Abstract A two-stage approach for modeling turbidite reservoirs is presented. The first stage is to model the distribution and geometry of turbidite sandbodies using an object model that can be constrained to local vector directions. The facies objects are individual turbidite sandbodies that are locally aligned to a vector parameter to model the effect of local seafloor topography on sandbody geometry and orientation. The second stage involves modeling petrophysical variation within each turbidite body. This is done by using a variety of intrabody trends, which describe vertical and lateral variation in the petrophysical properties. These variations are the result of grain-size and sorting trends within each turbidite sandbody.