Petrel

Petrels are tube-nosed seabirds in the bird order Procellariiformes. The common name does not indicate relationship beyond that point, as "petrels" occur in three of the four families within that group (except the albatross family, Diomedeidae). Having a fossil record that was assumed to extend back at least 60 million years, the Procellariiformes was long considered to be among the older bird groupings, other than the ratites, with presumably distant ties to penguins and loons. However, recent research and fossil finds such as Vegavis show that the Galliformes (pheasants, grouse and relatives), and Anseriformes (ducks, geese) are still not fully resolved. An old world petrel has been found in Biarritz. Its name is Biarritz rock petrel.

All the members of the order are exclusively pelagic in distribution — returning to land only to breed.

The family Procellariidae is the main radiation of medium-sized true petrels, characterised by united nostrils with medium septum, and a long outer functional primary. It is dominant in the Southern Oceans, but not so in the Northern Hemisphere.

Petrelë

Petrelë is a village and a former municipality 15 km south of Tirana, in central Albania. It is part of Tirana County. At the 2015 local government reform it became a subdivision of the municipality Tirana. The population at the 2011 census was 5,542. It is famous for its castle, history, and beautiful views.

Castle

In ancient times Petrelë was known as Petralba, which translated from Greek means 'the stone' of 'alba', therefore "The stone of Albanians". One can definitely see why it is called such, since the town and its castle are built on a huge stone on top of a small mountain. Halfway up the hill on which Petrela is situated are noteworthy remains of defensive walls which comprise terracing operations on the S, E, and W sides; above each section is a level area. On the best preserved, which is on the W side, rises a building to a height of 5 m and to a length of 20 m. The walls form a double ring, of which the outer section is built of square blocks which form a pseudo-isodomic structure strengthened by buttresses. In the vicinity, fragments of Hellenistic pottery have been discovered.

Petrel (reservoir software)

Petrel is a Schlumberger owned E&P software platform that provides an integrated solution from exploration to production. It allows the user to interpret seismic data, perform well correlation, build reservoir models suitable for simulation, submit and visualize simulation results, calculate volumes, produce maps and design development strategies to maximize reservoir exploitation. It addresses the need for a single application able to support the "seismic-to-simulation" workflow, reducing the need for a multitude of highly specialized tools. By bringing the whole workflow into a single application risk and uncertainty can be assessed throughout the life of the reservoir.

Background

Petrel software was developed in Norway by a company called Technoguide. Technoguide was formed in 1996 by former employees of Geomatic, some of whom were key programmers involved in the early development of Irap RMS. Petrel was developed specifically for PCs and the Windows OS, it was commercially available in 1998. Petrel was developed to have a familiar Microsoft like interface, with a pre-arranged workflow that enabled less experienced user to follow, Technoguide made 3D geologic modeling more accessible to all subsurface technical staff, even those without specialist training. In 2002, Schlumberger acquired Technoguide and the Petrel software tools and they currently support and market Petrel. Newer versions of Petrel include additional functionality such as geological modeling, seismic interpretation, uncertainty analysis, well planning, and links to reservoir simulators.