New Software Release

Release summary

Updates from Petrel 2024.6 to Petrel 2024.8 deliver the latest in domain workflows, functionality, and productivity. In these releases, new functionalities have also been added based on popular feature requests.

Dataset developed by the Nederlandse Aardolie Maatschappij.

In these releases you will find exciting new improvements related to:  

• A new and fresh Petrel subsurface software interface . 
• Live collaboration in Petrel software.
• Reservoir characterization background model in Quantitative Interpretation (QI) workflows. 
• Conventional model builder plug-in now available!
• Local grid refinements for depogrids. 
• Enhanced window loading efficiency for faster project load times.
• And much, much more... 

Fresh, new Petrel software interface:

In 2024.8, we introduced the new Petrel software interface, with a fresh, modern look, and a cleaner and more streamlined design. The simplified layout makes navigation faster and more intuitive, while consistent visual elements create a cohesive experience across the platform. The result is a more enjoyable, efficient, and professional user experience that reflects the high quality of the tools.

Live collaboration in Petrel software:

Live collaboration in Petrel software facilitates efficient, real-time teamwork in geophysical and geological interpretation, making it easier than ever for geoscientists to collaborate, iterate, and deliver high-quality results faster. Multiple users can work simultaneously and in real time for several geological and geophysical datatypes.

Reservoir characterization background model in QI workflows:

Data courtesy of Geoscience Australia.

QI results are relative in nature, as the input seismic is missing the low frequencies. A user-defined background model can now be added to the results to generate an absolute attribute. The background model must be of the same template as the target attribute. You can predict absolute properties to get better insights into subsurface changes.

Conventional model builder plug-in now available!

Conventional Model Builder (CMB) is a new addition to the reservoir engineering (RE) extension suite of plug-ins. The Conventional Model Builder (CMB) plug-in is designed to streamline the generation of simulation models for conventional reservoirs.

This plug-in introduces a guided workflow to construct a simulation model from scratch—including simulation wells and field management scenarios. The guided workflow comes with preset of default values for all input parameters, ensuring users can always create a basic simulation grid with wells. This plug-in consolidates all necessary steps for generating an Intersect™ reservoir simulator simulation case that can be run either from the plug-in interface or directly from Petrel software.

Local grid refinements (LGRs) for depogrids 

LGRs enable users to increase model resolution near wells, around surfaces, near faults or inside a region of interest. The subdivision of depogrid cells to create LGRs is consistent with the original creation of the depogrid in the unfaulted depositional space, using the (U, V, W) coordinates. LGRs can be consumed in the Intersect simulator to improve flow simulation accuracy in the associated areas.

Enhanced window loading efficiency for faster project load times

In Petrel 2024, we've made significant improvements to how windows are loaded to enhance overall performance.

Previously, all toggled windows were loaded when the project opened, even if they were hidden behind other windows. This could slow down project loading times. Now, only the visible windows at the front of each window group are loaded initially. The other windows load only when they are activated (i.e. they become the front of the window group) for the first time.

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Release details

Please read the detailed release notes to find the full list of improvements and fixes delivered by domains.

Check out the latest technology updates on the Petrel software web page. 

2024.6

Database refresh task renamed

The database refresh task “Delete Project stored procedure" is renamed to "Improve repository deletion process".

2024.7

Data table to detect any subscriber or listener for the "Send selected data" event and display the send selected data button

The Send selected data button is now available in the Data Table without setting ShowSelectionContextUI to true in the StudioManager.exe.config file. It is available when an event has any number of subscribers. For example, when the Studio Sync plug-in is installed and enabled, it becomes a listener to the event, and the Send selected data button is displayed in the Data Table.

2024.8

Improve performance during coordinate reference system (CRS) synchronization

A performance issue was detected related to temporary .ctl files created for all CRSs and transforms. Now only the newly created or modified CRSs and transforms are loaded from the database into a temporary catalog. This has improved the synchronization performance.

