3D Geological Modeling

Chapter 11 Fault Modeling

Fault Modeling
Generations of fault pillars, known as Key Pillars, are lines
defining the slope and shape of the fault. There are up to
five, so called Shape Points along each of these lines to
adjust the shape of the fault to perfectly match your input
data. The Key Pillars are generated based on input data such
as fault surfaces, fault sticks, fault lines, fault polygons,
structural maps, interpreted seismic lines, etc.

In the previous section, we did some editing on the input

data to bring it to a form suitable to Petrel for building the 3D
geological model. In this section we will start building the
model. The building process may be decomposed into the
following steps:

Defining a New Model.

Creating Faults from Fault Polygons.
Editing Key Pillars.
Building Key Pillars from Fault Polygons.
Connecting Faults.
Disconnecting Faults.
Creating Branched and Crossing Faults.
Creating Faults from Selected Fault Sticks.
Creating Faults from All Fault Sticks.
Automatic Generation of Faults.
Automatic Connection of Faults.
And Automatic Adjustment of Key Pillars.

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Chapter 11 Fault Modeling

Defining a New Model

Before building a 3D geological model in Petrel, it is
necessary to define a model. Petrel lets you work with
several different models in one session. It is important to
define the different models by giving them appropriate
names.

Creating a new model

1. Double click on the Define Model item under the
Structural Modeling in the Processes Pane.
2. A Define Model dialog box pops up, give the model a
specific name Top Tarbert Model and click OK. The
model will be placed under the Models pane, as shown in
Fig. 11.1.

Fig.11.1: The Define model dialog box

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Chapter 11 Fault Modeling

Fig.11.2: The Top Tarbert new model

As you did before, create another tow models and call them,
Top Ness Model and Top Etive Model. As shown in
Fig.11.3.

Fig.11.3: The Top Tarbert, Top Ness and Top Etive new
models
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Chapter 11 Fault Modeling

Creating Faults from Fault Polygons

Fault polygons are line data representing the hanging-wall
and footwall for each horizon. The polygons could be
separated into lines for each fault or lines for each horizon.
In the latter case, the lines should be separated with flags to
make sure that the same line dose not defines two faults. If
there are no flags between the line data, you should do
some editing in the Make/Edit Polygons process in order to
split the lines.

How to Create Faults from Fault Polygons

1. Go to Structural Modeling item in the Processes Pane.
2. Activate the Fault Modeling process in the Processes
Pane by clicking on it once and making it bold.
3. Display one of the fault polygon in the Top Tarbert
Polygons folder in a 3D window e.g. Polygon 77, as
shown in Fig. 11.4.

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Chapter 11 Fault Modeling

Fig.11.4: Fault Polygon displayed in a 3D window

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Chapter 11 Fault Modeling

4. In the function bar, click on the Set Select/Pick Mode

icons as shown below.
Notice: the color of fault polygon (purple) changed to
(white) after you selected by it as shown in Fig.11.5 (to do
this step press Shift).
5. Select the desired fault geometry from the Fault Model
Option Tools toolbar. In this case, a linear geometry is
suitable.
6. Click on the Create Faults from Fault Polygons icon in
the Function bar to generate Key Pillars along the selected
polygons as shown in Fig.11.5. The new fault has been
added under the Faults folder in the Models Pane, and
is called Fault 1as shown in Fig.11.6.

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Chapter 11 Fault Modeling

5
2

Fig.11.5: The fault polygon after selected by the tool

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Chapter 11 Fault Modeling

Fig. 11.6: Fault Polygons displayed in a 3D window after

create faults from polygon

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Chapter 11 Fault Modeling

7. Repeat the same process for all fault polygons as shown in

fig.11.7.

