Pre-announced at the SEG last year (OITJ Oct. 07) Paradigm’s Skua 2008 was officially released at the Rome EAGE. Paradigm’s flamboyant CEO John Gibson explained the significance of the awkwardly acronymic ‘subsurface knowledge unified approach.’ The Skua is an Antarctic bird that eats Petrels! Gibson described Skua as a ‘groundbreaking software development that exemplifies Paradigm’s scientific contribution* to subsurface modeling technology.’
Skua chief architect Jean-Claude Dulac said, ‘Skua embeds a native, full 3D description of the reservoir that removes the limitations of conventional pillar-based (like Petrel) methods. This makes possible hitherto impossible geomodeling and will change the way geoscientists work.’
Key to the Skua approach is its ability to model geological events in a ‘depositionally correct’ manner. We quizzed Dulac at the EAGE for more information on the product to learn that although Skua is not geodetically ‘aware,’ coordinate systems can be managed in Paradigm’s Epos data framework. Earlier GoCad usability issues are now addressed thanks to Skua’s structural and stratigraphic workflows. On the interoperability front, Paradigm is in the process of porting all of its applications to the cross-platform QT toolkit ready for its next major release in 2009.
* See our review of Professor Mallet’s book on page 3.
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