The purpose of our in-house basin modelling package SEMI is to model migration and entrapment of oil and gas from source rocks to traps in three dimensions, and thereby provide explorationists with quantitative estimates of the amounts and phases of hydrocarbons in (undrilled) traps. In order to achieve this, SEMI has built in functions for simulating the generation and expulsion of oil and gas from source rocks. SEMI also models the processes that cause hydrocarbons to migrate out of traps.
The intention of SEMI is to allow for the user to utilize all the available data and concepts in the building of the geological model and the representation of the hydrocarbon system. It is easy to import results from most other basin modelling tools and thus take advantage of mapping and modelling work which already exists.
Geological input data often exist as a combination of scattered well data, coarse grids in the deep parts of the basin and high resolution seismic coverage in the prospective areas. SEMI is designed to utilise all available data to its full extent, by allowing for running multi-resolution simulations and providing tools for bridging the gap between single-point information and regional data. SEMI is designed for easy incorporation of new information into old models, as it becomes available, allowing for efficient re-usage of existing basin models.
The illustration shows modelled oil flow rates and hydrocarbon accumulations (dark green=oil, red=gas) in a multi-carrier model from the Norwegian North Sea.