exprodat’s Exploratory Spatial Data Analysis paper for the Petroleum GIS sector contact Jules Cullen or visit www.exprodat.com.

www.exprodat.com

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