GEOVIA Surpac vs. Petrel E&P

I have only used it for exploration projects but understand that with additional modules (such as pit design and production rates) it can be used for production schedules too. The software acts as a central interface for all of the drilling data from the borehole trace with customisable graphics or traces alongside (e.g.: geology, mag sus, assay results, struc info, etc) to the exporting of sections for field interp or planning; and resource block modeling.

Incentivized

Petrel is an extremely powerful tool and for geological 3D modeling is the go-to tool, it's Sequential Indicator Simulations, Object-Based modeling or multiple point statistics modeling workflows are top notches and I highly advise its use. I wouldn't recommend using it for seismic interpretation based on seismic attributes since it can be a little bit limited in this aspect.

Incentivized

• Sections
• Tracing borehole logs with graphically presented data
• Linking/mapping of data sets

Incentivized

• Petrel handles multiple coordinate systems better than competitors.
• The object tree organization in Petrel is intuitive and user-friendly.
• Easy to handle data across multiple UTM zones by allowing geodesic coordinates.

Incentivized

• Interface is good, but could always be improved
• Occasionally a little buggy when mapping DBs
• Extensive additional module list; can customise experience and therefore cost but some would expect certain features as standard

Incentivized

• Petrel is extremely expensive, working with it in a small company is almost impossible. This shouldn't be an issue for a large company or for a big university with a large budget for investigation.
• Since it has so many functions it can be overwhelming once you begin using it, so I highly recommend to pay for a Schlumberger instructor.
• The seismic attributes could be improved since they are not entirely accurate.

Incentivized

Lower cost and more user-friendly. My understanding is that the functionality is somewhat more limited but for our use in exploration it does the job and does it very well.

Incentivized

I use Petrel and competitor products for different functions. If I didn't have Petrel, it would be a lot more difficult to work with my aerially extensive dataset and manipulate my data with geographic coordinates.

Incentivized

• Saved consultancy fees in interp and modelling.
• Field-based interp made easier with fast and accurate section drawing.
• Central interface for all data.

Incentivized

• Working at the University of Oklahoma the investment is well paid since geoscientist are formed with the best tool available.
• Keeping in mind that the software is really expensive, for the product to have an economic positive impact the project's revenue has to be large.

Incentivized