Fig. 11.7: Fault Polygons displayed in a 3D

window along with Top Tarbert surface

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Chapter 11 Fault Modeling

And also, repeat the same process that you did it in Top
.Ness and Top Etive. As shown in Fig.11.8. and Fig.11.9

Fig. 11.8: Fault Polygons displayed in a 3D window

along with Top Ness surface

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Chapter 11 Fault Modeling

Fig. 11.9: Fault Polygons displayed in a 3D window along

with Top Etive surface

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Chapter 11 Fault Modeling

The settings of Pillar geometry may be

changed by:
Linear, vertical, listric, S-shaped, reverse, vertically
truncated, branched and connected faults can be created in
Petrel. The program allows you to create structurally and
geometrically correct fault representations.
A fault is defined by a set of Key Pillars. Each Key pillar
consists of a set of shape points. A Key Pillar can have 2, 3 or
5 shape points, and a fault can consist of Key Pillar with a
varying number of shape points. Each shape point can be
edited in 3D.

1. the faults are grouped into 4 main groups:

a. Vertical faults: consist of 2 shape points. They will
always be vertical.
b. Linear Faults: consists of 2 shape points. This is, in
most cases, the type to use.
c. Listric faults: consists of 3 shape points. All three of
the shape points can be edited separately in order to
get a listric shape of the fault.
d. Curved faults: consists of 5 shape points, and can be
used in order to define a curved or S-shaped fault.

c
b

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Chapter 11 Fault Modeling

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Chapter 11 Fault Modeling

2. Open the
settings by
double
clicking on the
fault
modeling in
the
Process Pane.
Note
the option to
extend the
Key
Pillars above the given min point and below the given max
point of the input data. You can control how far Pillars are
extended. For example put it 300

Fig. 11.10: Fault modeling with 'Gullfaks/Fault Model' dialog

box

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Editing Key Pillars

After you have created a fault you may want to do some
fine-tuning on a specific Key Pillar or on the whole fault.
Petrel has the option to edit single Shape Points or pillars as
well as a selection of Shape Points or pillars. To select more
than one, press the Shift key as you make your selection.
The Fault Modeling and hence editing of Key Pillars is a very
important step in making an accurate and reliable Petrel
model. The Key Pillars should describe the fault planes as
defined by the input data. It is possible to edit on a complete
fault, a single Key Pillar or a shape point X, Y and Z
directions, which makes the editing on faults very flexible.
Automatically constructed Key Pillars are often malformed
and often it is necessary to add new Pillars between key
pillars and to the end of a fault then modify their shape. You
have to insert Key Pillars between existing pillars when a
faults shape contains more detail than the existing Pillar
spacing can represent. Use the tool for adds Pillars to end of
fault and add pillar between. Editing of shape points and/or
entire Key Pillars will be required to more closely fit the input
data. This editing may require adding more shape points to
the pillar to achieve the desired form. All Key Pillars in a fault
dont necessarily need the same number of shape points.
See Fig. 11.13.

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Fig.

11.11:

Illustrate drawing to show horizons, fault planes and

key pillars

To edit key pillars, follow the steps:

1. Open a new 3D Window.
2. Display a few of the faults (Key Pillars) to be edited.
3. Toggle on the checkbox next to all of the faults in the
Fault Model folder.
4. Click on the Toggle fill between pillars icon to make it
easier when editing the plane between Key Pillars is filled
with color, as shown in Fig. 11.12.

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Fig. 11.12: Fault Polygons displayed in a 3D

window while Fault Model Action (Pillars) Tools
toolbar is displayed

5. The tool used for moving points and lines in Petrel is the
widget.
6. Knowing that select a Key Pillar by clicking on one of the
shape points, the widget will appear. It consists of a plane
and a cylinder.
7. Click on the plane to turn it yellow and edit in a plane
normal to the cylinder

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Chapter 11 Fault Modeling

8. Click on the cylinder (so it turns yellow) to edit along the

tangent of the cylinder. Be sure that you are in the
Select/Pick Mode [P] as shown below.

9. Press the left mouse button on the widget and move the
Key Pillar or the shape point.
10. Make sure the Move Along Line Tangent Only tool is
active. This tool limits the movement to the tangent of the
Key Pillar and it is a very intuitive way of editing the Key
Pillars.

