SuperSD: an object-based stochastic simulation program for modeling the locations of undiscovered petroleum accumulations

Object-based stochastic simulation is a widely applicable method that has been used to predict channel sand bodies in fluvial depositional systems. Petroleum pools are spatial objects and the location and characteristics of the undiscovered pools can be predicted using similar techniques. An object-based stochastic simulation program, Simulating Undiscovered PEtroleum Resource Spatial Distribution (SuperSD), is presented for the purpose of predicting the locations of undiscovered petroleum accumulations in a play. This program simultaneously considers all the necessary geological conditions for the formation of petroleum accumulations and the spatial correlation of these accumulations in the simulation. An independence chain of the Hastings algorithm is used to generate an appropriate structure of pool combinations. The uncertainty associated with the data and the geological models for predicted locations is expressed as a relative probability map. The executable codes of the SuperSD program are available from the Geological Survey of Canada.