ENI and its 50-1 partner TotalEnergies have recently identified a natural gas field under the seabed off the coast of Cyprus, thanks to the Cronos-6 exploration well in Block XNUMX.
The discovery has created the conditions to lead to the development of new volumes of gas in the Mediterranean region and represents one of the actions achieved by the former National Hydrocarbons Authority and by the French giant in support of the supply of additional energy to Europe.
Preliminary estimates speak of approximately 2,5 TCF of natural gas present on site, equal to approximately 70 billion cubic metres, with significant additional potential to be assessed through the activation of an additional exploration well in the area.
It should be noted that, with the acronym TCF, we mean the expression "trillion cubic feet" and refers to a measure of volume of natural gas used by the oil and gas industry of the United States.
But how was it possible to locate the deposit so quickly, at a time when everyone is looking for it?

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An overall useful thickness of over 260 meters, and with permeable rock intervals

The discovery of large quantities of gas off the coast of Cyprus confirmed the effectiveness of ENI's exploration strategy, based on in-depth knowledge of geological basins and the application of proprietary geophysical technologies.
In particular, these are those in the field of seismic imaging that use the large computing capacities of the HPC5 supercomputer at CINECA.
In the specific case, the intense acquisition campaign of experimental data on the extracted material has already highlighted a total useful thickness of over 260 meters, with rock intervals characterized by excellent permeability.
The engineering studies for an accelerated development of the project are already underway.

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Virtual ecosystems recreated by advanced proprietary software for the study of the subsoil

Hardware with unique performance such as the ENI supercomputer makes it possible to run very advanced software for studying the subsoil, hosting a virtual ecosystem of geology and geophysics which, at any time, the oil company in Piazzale Enrico Mattei can make available to the activities exploration and reservoir modeling.
Working alongside scientists and engineers, algorithms have been developed for processing seismic data capable of reconstructing three-dimensional geological models with higher resolution and much faster.
To increase efficiency, the aim was to automate the first interpretation phase and to integrate the seismic data with the chemical-physical characteristics of the rocks.

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Hydrocarbon generation and migration processes simulated by machine learning and AI

Another resource that is brought into play is the ability of machines to learn from experience and to propose solutions autonomously through machine learning and artificial intelligence.
These technologies are applied to the reconstruction of stratigraphic sequences and to the development of a virtual assistant which can automatically suggest the characteristics of a potential basin.
Finally, through the reconstruction of the geological history of the sedimentary basins, ENI is able to simulate the processes of generation and migration of hydrocarbons to identify the most interesting areas for the presence of accumulations.

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69 universities in the Interuniversity Consortium of North-East Italy for Automatic Calculation

ENI's supercomputing systems are managed in Emilia-Romagna by CINECA's HPC (High Performance Computing) technicians, as part of a framework agreement that has seen them collaborate with the Italian oil giant for many years.
It is an Italian national non-profit inter-university consortium, which includes 69 Italian universities, 2 Ministries (that of Education and that of University and Research), 27 national public institutions (10 research institutions, 5 University Hospitals or IRRCS, 10 AFAM institutions, ANVUR or National Evaluation Agency of the University System and, finally, the Colosseum Archaeological Park).
The headquarters are in Casalecchio di Reno, in the metropolitan area of ​​Bologna, and there are offices in Milan, Rome, Naples and Chieti.
Its main activity is to support the research activities of the academic scientific community and provides computing services to universities in Italy.
The agreement between ENI and CINECA includes the system management of the supercomputers, as well as the development and optimization of the software.

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New earthquake data processing algorithms for off-shore ocean surveys

For energy companies, exploration is an increasingly challenging task.
Since most of the onshore fields are already known and in production, new resources must increasingly be sought offshore.
But operating on the ocean floor complicates things considerably, increasing the investments necessary to manage the risks.
This is all the more true if we consider that these operating contexts are increasingly found in areas isolated from supporting logistic infrastructures.
To optimize the timing and efficiency of exploration activities, new seismic data processing algorithms have been designed to reconstruct the underground sequences much faster and with better precision.

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Simulate fluid interactions with rock at different scales, from well to reservoir

The development of Digital Geosciences also makes it possible to simulate the interactions of fluids with rock at different scales, from the well to the basin.
In this way we can have a representation of the subsoil, which allows us to intervene by reducing the number of operations for the identification and production of hydrocarbons.
Fewer operations means lower expenses, time savings and also reduction of risks: environmental, industrial and financial.
This is how the fields of Zohr in Egypt and Coral in Mozambique were identified.

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The technical challenge is to increase the processing speed of geological Big Data

The main objective of all ENI technologies for Digital Geosciences is as simple as it is demanding: to go faster.
By increasing the speed with which seismic and geological data collected from subsoil investigations can be processed, we not only shorten the time required to obtain reservoir models, but we can increase their resolution through the use of new algorithms, increasingly powerful.
To achieve the goal, the former National Hydrocarbons Authority aimed to integrate and standardize the data from the entire upstream supply chain on the special architecture of the supercomputer.
From this large mass of collected information it is possible to develop useful proprietary simulators which, in turn, incorporate all the geological and geophysical expertise of specialists operating all over the world.
It is a demanding journey, but thanks to these continuous efforts we are able to count on operational excellence and make a difference.
Both hardware and software are constantly updated to keep up with the latest technological developments.
This helps support the "fast-track" approach whereby exploration, engineering, development and procurement are carried out in parallel: speeding up project start-ups and reducing costs and risks.

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Industrial integration and interdisciplinary approach are the keys to every extraction process

Digital Geosciences are one of the most powerful tools at the service of the natural gas and oil exploration business.
The interdisciplinary approach and the integration of several industrial segments are precisely the factors that allow the oil industry to constantly feed these technologies, whose development involves the skills of geologists and computer scientists, engineers and mathematicians, physicists and geophysicists.
This know-how is clearly combined, as always happens, with the field experience of the technicians of the extraction companies.

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The “ecological” area of ​​CO2 capture and permanent storage is very promising

Gaining greater efficiency in exploration means having to do fewer operations to locate new resources.
If we consider the environmental impact associated with mining, limiting the number of interventions in the field leads to an overall increase in sustainability.
This is obviously accompanied by a reduction in operating costs and in the final price of the energy that is brought to the market.
At the same time, being able to increase the productivity of reservoirs makes it possible to extend their useful life, without the need to develop new ones.
A further step forward in environmental protection is represented by the use of fiber optic sensors for real-time monitoring of production parameters, by the application of machine learning for predictive purposes and by the development of seismic instruments alternative to those at high frequencies, avoiding the impact these have on marine fauna.
A contribution of Digital Geosciences that is very interesting from an environmental point of view concerns the scope of the capture and permanent storage of CO2.
By improving knowledge of sediment burial processes, the way in which gases migrate underground and the interactions of carbon dioxide in both homogeneous and fractured rock systems, multinationals such as ENI acquire very valuable skills for the future reuse of depleted fields as large CO2 traps.

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