2024.6

Reference project tool (RPT) conflict detection

A new mode has been introduced in the RPT to detect conflicts between projects when objects share the same globally unique identifier (GUID) but have differing changes.

You can now easily spot conflicting objects in your project with a new filter in RPT. This feature lets you toggle the display of nodes (objects) that are in conflict with their counterparts—specifically those sharing the same GUID. The conflict is detected based on changes between corresponding objects in your working project, and the background project.

Bulk loading of shapefiles from web maps

A new option has been added to the Inspector, allowing users to bulk load shapes from Map Services, including MapService, FeatureService, and WFS.

Z-value negation

The logic for Z-value negation has been updated across all IRAP export formats. Users will now be prompted to confirm whether negation should be applied.

2024.7

Enhanced window loading efficiency

• Petrel 2024 performance improvements—enhanced window loading efficiency

We've made significant improvements to how windows are loaded to enhance overall performance.

Previously, all toggled windows were loaded when the project opened, even if they were hidden behind other windows. This could slow down project loading times. Now, only the visible windows at the front of each window group are loaded initially. The other windows load only when they are activated (i.e. they become the front of the window group) for the first time.

Key benefits:

• Faster project loading
  By initially loading only the active window, project loading times are significantly reduced.
• Improved user experience
  You may notice a slight delay the first time a window is activated, but subsequent toggles will be instant, ensuring a smoother workflow.

Best practice:

• Limit open windows
  To maintain optimal performance, avoid having too many windows open at once. Fewer active windows can boost efficiency.

2024.8

Updated Petrel software interface

In 2024.8 we introduced the new Petrel software interface that has a fresh, modern look with a cleaner and more streamlined design. The simplified layout makes navigation faster and more intuitive, while consistent visual elements create a cohesive experience across the platform. The result is a more enjoyable, efficient, and professional user experience that reflects the high quality of the tools.

Well section window index track updates
When posting index tracks in the Well section window, users can now post tracks with different Z values (e.g. one index track with a Z unit in meters and another with a Z unit in feet). Custom units beyond that of the standard meter or international foot are also available. This will benefit users whose projects contain data of mixed measuring standards.

Risk manager column persistence
In the Risk manager, users can now fully edit and save the columns in the manager. These changes will persist even when closing and relaunching the Risk manager dialogue.

Risk manager character limits
There was a previous limit of 256 characters for comments in the risk manager, making it a challenge to detail important information about drilling operations. This has been increased to 2048 characters, which will make it easier for users to enter crucial information about drilling campaigns and keep critical previous comments.

2024.6

Autotracking
You can now apply local smoothing to interpretation segments generated by snapped, guided or seeded 2D tracking. This will enable the filtering of noise for more accurate interpretation of structural trends.

Quantitative interpretation (QI) machine learning (ML)
The QI ML prediction process now supports workflow variables in the workflow editor.

2024.7

Interpretation window
 
Improvements have been made to the display of uniform wiggle spacing along arbitrary polyline intersections.

Improvements have also been made to seismic wiggle display when zooming in and out of the interpretation window. The seismic traces are less decimated, which improves the user experience in the interpretation window.

Velocity modeling
When generating new velocity models using velocity cubes as inputs, users now have the option to externalize the output cubes. These outputs will be saved in the same folder specified in the seismic settings.

Within the velocity model settings and operations, the options for velocity conversion into cubes now adhere to the seismic settings and externalize the results outside the Petrel project directory (ptd) folder.

QI crossplot
There is now a QI crossplot option to manually define vertice values in the Box and Polygon selection. A user can double-click on the vertices nodes to enter a value for the XY location.

2024.8

Interpretation window
Scaling of seismic data in the interpretation window can now be performed in relation to the ratio of the Z scale. This allows users to display the seismic section according to ratios, in a similar manner to the XY scale.

Composite line management
The ability to manage composite line folders has been added. Users can choose a limit on how many lines can be stored in a specific folder. When the limit is approached, users can decide to delete existing composite lines or continue to add in an existing composite folder. Users also have the option to drag and drop composite lines from one composite folder to another.