10

11. To select only one shape point, make sure the Select
Shape Points icon is active, as shown below.

11

12. To select an entire Key Pillar make the Select Pillars

icon active as shown below. If you click on the line
between Key Pillars, all shape points at that level will be
selected, as shown below.

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12

13. If you click on the line between Key Pillars while having
the Select Pillars icon active, all Key Pillars will be
selected. To select only a few Key Pillars/shape points,
click on those that you want to select while pressing the
shift key.
14. Check that the fault model has the correct orientation
by displaying the top and base horizons. If not, edit them
as described above.
Comment
When finished editing, the Key Pillars should have a
smooth transition in Z from Key Pillar to Key Pillar in a fault.
The Key Pillars in the faults should extend above the top of
the top surface and below the base of the lowest surface.

10

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11

12

Fig. 11.13: Editing Key Pillars before & after

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Chapter 11 Fault Modeling

Building Key Pillars from Fault Polygons

The same steps of "Editing Key Pillars" are applied in this
section. Anyhow do not forget to de-select the active fault
when creating a new one. Otherwise, the new fault will be
attached to the previous active one, see Fig. 11.13.

Connecting Faults
If a fault is truncated by another fault in the horizontal
direction, it must be connected to that other fault. This
means that a common Key Pillar between the two faults
must be defined. You can both use a Key Pillar that already
exists and edit it into a position so that it fits both fault
planes, or you can add a new Key Pillar between two existing
Pillars and use that as the common/connected Key Pillar. All
faults intersecting each other in Petrel model must be
properly connected! This is important because the gridding
process in Petrel will use the faults for guiding the gridding
lines. The faults which are unconnected are treated
differently from the faults which are connected. Furthermore,
faults which are close together but unconnected are likely to
lead to problems in Pillar Gridding and Make Horizons. Petrel
has an automatic fault connection option which will connect
all the simple branching and crossing faults in a single
operation. Use this option carefully and always QC the grid
afterwards. As connecting faults require some editing of the
fault position, you will normally have to edit the connection
manually afterwards. Truncated faults will not be handled by
automatic connection.

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To connect two faults, follow the steps:

1. Choose the two faults to be connected
2. Zoom in on the area where the two faults are to be
connected Select the two Key Pillars you want to connect
using the Select/pick Mode icon and the Shift Key.
3. Click on the Connect Two Faults icon as shown below.

Fig. 11.14: Two faults before connection

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4. Define how you want to connect them when the Connect

pillars dialog box pops up as shown in Figs. 11.15. and
11.16.

Fig. 11.15: The Connect pillars dialog box

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Chapter 11 Fault Modeling

Fig. 11.16: Two faults connected to each other

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Chapter 11 Fault Modeling

Disconnecting Faults
The undo button does not work for connected Key Pillars. You
will have to disconnect them instead.

To disconnect faults, follow the steps:

1. Select the two Key Pillars that should be disconnected.
2. Click on the Disconnect Fault icon. See Fig. 11.17.

Fig. 11.17: Two faults before connection

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Chapter 11 Fault Modeling

Fig. 11.18: Two faults before and after disconnection

Creating Branched and Crossing Faults

1. Select the Key Pillar where you want the crossing or
branching fault as shown in Fig.11.19.
2. Click on either the New Branched Fault icon. As shown
in Fig.11.20.
3. Or click on the New Crossing Fault icon to generate a
new fault, as shown in Fig. 11.21.

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2
3

Fig. 11.19: A fault displayed in a 3D window

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Chapter 11 Fault Modeling

Fig. 11.20: A fault displayed in a 3D

window after creating Branched fault

Fig. 11.21: A fault displayed in a 3D

window after creating Crossing fault
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Chapter 11 Fault Modeling

Creating Faults from Selected Fault Sticks

Fault sticks can be used like fault polygons to create Key
Pillars. Fault sticks are sets of line data that represent the
fault plane. The file with fault sticks can represent one fault
are a set of faults and are generated in Petrel or another
work station. These sticks represent the fault surface and are
converted to Key Pillars. This method is preferable if you
have fault interpretations that may contain a bit of noise and
you would like to have the option to disregard some of it.

