Accelerate Subsurface Decision-Making with AI and Integrated Workflows

Schlumberger Petrel 2022 represents a significant step in the evolution of the industry’s premier platform for subsurface characterization and modeling. Released by Schlumberger (now SLB), this version emphasizes digital transformation, AI-powered automation, and seamless data integration to help geoscientists, reservoir engineers, and asset teams unlock greater value from complex reservoirs. Petrel 2022 bridges the gap between traditional desktop expertise and the future of cloud-enabled, collaborative subsurface analysis.

Key Themes & Major Advancements in Petrel 2022

The 2022 release focused on enhancing core workflows, introducing intelligent automation, and laying the groundwork for deeper cloud integration.

1. Enhanced Seismic Interpretation & Geophysics

  • Deep-Learning Fault Detection: A breakthrough in seismic interpretation. This AI-powered tool automatically interprets fault networks from 3D seismic data with unprecedented speed and consistency, dramatically reducing manual picking time.

  • Advanced Volume Rendering & Visualization: New GPU-accelerated rendering engines improved the handling and visualization of ultra-large seismic volumes and complex models, providing sharper insights into subsurface structures.

  • Seismic Data Conditioning: Enhanced tools for noise reduction and seismic attribute calculation, enabling clearer imaging of stratigraphic features.

2. Smarter Geology & Modeling

  • AI-Assisted Horizon Interpretation: Machine learning algorithms accelerated horizon tracking across seismic volumes, learning from interpreter guidance to improve auto-picking in challenging data.

  • Uncertainty Workflow Enhancements: More robust tools for managing subsurface uncertainty across the modeling chain, from multiple structural realizations to stochastic property modeling, enabling better risk assessment.

  • Streamlined Structural & Stratigraphic Modeling: Improved algorithms for building more geologically consistent structural frameworks and grid generation, especially in complex faulted environments.

3. Integrated Reservoir Engineering & Simulation

  • Petrel Reservoir Engineering (PRE) Workflows: Tighter integration with reservoir simulation pre- and post-processing, allowing for faster model updates and history matching within the Petrel environment.

  • Enhanced Flow Diagnostics: More sophisticated tools for rapid dynamic model screening, helping engineers identify connectivity issues and sweet spots without running full numerical simulations.

  • Subsurface Integrator: Strengthened data management and workflow orchestration capabilities, ensuring consistency across disciplines from geophysics to engineering.

4. Cloud-Enabled Foundation & Collaboration

  • Petrel on the DELFI Environment: Petrel 2022 was a key enabler for deeper integration with SLB’s DELFI cognitive E&P environment. It supported launching Petrel projects from the cloud and facilitated better data sharing and version control.

  • OSDU Data Platform Compatibility: Enhanced connectors and workflows to leverage data managed within the OSDU™ Data Platform, promoting an open, standards-based subsurface data ecosystem.