Stop at faults for manual interpretation
The option to stop at visible faults during manual interpretation is now available. Users can select this feature from the constraints tab within the horizon settings. This improves the usability of the manual interpretation option, taking bounding faults into consideration.

Live collaboration in Petrel software
Efficiently collaborate on key decision gates for seismic interpretation. Multiple users can work simultaneously and in real time for several geological and geophysical datatypes.

The geophysical datatypes include:

• 3D and 2D-seismic horizons.
• Seismic faults, and fault contacts.

Geological datatypes include:

• Well tops.
• Regular surfaces, pointsets, and polygons.

Live collaboration in Petrel software facilitates efficient, real-time teamwork in seismic interpretation, making it easier than ever for geoscientists to collaborate, iterate, and deliver high-quality results faster.

ZGYTool
Now the conversion of OpenVDS to OpenZGY is unit aware. The option of conversion now includes changing the XY unit to/from meters and feet.

QI ML reservoir characterization

A wavelet toolbox tab has been added, which allows the user to control and view the rotation applied to the input wavelet.

A user-defined background model can now be added to the results to generate an absolute attribute. The background model should be of the same template as the target attribute.

A user defined background model can now be added to the results to generate an absolute attribute. Data courtesy of Geoscience Australia.

Seismic data conditioning

Calculation performance improvements have been made for pre-stack seismic data and for several post-stack seismic operations, including:

• Gather flattening.
• Phase balancing and amplitude balancing.
• Time shift estimation, and bulk time shift.
• Zero phase.
• Average stack.
• Band pass filter.

2D forward modeling (2DFM)
The performance of the 2DFM calculations has been improved.

2024.7

Enhanced model construction user interface
A new streamlined model construction user interface design enhances the user experience by simplifying the process and emphasizing key parameters, resulting in a more efficient and user-friendly structural modeling experience.

This intuitive interface allows users to focus on essential elements, while advanced settings remain accessible under the "Show Advanced Settings" option for those who need them. Additionally, fault parameters have been relocated to the dedicated Faults tab within the model construction pane, ensuring a more organized workflow.

Improved fault relationship detection algorithm
An improved fault relationship detection algorithm enhances the accuracy of results by reducing the occurrence of blank faults.

2024.8

Enhanced fault modeling
The fault welding algorithms have been enhanced to support more complex fault contact geometries and increase scalability.

Improved stability for structural model projects
Significant improvements have been made to the structural modeling infrastructure to ensure reliable saving processes and minimize the risk of project corruption, providing users with a more secure and dependable modeling experience.

2024.8

Local grid refinements (LGRs) for depogrids:
LGRs enable users to increase the model resolution near wells, around surfaces, near faults or inside a region of interest. The subdivision of depogrid cells to create LGRs is consistent with the original creation of the depogrid in the unfaulted depositional space, using the (U, V, W) coordinates. LGRs can be consumed in the Intersect simulator to improve flow simulation accuracy in the associated areas.

Summary of structural and modeling updates
We’re excited to introduce broad improvements in reservoir modeling, many of which are based on user requests. These improvements enhance the transparency and traceability of property modeling by capturing more detailed parameters in the output objects’ history, including the filters applied during each modeling run. Additionally, different volumetric cases can now be visually distinguished by color in the histogram window, making it easier to compare different ensembles.

The improvement of functionalities includes the support of bi-variate modeling workflows that consume crossplot density functions, the density functions are now sensitive to filters and can be generated in a logarithmic scale. ML for property modeling has also been upgraded to support 2D maps for both training and simulation interventions.

We’ve significantly expanded the platform’s calculation capabilities to support general utility and quality control. The calculator now includes support for outputting probabilities, as well as geometric and harmonic means, which are also available across other data domains. Operations on several properties can extract percentiles and medians. From a property grid, users can now perform common mathematical operations either along the IJ column—storing results directly in the property—or vertically in space, with results stored in a map.

Together, these improvements provide users with greater flexibility and control when inspecting and validating property models. Whether you're refining workflows or performing quality checks, this release is designed to help you work more efficiently and with greater confidence.