To create faults from selected fault sticks,

follow the steps:
1.

Turn off all of the faults, fault polygons and any other
data you may have displayed in your 3D window.
2.
From the Input pane display the fault sticks. See Fig.
11.22.

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Fig. 11.22: Fault Sticks displayed in a 3D window

3. Select Vertical, Linear, Listric or Curved Pillars

depending on the type of fault you are modeling. Either
linear or listric fault geometries will be fine but examine
the fault sticks before you choose.
4. Click on the Select/Pick Mode [P] icon in the Function bar.
5. Select some of the fault sticks on a fault by clicking on the
fault stick and holding the Shift Key. See Fig. 11.23.

Fig. 11.23: Selecting fault sticks

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Chapter 11 Fault Modeling

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6.

Chapter 11 Fault Modeling

Click on the Add to or Create Fault from Selected

Fault Sticks icon in the Function bar to generate Key
Pillars along the selected fault sticks. See Fig. 10.24.
Notice that by choosing this method, a fault will only be
generated that connects the sticks that you selected. This
could cause you to potentially lose some important detail.

Fig. 11.24: The Key Pillars for fault sticks created as a model

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Chapter 11 Fault Modeling

7.

Once you have created the Key Pillars for a new fault,
do the necessary editing and follow the procedure as
described in the exercises above.
8.
Connect the faults where necessary. See Figs. 11.25. to
11.27.

Fig. 11.25: The two faults before connection

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Chapter 11 Fault Modeling

Fig. 11.26: Connect pillars dialog box

Fig. 11.27: The two faults after connection

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9.

Chapter 11 Fault Modeling

Continue modeling all the faults in the folder. As shown

in Fig. 11.28.

Fig. 11.28: All faults created as a model

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Chapter 11 Fault Modeling

Creating Faults from All Fault Sticks

It possible to select the entire set of fault sticks representing
one fault and make Petrel use every nth fault stick as input.
This is a fast approach but it requires that the fault stick are
representative of the fault, i.e. do not contain lots of noise.

To create faults from all fault sticks, follow the

steps:
1. From the Input pane display the fault sticks in the
Fault Sticks folder.

2. Select Vertical, Linear, Listric or Curved Pillars

depending on the type of fault you are modeling. Either
linear or listric fault geometries will be fine but examine
the fault sticks before you choose.

3. Click on the Select/Pick Mode [P] icon in the Function

bar.

4. Select all of the fault sticks on a fault by clicking on the

fault stick and holding the Shift Key.

5. Click on the Create Fault from Fault Sticks, Surface

or Interpretation icon in the Function bar to generate
Key Pillars along the selected fault. See Fig. 11.29.

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Chapter 11 Fault Modeling

Fig. 11.29: Fault sticks displayed in a 3D window

while the Fault Model Action (Pillars) toolbar is
displayed

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Chapter 11 Fault Modeling

6. Repeat the same process to the other faults. See Fig.

11.30.

7. Once you have created the Key Pillars for a new fault, do
the necessary editing by following the steps as described
in the exercises above.

8. Connect the faults where necessary and continue modeling

the faults in the folder.

Fig. 11.30: The Key Pillars for fault sticks created

Automatic Generation of Faults

So far the faults have been generated one by one. In this
exercise you will learn how to automatically create Key Pillars

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from sets of fault sticks in a folder in the Petrel Explorer Input

tab.

To create automatic generation of faults, follow

the steps:
1. Active the Fault Modeling from Process pane.
2. Convert one set of fault sticks to Key Pillars:
a. Find the fault sticks folder. Open the folder and right
click on one of the fault sticks. Select Convert to
Faults in Fault Model from the pull-down menu.
See Fig. 11.31.

Fig. 11.31: The fault sticks before the conversion

process displayed in a 3D window
b. A dialog box will be pops up as shown in Fig. 11.32.

