Over the past 20 years there has been a major growth in efforts to quantify the geometry and dimensions of sediment bodies from analogues to provide quantitative input to geological models. The aim of this volume is to examine the current state of the art, from both an industry and an academic perspective. Contributions discuss the challenges of extracting relevant data from different types of sedimentary analogue (outcrop, process models, seismic) and the application and significance of such information for improving predictions from subsurface static and dynamic models. Special attention is given to modelling reservoir properties and gridding issues for predicting subsurface fluid flow. As such, the volume is expected to be of interest to both the geoscience community concerned with the fundamentals of sedimentary architecture as well as geological modellers and engineers interested in how these characteristics are modelled and influence subsurface predictions.

This volume highlights key challenges for fluid-flow prediction in carbonate reservoirs, the approaches currently employed to address these challenges and developments in fundamental science and technology. The papers span methods and case studies that highlight workflows and emerging technologies in the fields of geology, geophysics, petrophysics, reservoir modelling and computer science. Topics include: detailed pore-scale studies that explore fundamental processes and applications of imaging and flow modelling at the pore scale; case studies of diagenetic processes with complementary perspectives from reactive transport modelling; novel methods for rock typing; petrophysical studies that investigate the impact of diagenesis and fault-rock properties on acoustic signatures; mechanical modelling and seismic imaging of faults in carbonate rocks; modelling geological influences on seismic anisotropy; novel approaches to geological modelling; methods to represent key geological details in reservoir simulations and advances in computer visualization, analytics and interactions for geoscience and engineering.

A cross-border approach to exploration, appraisal and development is important in mature basins such as the North Sea, where the ‘low hanging fruit’ have long gone. This approach emphasizes the need to see the basin as one geological entity, in order to maximize economic recovery and prepare the area for the energy transition. This volume offers an up-to-date, ‘geology-without-borders’ view of the stratigraphy, sedimentology, tectonics and oil-and-gas exploration trends of the entire North Sea basin, along with the challenges associated with differences in data continuity and nomenclature across median lines. This volume includes overviews of cross-border play statistics, lithostratigraphic naming conventions and exploration performance through to new facies models for cross-border areas. As such, this volume will be a valuable reference for every geoscientist working in the North Sea for years to come.

This volume reviews and reappraises the value and impact of outcrop-based fieldwork in hydrocarbon exploration, appraisal, development and production. There has been a resurgence in the use and need for outcrop-based research as analogues and benchmarks for subsurface overburden and reservoir studies, and digital technologies combined with traditional methods are revolutionizing this area of field-studies.

The Geological Modelling of Hydrocarbon Reservoirs and Outcrop Analogues is a collection of 15 selected papers taken from the Symposium of the same name which formed part of the IAS Congress of 1990 held in Nottingham, UK. Recent technological advances and the ever increasing demand for maximising recovery from existing oil and gas fields has led to an upsurge of interest, at both academic and industrial levels, in reservoir characterization and quantitative modelling of physical rock properties in 3-D inter-well space. Synthesizing both industrial and academic research and integrating sedimentology, petroleum geology, geostatistic and geomathematics, this volme is a state-of-the-art presentation of approaches to quantifying geology in order to give better input to 3-D numerical reservoir modelling methods. It is the first IAS volume to highlight the necessary interface with academic and oil industry geology by showing how academic research can significantly support the mathematical modelling work of reservoir engineers in industry and contributions to the volume come from an expert, international team comprised of university, government and international oil industry scientists.