2024.6

Faster geomechanics workflow access
Geomechanics processes can be accessed directly from the domain objects in the model’s pane, eliminating the need to navigate through the menu bar to locate the required process. This enhancement improves workflow efficiency, as the system automatically selects the correct object when launching a process. This functionality reduces the number of clicks required and streamlines the overall workflow, allowing geomechanical analysis tasks to be initiated more quickly.

The "Embed geomechanical grid" process and "Material modeling - Create / edit function" processes (such as permeability update) cannot be launched directly from domain objects, and must still be accessed through traditional bar navigation.

Combined shear failure curve visualization
Users now have the option to generate a combined curve that merges plane-of-weakness shear failure and intact rock shear failure (breakout) data. This feature removes the manual steps previously required to combine these curves and simplifies communication with drilling teams. Users can now present a single visualization that clearly shows the higher of the two critical shear failure limits at any depth.

2024.7

Enhanced material file exporting
Petrel Geomechanics introduces optimized file export functionality that allows users to export binary material files. This improvement has two significant benefits:

• The export process is now considerably faster.
• Resulting files are substantially smaller in size.

Grid creation enhancements
Reservoir simulation grids can now be embedded faster, providing users with a more efficient workflow. Additionally, the copying of properties with a locally refined grid (LGR) has been improved, streamlining the process of working with complex grid structures.

Local grid refinement support for direct coupled simulations
When simulating a coupled case with Intersect simulator and Visage™ finite-element geomechanics simulator, the direct coupling option that was introduced in Petrel 2024.3 now also supports local grid refinement (LGR). While the grids used for the flow and stress field simulations should generally match, users now have the flexibility to implement an LGR exclusively in either Intersect or Visage simulators. To ensure proper operation, this enhanced functionality necessitates the use of Visage 2025.1 and Intersect 2025.1, or later versions.

2024.6

Numerical aquifer usability improvement
The requirement to explicitly define fluid and saturation functions when creating numerical aquifers in the Make Aquifer process has been relaxed. For Intersect simulator cases involving either a single fluid or a single drainage saturation function, it is now possible to add a numerical aquifer directly from the Grid tab without specifying these parameters in the Make Aquifer workflow. In such scenarios, the Intersect simulator will automatically assign the appropriate fluid model and saturation function defined in the Define Simulation Case to the numerical aquifer.

Numerical aquifer support in carbon storage model builder
The Carbon Storage Model Builder now supports the use of numerical aquifers on the Grid tab. To be accepted by the Model Builder, a numerical aquifer must have its fluid and saturation functions left unspecified.

Component names
In initialization by enumeration workflows, Petrel software supports the use of component names instead of component indexes when specifying aqueous mole fractions. This functionality is currently supported only for export in the generic simulation grid (GSG) file format. The earliest version of the Intersect simulator that supports this feature is 2024.3.

New settings panel for uncertainty and optimization dialog box
The Uncertainty and Optimization process in Petrel software has been enhanced with a new dialog box that features show/hide functionality, consolidating various runtime parameters into a single interface. Some settings within the dialog box are applicable only to local runs, while others are specific to remote execution using the Agile Reservoir Modeling workflow.

Conventional model builder plug-in
Conventional model builder (CMB) is a new addition to the RE extension suite of plug-ins. It is designed to streamline the generation of simulation models for conventional reservoirs, and introduces a guided workflow to construct simulation models from scratch, including simulation wells, and field management scenarios.

The guided workflow includes default values for all input parameters, enabling users to easily create a basic simulation grid with wells. This plug-in consolidates all necessary steps for generating an Intersect simulator simulation case that can be run either from the plug-in interface or directly from Petrel software.

Load simulation results in workflow editor and uncertainty and optimization

The load simulation result command in both the workflow editor and the uncertainty and optimization process has been enhanced with a new input field. This addition allows users to specify a wait time before the workflow begins loading simulation results and proceeds to the next step.

