How do you know if your well data is real or an illusion?

If you visited P2 Energy Solutions at the recent NAPE Expo, you probably saw the illusions of magician Curt Miller. With each stunt, the line between what is real and what is an illusion became blurred - especially when he made a $20 become a $100.

You knew it couldn't be true, yet it looked so real.

The same idea can apply to the well data many companies use on a daily basis. There's the tendency to believe it without questioning whether it's real or an illusion. For the interpreter, part of the "art" of well interpretation is being able to determine which data are "hard" control points that must be honored and which data are "soft" control points, illusions of correct data that confuse and mislead. Make no mistake - in the industry datasets you use there are many illusions of correct data.

There are several common illusions that can trick interpreters as they determine correct subsurface control - for example, getting formation tops, paleo markers, productive intervals or maybe HCIs (hydrocarbon indicators) to their correct spatial positions based on the well control.

Can you tell what's real from what's fake? Read on to find out how.

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