ARANZ Geo releases Leapfrog Geothermal 2.3

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ARANZ Geo releases Leapfrog Geothermal 2.3

Major release significantly improves TOUGH2 capability enabling greater insights and more efficient decision making in field exploration, development and production

CHRISTCHURCH, New Zealand, 28 August 2012 - ARANZ Geo Ltd, the developer of Leapfrog 3D geological modelling software, has released Leapfrog Geothermal 2.3. The major release significantly improves the interface to the specialist geothermal flow simulator TOUGH2.

The new release is the result of ongoing collaboration between experts from the New Zealand geothermal community including ARANZ Geo, Contact Energy, GNS Science, and the University of Auckland. The different perspective of industry, consultants and the university has produced innovative software well suited to the needs of the global geothermal market.

Juliet Newson, Reservoir Modelling Engineer at Contact Energy says, “Being able to create TOUGH2 inputs which are consistent with the geoscience model is a major breakthrough in workflow enhancements.”

“Prior to this, reservoir modelling software was not strongly linked to the geoscientific data, allowing conceptual inconsistencies into the reservoir model. In addition, the graphical capabilities of Leapfrog mean we can visualise and interpret in the 3D environment even more quickly,” she says.

Leapfrog Geothermal 2.3 allows users to generate a TOUGH2 input file. TOUGH2 ‘rocktypes’ are created from a geological model and the rocktype parameters editable within Leapfrog. General simulation parameters can be set along with the initial conditions for rocktypes for the EOS1 module.

Users are able to load the outputs from TOUGH2 simulation and visualise the results for block variables over the range of time-steps provided. The modelling results can also be viewed with other spatial data (for instance, isotherms), enabling a graphical representation of model results with geoscience data.

Moreover, users no longer need to create TOUGH2 grids externally in other software packages, but can create new grids directly in the Flow Models project folder. In addition to the major TOUGH2 interface enhancements, Leapfrog Geothermal 2.3 adds several new geological and numeric modelling enhancements. Spatially-varying structural trends can now be easily defined and can be used as a spatially variable anisotropy in the production of numerical models. Fault entities in geological models may also be edited with structural data. It is now also possible to normalise skewed value distributions prior to using them to produce numerical models.

Graphic enhancements include high resolution movies at Full HD and the latest ARANZ Geo graphics component for rendering 3D graphics, making better use of graphics hardware, especially when rendering semi-transparent objects.

To further complete Leapfrog’s competency in handling large data sets, a new project database, optimised for faster performance has been introduced. For ease of backup and file transfer projects may be saved as a zip file.

Useful MODFLOW enhancements developed for Leapfrog Hydro have been applied to Leapfrog Geothermal 2.3. MODFLOW grids now use the geological information for multiple geological models, enabling detailed and regional models to be combined as the source MODFLOW model. MT3D contaminant transport concentrations can also be imported and visualised. Zoned layer Property Files can be exported in both MODFLOW and MODFLOW for Ground Water Vistas modes. Numerous other file support improvements have also been made.

Tim Schurr, Leapfrog Product Manager says, “Major TOUGH2 interface improvements and other newly added features combined make Leapfrog Geothermal 2.3 the visualisation software of choice for the global geothermal energy industry.”

Leapfrog is fast, dynamic, 3D geological modelling technology with innovative workflows that enables multiple hypotheses to be investigated during all stages of exploration. In early stage development the software assists geologists to efficiently decide on the best locations for well drilling. In later stages the software allows the geology to be used directly in the reservoir models.

Fabian Sepulveda, Senior Geoscientist at Contact Energy adds, “The greater insights that Leapfrog Geothermal provides leads to more efficient decision-making at all stages of field exploration, development and production.”

The Leapfrog software suite of products includes Leapfrog Geothermal, Leapfrog Mining and Leapfrog Hydro. A trial version of Leapfrog Geothermal is available for prospective users. For an activation code to enable instant access go to www.leapfrog3d.com

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About ARANZ Geo
For more on ARANZ Geo visit www.aranzgeo.com

Leapfrog
For more on the Leapfrog software suite visit www.leapfrog3d.com

ENDS

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