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Reservoirsimulation
FromWikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia

Reservoirsimulationisanareaofreservoirengineeringin
whichcomputermodelsareusedtopredicttheflowoffluids
(typically,oil,water,andgas)throughporousmedia.

Contents
1Uses
2Fundamentals
3Otherengineeringapproaches
4Software
5Seealso

Asimulateddepthmapofthe
geologyinafullfieldmodelfromthe
Merlinfinitedifferencesimulator

6References

Uses
Reservoirsimulationmodelsareusedbyoilandgascompaniesinthedevelopmentofnewfields.Also,
modelsareusedindevelopedfieldswhereproductionforecastsareneededtohelpmakeinvestment
decisions.Asbuildingandmaintainingarobust,reliablemodelofafieldisoftentimeconsumingand
expensive,modelsaretypicallyonlyconstructedwherelargeinvestmentdecisionsareatstake.
Improvementsinsimulationsoftwarehaveloweredthetimetodevelopamodel.Also,modelscanbe
runonpersonalcomputersratherthanmoreexpensiveworkstations.
Fornewfields,modelsmayhelpdevelopmentbyidentifyingthenumberofwellsrequired,theoptimal
completionofwells,thepresentandfutureneedsforartificiallift,andtheexpectedproductionofoil,
waterandgas.
Forongoingreservoirmanagement,modelsmayhelpinimprovedoilrecoverybyhydraulicfracturing.
Highlydeviatedorhorizontalwellscanalsoberepresented.Specializedsoftwaremaybeusedinthe
designofhydraulicfracturing,thentheimprovementsinproductivitycanbeincludedinthefieldmodel.
Also,futureimprovementinoilrecoverywithpressuremaintenancebyreinjectionofproducedgasor
bywaterinjectionintoanaquifercanbeevaluated.Waterfloodingresultingintheimproved
displacementofoiliscommonlyevaluatedusingreservoirsimulation.
Theapplicationofenhancedoilrecovery(EOR)processesrequiresthatthefieldpossessesthenecessary
characteristicstomakeapplicationsuccessful.Modelstudiescanassistinthisevaluation.EOR
processesincludemiscibledisplacementbynaturalgas,CO2,ornitrogenandchemicalflooding
(polymer,alkaline,surfactant,oracombinationofthese).Specialfeaturesinsimulationsoftwareis
neededtorepresenttheseprocesses.Insomemiscibleapplications,the"smearing"ofthefloodfront,
alsocallednumericaldispersion,maybeaproblem.

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Reservoirsimulationisusedextensivelytoidentifyopportunitiestoincreaseoilproductioninheavyoil
deposits.Oilrecoveryisimprovedbyloweringtheoilviscositybyinjectingsteamorhotwater.Typical
processesaresteamsoaks(steamisinjected,thenoilproducedfromthesamewell)andsteamflooding
(separatesteaminjectorsandoilproducers).Theseprocessesrequiresimulatorswithspecialfeaturesto
accountforheattransfertothefluidspresentandtheformation,thesubsequentpropertychangesand
heatlossesoutsideoftheformation.
Arecentapplicationofreservoirsimulationisthemodelingofcoalbedmethane(CBM)production.This
applicationrequiresaspecializedCBMsimulator.Inadditiontothenormalfractured(fissured)
formationdata,CBMsimulationrequiresgascontentdatavaluesatinitialpressure,sorptionisotherms,
diffusioncoefficient,andparameterstoestimatethechangesinabsolutepermeabilityasafunctionof
porepressuredepletionandgasdesorption.

Fundamentals
Traditionalfinitedifferencesimulatorsdominateboththeoretical
andpracticalworkinreservoirsimulation.ConventionalFD
simulationisunderpinnedbythreephysicalconcepts:
conservationofmass,isothermalfluidphasebehavior,andthe
Darcyapproximationoffluidflowthroughporousmedia.
Thermalsimulators(mostcommonlyusedforheavycrudeoil
applications)addconservationofenergytothislist,allowing
temperaturestochangewithinthereservoir.
Numericaltechniquesandapproachesthatarecommonin
modernsimulators:
MostmodernFDsimulationprogramsallowfor
constructionof3Drepresentationsforuseineitherfull
fieldorsinglewellmodels.2Dapproximationsarealso
usedinvariousconceptualmodels,suchascrosssections
and2Dradialgridmodels.
Theoretically,finitedifferencemodelspermit
discretizationofthereservoirusingbothstructuredand
morecomplexunstructuredgridstoaccuratelyrepresent
thegeometryofthereservoir.Localgridrefinements(a
finergridembeddedinsideofacoarsegrid)arealsoa
featureprovidedbymanysimulatorstomoreaccurately
representthenearwellboremultiphasefloweffects.This
"refinedmeshing"nearwellboresisextremelyimportant
whenanalyzingissuessuchaswaterandgasconingin
reservoirs.

