Seismic history matching (SHM) is a popular and exciting topic in 4D seismic analysis for reservoir monitoring and surveillance. Here, the aim is to improve our field simulation model, and hence reservoir management, by assimilating multiple 3D seismic datasets acquired at specific intervals of time over a reservoir undergoing production and recovery. We assimilate the datasets by matching model predictions to the observed data in an optimisation process, until a sufficiently robust fit has been achieved. We find that this fit depends critically on uncertainties inherent in the modelling steps plus noise or bias in the seismic and well data. In this project your challenges are to assess these errors and uncertainties, determine their overall impact on the SHM procedure, and to provide a practical solution to matching multiple monitor surveys. Preliminary work will be guided by calibrated simulator to seismic modelling of several industry datasets donated by our sponsorship group. Later work will involve fluid flow simulation and implementation of full history matching workflows developed by our research group.

You will join the ETLP research team which has nineteen years of experience in quantitative 4D seismic interpretation and is funded by a number of oil, energy and service companies. For more information on our activities please visit our website: www.pet.hw.ac.uk/research/etlp.

You will work on this PhD project supervised by a multi-disciplinary team of Prof Colin MacBeth, Dr Hamed Amini and Dr Romain Chassagne.

Funding This is a full scholarship which will cover full tuition fees and provide an annual stipend of approximately £14,800.

Eligibility This project is available to ALL students, whether home, EU or overseas. The successful candidate should have a strong interest in applied research and possess at minimum a masters and undergraduate degree in geophysics, physics, earth science, reservoir engineering or a similar field. Formally four years of university study including a minimum of one year at an advanced level are required. Programming skills are an essential requirement of this project, whilst some experience of fluid flow simulation and seismic processing is also desirable. Several years of experience working in industry is an advantage but not a necessity.

How to apply Please complete our online application form. Please select PhD programme Petroleum Geoscience and include the project reference, title and supervisor on your application. Please also provide a supporting statement, a CV, a copy of your degree certificates and relevant detailed transcripts and at least one academic or technical reference. You must also provide proof of your ability in the English language (if English is not your mother tongue or if you have not already studied for a degree that was taught in English). We require an IELTS certificate showing an overall score of at least 6.5 with no component scoring less than 6.0 or a TOEFL certificate with a minimum score of 90 points.

Please contact Prof Colin MacBeth (c.macbeth@hw.ac.uk) for informal information.

Time-lines The closing date for applications is 15 March 2018. Applicants must be available to start the PhD by June 2018.