Post on 10-Jul-2020
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Well Tops
Well tops, or picks, represent one of the most important pieces of information in a well that helps to
link the geology in the well to the regional geology shown on seismic data. They represent breaks in
the stratigraphic column, whether of time or lithology, and are important for tying to seismic data.
In UK or Norway, this data is readily available online in government websites. However, finding the
tops is not quite the same as using them. They are not always in a readily usable format and they
quite often use codes or abbreviations instead of standard names. In addition, they have not
necessarily been quality controlled so contain errors, which may be simple ones such as using
metres instead of feet, or may be the wrong codes for a particular top. An example of an errors is
shown below. The depth units are apparently metres but the TD is at over 12,000m!
Finding and sorting the data to make it usable is relatively easy if you only have a few wells to
review. However, if there are lots of wells, then a more systematic collation and QC of the data is
required.
Topper contains all of the tops available on the NPD website and we are in the process of adding UK
tops. They are all available in a database and can be viewed in a variety of ways. We can very
quickly find all the wells containing certain formations and view their relative depths on a map. We
can also incorporate other geological features such as surface geology or basin outlines. An example
is shown below.
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The data can be displayed in a variety of ways, such as colour coding the wells based on the depth to
a particular top, as shown below:
It is also possible to show the whole stratigraphic column for a well on a map to compare to nearby
wells, as shown here:
The benefits of Topper are:
• Cheap, fast access to operator tops in a usable format
• Quality control has been applied to reduce the risk of error
• Quick and simple method of screening available data
If you would like to know more, please contact tim@hoolock-consulting.co.uk.