plopm: A lightweight and flexible tool for visualization and postprocessing of OPM Flow geological models

Main feature

Quick generation of PNG figures, GIFs, and VTKs from a OPM Flow type model.

Installation

To install the plopm executable in an existing Python environment:

pip install git+https://github.com/cssr-tools/plopm.git

If you are interested in a specific version (e.g., v2026.04) or in modifying the source code, then you can clone the repository and install the Python requirements in a virtual environment with the following commands:

# Clone the repo
git clone https://github.com/cssr-tools/plopm.git
# Get inside the folder
cd plopm
# For a specific version (e.g., v2026.04), or else skip this step (i.e., edge version)
git checkout v2026.04
# Create virtual environment
python3 -m venv vplopm
# Activate virtual environment
source vplopm/bin/activate
# Upgrade pip, setuptools, and wheel
pip install --upgrade pip setuptools wheel
# Install the plopm package
pip install -e .
# Install the dev-requirements
pip install -r dev-requirements.txt

To use the conversion from OPM Flow output files (i.e., .EGRID, .INIT, .UNRST) to VTK (e.g, to use paraview for visualization/postprocessing), OPM Flow is needed. See the installation for further details on installing binaries or building OPM Flow from the master branches in Linux, Windows, and macOS, as well as the LaTeX (optional) dependency.

Running plopm

You can run plopm as a single command line:

plopm -i name(s)_of_input_file(s)

Run plopm --help to see all possible command line argument options.

Getting started

See the examples in the documentation and this paper.

Citing

• Landa-Marbán, D. 2026. plopm: A lightweight and flexible tool for visualization and postprocessing of OPM Flow geological models. https://doi.org/10.13140/RG.2.2.12046.22081.

Applications in Scientific Literature

The following is a list of manuscripts in which plopm is used:

• Landa-Marbán, D., Zamani, N., Sandve, T.H., Gasda, S.E., 2024. Impact of Intermittency on Salt Precipitation During CO2 Injection, presented at SPE Norway Subsurface Conference, Bergen, Norway. https://doi.org/10.2118/218477-MS.
• Mykkeltvedt, T.S., Sandve, T.H., Landa-Marbán, D., and Gasda, S.E., 2026. A Sub-Grid Model for Convective Mixing Applied to the 11th SPE Comparative Solution Project. SPE J. https://doi.org/10.2118/233788-PA.
• Pujol, T., Rowbotham, P., Rose, P., and Maxwell, D., 2026. Prevention and Mitigation Strategy Selection for Salt Deposition in Dry-Out Zone of CCS Aquifer Schemes, presented at 87th EAGE Annual Conference & Exhibition, https://doi.org/10.3997/2214-4609.202610886.
• Sandve, T.H., Boon, W., Landa-Marbán, D., Tveit, S., Gasda, S.E., 2025. Multi-Scale Simulation Strategies for Managing Pressure Interference in Multi-Site CO2 Storage in Large Regional Aquifers, presented at GET 2025, https://doi.org/10.3997/2214-4609.202521134.
• Landa-Marbán, D., Lie, K.-A., Lye, K. O., Møyner, O., Rasmussen, A. F., and T. H., Sandve, 2026. Exploring Convergence and Its Limits in Case B of the 11th SPE Comparative Solution Project. SPE J. https://doi.org/10.2118/231853-PA.
• Landa-Marbán, D., Sandve, T.H., Both, J.W., Nordbotten, J.M., and Gasda, S.E., 2026. Performance of an open-source image-based history matching framework for CO2 storage. Transp Porous Med, https://doi.org/10.1007/s11242-025-02275-0.
• Landa-Marbán, D., Sandve, T.H., and Gasda, S.E., 2025. A Coarsening Approach to the Troll Aquifer Model. https://arxiv.org/abs/2508.08670.

The software also supports the online documentation of several open‑source tools, including:

• expreccs: A Python framework using OPM Flow to simulate regional and site reservoirs for CO2 storage.
• pofff: An image-based history-matching framework for the FluidFlower Benchmark using OPM Flow.
• pycopm: An open-source tool to tailor OPM Flow geological models.
• pyopmnearwell: A Python framework to simulate near well dynamics using OPM Flow.
• pyopmspe11: A Python framework using OPM Flow for the CSP SPE11 benchmark project.

About plopm

The plopm package is being funded by the HPC Simulation Software for the Gigatonne Storage Challenge project [project number 622059] and Center for Sustainable Subsurface Resources (CSSR) [project no. 331841]. Contributions are more than welcome using the fork and pull request approach. For new features, please request them raising an issue.