ARANZ Geo, developer of 3D geological modelling software Leapfrog®, has released Leapfrog Geothermal 3.3, packed with bespoke functionality for the geothermal industry, including time-based visualisation of geophysical data and connectivity to Leapfrog’s model management platform, Leapfrog Central. The release represents a major development programme for Leapfrog Geothermal, and is the first of a number of specific updates to come in 2017.
ARANZ Geo CEO Shaun Maloney says: "We are committed to bringing the best integrated 3D geological modelling solution to the geothermal industry, helping ensure that valuable natural resources are managed efficiently and that the renewable energy they produce is maintained for future generations. In addition to the geothermal industry, ARANZ Geo contribute technology and solutions to enable earth, environmental and energy projects around the world."
Leapfrog Geothermal is the only purpose-built 3D geothermal modelling solution on the market and integrates with leading reservoir engineering and geophysical software. The workflow-based solution uses implicit modelling to build surfaces directly from data while subsurface professionals use their skills and interpretation to guide the process.
Leapfrog Geothermal is rapidly becoming a software of choice for the geothermal industry and has experienced significant growth globally with licences sold in Australia, Iceland, East Africa, the USA and across Asia Pacific.
Maloney says: "The growth of Leapfrog Geothermal includes working with non-government organisations (NGOs) to add value in developing countries. We’ve upskilled geothermal professionals across East Africa so they can use Leapfrog software on the increasing number of renewable energy operations. We’re also working with a relief group in Saharan Africa to enable groundwater evaluations for siting new wells in refugee and aide camps in the area."
The on-going development for Geothermal will be fronted by ARANZ Geo’s new global business development manager Jeremy O’Brien and product manager Brennan Williams. Appointed in October 2016, O’Brien has previous experience working for electricity generator and retailer Mighty River Power and global energy service company Halliburton. Williams has been with ARANZ Geo since 2013 and has held senior software engineering roles in the UK and New Zealand.
O’Brien says: "We’re focused on augmenting Leapfrog Geothermal to meet the needs of our growing user base and the latest release signals the first stage in a major development programme. ARANZ Geo has an expert geothermal energy team working on Leapfrog Geothermal’s progress, and we have plans to expand over the coming months too."
Time-based visualisation of geophysical point data
This new key feature enables micro-seismic data to be visualised over time, assisting with the early identification of reservoir structures and delineation of these as more data becomes available. Geophysical data has also been reorganised into a single geophysical data folder, with related functionality and the ability to import numerous data types including magneto-telluric (MT) data. Users can now also import 2D points into the geophysical data folder.
Product manager Brennan Williams says: "With Geothermal, you’re often dealing with limited data so it’s important to be able to readily incorporate geophysics like MT data to inform the reservoir conceptual model and help make critical decisions such as where to drill early exploration wells."
Model management
Of particular interest to the well-regulated and often government controlled geothermal industry, Leapfrog Geothermal 3.3 offers connection to the model management platform, Leapfrog Central. This central point of truth stores and manages the evolution of models, maintains an audit trail, avoids version control issues and offers heightened security. It also enables teams to collaborate more easily and improves overall decision making.
Wealth of enhancements
The release includes new statistical functionality and improved statistics on Block Models, and new options for a wealth of tools including numeric compositing as well as structural modelling improvements. Revisions to terminology align Leapfrog Geothermal even closer to the industry, key tools and folders have been renamed in keeping with recognised terms.
Industry-specific solution
Leapfrog Geothermal is the only industry-specific 3D geological modelling software.
"Rapid data visualisation is just part of the story," says O’Brien.
"Leapfrog Geothermal enables big efficiency gains and gives subsurface professionals time to make better decisions. This latest release introduces some important new features including visualisation of geophysical data and connectivity with model management. We’re pleased to bring this major release to the market and look forward to future advancements."