Representationofanunderground
faultbyastructuremapgeneratedby
Contourmapsoftwareforan8500ft
deepgas&OilreservoirintheErath
field,VermilionParish,Erath,
Louisiana.Thelefttorightgap,near
thetopofthecontourmapindicatesa
Faultline.Thisfaultlineisbetween
theblue/greencontourlinesandthe
purple/red/yellowcontourlines.The
thinredcircularcontourlineinthe
middleofthemapindicatesthetopof
theoilreservoir.Becausegasfloats
aboveoil,thethinredcontourline
marksthegas/oilcontactzone.

Representationoffaultsandtheirtransmissibilitiesare
advancedfeaturesprovidedinmanysimulators.Inthesemodels,intercellflowtransmissibilities
mustbecomputedfornonadjacentlayersoutsideofconventionalneighbortoneighbor
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connections.
Naturalfracturesimulation(knownasdualporosityanddualpermeability)isanadvancedfeature
whichmodelhydrocarbonsintightmatrixblocks.Flowoccursfromthetightmatrixblockstothe
morepermeablefracturenetworksthatsurroundtheblocks,andtothewells.
Ablackoilsimulatordoesnotconsiderchangesincompositionofthehydrocarbonsasthefieldis
produced.Thecompositionalmodel,isamorecomplexmodel,wherethePVTpropertiesofoil
andgasphaseshavebeenfittedtoanequationofstate(EOS),asamixtureofcomponents.The
simulatorthenusesthefittedEOSequationtodynamicallytrackthemovementofbothphasesand
componentsinfield.
Thesimulationmodelcomputesthesaturationchangeofthree
phases(oil,waterandgas)andpressureofeachphaseineach
cellateachtimestep.Asaresultofdecliningpressureasina
reservoirdepletionstudy,gaswillbeliberatedfromtheoil.If
pressuresincreaseasaresultofwaterorgasinjection,thegas
isredissolvedintotheoilphase.
Asimulationprojectofadevelopedfield,usuallyrequires
"historymatching"wherehistoricalfieldproductionand
pressuresarecomparedtocalculatedvalues.[1]Inrecent
yearsoptimisationtoolssuchasMEPOhashelpedto
acceleratethisprocess,aswellasimprovethequalityofthe
Correlatingrelativepermeability
matchobtained.Themodel'sparametersareadjusteduntila
reasonablematchisachievedonafieldbasisandusuallyfor
allwells.Commonly,producingwatercutsorwateroilratiosandgasoilratiosarematched.
Othertypesofsimulatorsincludefiniteelementandstreamline.

Otherengineeringapproaches
WithoutFDmodels,recoveryestimatesandoilratescanalsobecalculatedusingnumerousanalytical
techniqueswhichincludematerialbalanceequations(includingHavlenaOdehandTarnermethod),
fractionalflowcurvemethods(1DdisplacementbyBuckleyLeverett,Deitzmethodforinclined
structures,coningmodels),sweepefficiencyestimationtechniquesforwaterfloodsanddeclinecurve
analysis.Thesemethodsweredevelopedandusedpriortotraditionalor"conventional"simulationstools
ascomputationallyinexpensivemodelsbasedonsimplehomogeneousreservoirdescription.Analytical
methodsgenerallycannotcaptureallthedetailsofthegivenreservoirorprocess,butaretypically
numericallyfastandattimes,sufficientlyreliable.Inmodernreservoirengineering,theyaregenerally
usedasscreeningorpreliminaryevaluationtools.Analyticalmethodsareespeciallysuitablefor
potentialassetsevaluationwhenthedataarelimitedandthetimeiscritical,orforbroadstudiesasapre
screeningtoolifalargenumberofprocessesand/ortechnologiesaretobeevaluated.Theanalytical
methodsareoftendevelopedandpromotedintheacademiaorinhouse,howevercommercialpackages
alsoexist.