2024.7

Expansion of the rock physics functionality to create J-function tables

Historically, users were limited to generating J-functions based solely on the exponential form. With the latest version, this feature has been improved by introducing a new option: the power-law equation. As a result, users now have the flexibility to select either the traditional, exponential form, or the newly implemented power-law form when constructing J-function tables. This enhancement provides greater versatility and allows for more accurate modeling of capillary pressure behavior across a wider range of reservoir conditions.

Enhancement of the Carbon storage model builder

This includes several new features. The field management tab now incorporates an input field for specifying the BHP (bottomhole pressure) gradient for wells. This addition helps prevent the entry of unrealistically high-injection BHP values in carbon capture, utilization, and sequestration (CCUS) studies.

Further improvements have been made to support the uncertainty and optimization process. Specifically, well control parameters within the field management tab of the Carbon Storage Model Builder can now be utilized as uncertain variables, enhancing model flexibility and analysis capability.

Additionally, the fluids tab of the Carbon Storage Model Builder has been updated to provide greater flexibility in defining the aqueous phase composition. Users now have the option to input values using either mass or molar ratios, expressed in ppm or molar concentrations.

2024.8

Post-frac initialization is now available for black oil reservoir models with Embedded Discrete Fracture Model (EDFM), utilizing the Intersect simulator.

This improvement ensures accurate initialization of both fracture and matrix conditions following hydraulic fracturing operations and enables history matching of post-frac water leak-off.

Users can initialize EDFM black oil simulation cases by enumeration by adding a composite discrete fracture network (CDFN) with associated fracture attributes and functions in the define simulation case process.

The CDFN can be configured with relevant fracture attributes and functions, enabling assignment of pressure, saturation, solution gas-oil ratio (Rs), and vaporized oil-gas ratio (Rv), as properties of the discrete fractures in Make CDFN process. The properties can be assigned a constant value or can be created using calculator functionality.

Additionally, initialization by enumeration can be done by omitting EDFM fracture input parameters in the define simulation case step—this omission prompts automatic inheritance of the corresponding matrix cell properties by the fractures.

To utilize this feature, users must be running Intersect 2025.1 or later, and the Intersect Connector 2025.1 or later must also be enabled.

Petrel software embedded Conventional model builder (CMB) plug-in introduces several new features and enhancements

CMB now fully supports Intersect simulator user edits, enabling users to create and include custom reservoir and field management edits directly within simulation cases generated by the plug-in.

Users can now configure separators with virtually any number of stages, offering increased flexibility. The plug-in now correctly applies user-defined reservoir temperatures to Intersect simulator cases, and accurately parses include files containing reservoir temperature data for compositional fluids.

New geothermal results preset

To enhance the user experience of geothermal and thermal simulation workflows, a new geothermal results preset option has been added to the define simulation case process in Petrel software for the Intersect simulation cases.

This template enables the efficient selection of pertinent summary vectors for wells, groups, fields, and 3D recurrent simulation results.

Users who have thermal cases can also benefit from using this preset as the majority of simulation results requested are applicable to thermal cases as well. Users must have Intersect 2025.1 or later and Intersect Connector 2025.1 or later to use this feature.

New automatic tuning option for Carbon Storage Model Builder

This option activates a predefined set of automatic tuning heuristics for simulations to improve the convergence of CCUS cases. This option has been specifically designed to balance performance and accuracy in models with component solubility in the water phase. To use this feature, you must have Intersect 2024.4 or later, and Intersect Connector 2024.4 or later must be active.

Users

Both Petrel software and Studio software bring benefits to all geoscientists and engineers, including:

• seismic processors
• seismic interpreters
• geologists
• geophysicists
• reservoir modelers
• reservoir engineers
• drilling engineers
• production geologists
• data and information managers.

They can be deployed by companies working in exploration, development, and production for either unconventional or conventional reservoirs. They are now also fully used for developing new energy projects, such as CCUS, geothermal and wind farm site characterization.

More information

For more details or to download the release documentation, visit the Petrel software product support and Studio software product support page.