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Chapter 11 Fault Modeling

Fig. 11.32: Convert to Fault in the

active Fault Modeling dialog box

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Chapter 11 Fault Modeling

c. Note the new fault in the 3D window and under the

Fault Model folder in the model (in the Models Pane).
See Fig. 11.33.

Fig. 11.33:
A new fault under the Fault Model
folder after the conversion process displayed in a
3D window

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Chapter 11 Fault Modeling

This operation can be performed for all fault sticks in a

folder:
1. To avoid double sets of faults, delete the fault created
above by selecting the whole fault in the 3D window or
selecting it (making it bold) in the models tab of Petrel
Explorer and then pressing delete.
2. Right click on the folder called Fault Sticks. Select
Convert to Faults in Fault Model from the appearing
pull-down menu. See Fig. 11.34.

Fig. 11.34: All faults sticks before conversion displayed in

a 3D window

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3. All new faults will be added under the Fault Model folder in
the model (in the Models Pane). See Fig.11.35.
4. Continue doing the necessary editing of Key Pillars as
describe above.
5. Connect faults where necessary.

Fig. 11.35: All faults sticks after conversion displayed in a

3D window

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Chapter 11 Fault Modeling

To create automatic connection of faults, fallow

the steps:
1.
2.

Display all the faults you have created in a 3D window. See

Fig. 11.36.
Click on the Fault Modeling in the Processes pane.

Fig. 11.36: Two fault sticks displayed before

auto connection while the Fault Modeling dialog
box is displayed

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Chapter 11 Fault Modeling

3. Go to the Operations tab and click on the Auto connect

button and use an Extent distance of 250m and do the
automatic fault connection only for the visible faults. See
Fig. 11.37.
4.

Check the connections and do manual editing if necessary.

Fig. 11.37: Fault Modeling dialog box is displayed

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Fig. 11.38: Two fault sticks displayed after auto connection

Automatic Adjustment of Key Pillars

It is possible to adjust all the Key Pillars automatically by
cuffing them or extending them relative to a surface or a
constant value. Since it is possible to edit all the Key Pillars
manually, and since manual editing will always be
necessary, the automatic trimming of Key Pillars
functionality has been included as an optional exercise only.
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Chapter 11 Fault Modeling

If the Key Pillars are trimmed by a surface then this surface

should be smooth. In the case of the HAH project, the Base
Cretaceous surface is a good candidate to be used for
trimming since this is a non-faulted surface. In the exercise
below only the top Shape Points will be trimmed. If the base
Shape Points should be trimmed as well, then a copy could
be made of Top Ettive surface, then this copied surface could
be smoothed to remove most of the structure (but keep the
general dip) and shifted downwards so that it is deeper than
the entire Top Ettive surface.

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To create automatic adjustment of key pillars,

follow the steps:
1. Display Top Tarbert surface with the generated Key
Pillars together.

Fig. 11.39: The Top Tarbert Model displayed in

a 3D window before Key Pillar Operations
2. Double click on the Fault Modeling process in the
Process pane.

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Chapter 11 Fault Modeling

3. Go to the Operations tab from the dialog box that pops

up and select the Top Tarbert surface in the Input pane
(click on the name to make it bold).
4. Toggle on the checkbox next to Top limit in the
Operations tab under Cut/Extend pillars and click on
the blue arrow.
5. Click on the Cut/Extend button. See Fig. 11.40.

Fig. 11.40: Fault Modeling dialog box

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Chapter 11 Fault Modeling

Fig.11.41: The Top Tarbert and Fault

Model displayed in a 3D window before
Key Pillar Operations

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Chapter 11 Fault Modeling

6. Observe that all the Key Pillars will be cut by or extended

to the Base Cretaceous level, generating smooth
transitions between Key Pillars. See Fig. 11.42.

Fig. 11.42: The Top Tarbert and Fault Model

displayed in a 3D window after Key Pillar
Operations

52