Software

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Manysoftware,private,opensourceorcommercial,areavailableforreservoirsimulation.Themost
wellknows(inalphabeticalorder)are:
OpenSource:
BOASTBlackOilAppliedSimulationTool(Boast)simulatorisafreesoftwarepackagefor
reservoirsimulationavailablefromtheU.S.DepartmentofEnergy.[2]BoastisanIMPES
numericalsimulator(finitedifferenceimplicitpressureexplicitsaturation)whichfindsthe
pressuredistributionforagiventimestepfirstthencalculatesthesaturationdistributionforthe
sametimestepisothermal.Thelastreleasewasin1986butitremainsasagoodsimulatorfor
educationalpurposes.
MRSTTheMATLABReservoirSimulationToolbox(MRST)isdevelopedbySINTEFApplied
MatemathicsasaMATLABtoolbox.Thetoolboxconsistsoftwomainparts:acoreoffering
basicfunctionalityandsingleandtwophasesolvers,andasetofaddonmodulesofferingmore
advancedmodels,viewersandsolvers.MRSTismainlyintendedasatoolboxforrapid
prototypinganddemonstrationofnewsimulationmethodsandmodelingconceptsonunstructured
grids.Despitethis,manyofthetoolsarequiteefficientandcanbeappliedtosurprisinglylarge
andcomplexmodels.[3]
OPMTheOpenPorousMedia(OPM)initiativeprovidesasetofopensourcetoolscentered
aroundthesimulationofflowandtransportoffluidsinporousmedia.[4]
Commercial:
CMGSuite(IMEX,GEMandSTARS)ComputerModellingGroupcurrentlyoffersthree
simulators:ablackoilsimulator,calledIMEX,acompositionalsimulatorcalledGEManda
thermalcompositionalsimulatorcalledSTARS.[5]
SchlumbergerECLIPSEECLIPSEisanoilandgasreservoirsimulatororiginallydevelopedby
ECL(ExplorationConsultantsLimited)andcurrentlyowned,developed,marketedand
maintainedbySIS(formerlyknownasGeoQuest),adivisionofSchlumberger.Thename
ECLIPSEoriginallywasanacronymfor"ECLsImplicitProgramforSimulationEngineering".
Simulatorsincludeblackoil,compositional,thermalfinitevolume,andstreamlinesimulation.
Addonoptionsincludelocalgridrefinements,coalbedmethane,gasfieldoperations,advanced
wells,reservoircoupling,andsurfacenetworks.
LandmarkNexusNexusisanoilandgasreservoirsimulatororiginallydevelopedas'Falcon'by
Amoco,LosAlamosNationalLaboratoryandCrayResearch.Itiscurrentlyowned,developed,
marketedandmaintainedbyLandmarkGraphics,aproductservicelineofHalliburton.Nexuswill
graduallyreplaceVIP,orDesktopVIP,Landmark'searliergenerationofsimulator.
StochasticSimulationResAssureResAssureisastochasticsimulationsoftwaresolution,
poweredbyarobustandextremelyfastreservoirsimulator.Thestaggeringspeedupisachieved
byinnovativenumericalsolutionsandadvancedmathematicalformulationsforsolvingsubsurface
challenges.[6]
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RockFlowDynamicstNavigatorsupportsblackoil,compositionalandthermalcompositional
simulationsforworkstationsandHighPerformanceComputingclusters[7]

Seealso
Blackoilequations
Reservoirmodeling
Geologicmodeling
Petroleumengineering
Computersimulation
SeismictoSimulation
SoftwareforReservoirSimulation
(http://www.researchgate.net/post/Any_Free_or_Open_Source_Software_FOSS_for_fluid_flow_s
imulation_in_porous_media)
[1](http://www.petrocode.org)

References
Aziz,K.andSettari,A.,PetroleumReservoirSimulation,1979,AppliedSciencePublishers.
Ertekin,T,AbouKassem,J.H.andG.R.King,BasicAppliedReservoirSimulation,SPE
TextbookVol10,2001.
Fanchi,J.,PrinciplesofAppliedReservoirSimulation,3rdEdition,ElsevierGPP,2006.
Mattax,C.C.andDalton,R.L,ReservoirSimulation,SPEMonographVolume13,1990.
Holstein,E.(Editor),PetroleumEngineeringHandbook,VolumeV(b),Chapt17,Reservoir
Engineering,2007.
Warner,H.(Editor),PetroleumEngineeringHandbook,VolumeVI,Chapter6,CoalbedMethane,
2007.
Carlson,M.,PracticalReservoirSimulation,2006,PennWellCorporation.
R.E.Ewing,TheMathematicsofReservoirSimulation
OtherReferences
1. ^http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0920410513003227
2. ^"DepartmentofEnergy"(http://www.netl.doe.gov/research/oilandgas/software/simulators).Retrieved
3March2014.
3. ^"MRSTHomepage"(http://www.sintef.no/MRST/).Retrieved3March2014.
4. ^"OpenPorousMediaInitiative"(http://www.opmproject.org/).Retrieved3March2014.
5. ^"CMGHomepage"(http://www.cmgl.ca/).Retrieved3March2014.
6. ^"ResAssure"(http://www.stochasticsimulation.com/resassure).Retrieved3September2014.
7. ^"RFDHomepage"(http://www.rfdyn.com/).Retrieved7March2014.

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