Patent ID: 8583411
Filing Date: 2013-11-12
Classification: E21B,G01V

Abstract:
1. A computer implemented method, with processors operating in parallel, of simulation from input reservoir data of multiphase flow of fluids within cells of a subterranean reservoir organized into a grid of reservoir cells, the reservoir cells having multiple interacting continua in which the multiphase fluid flow takes place, the computer implemented method comprising the steps of: partitioning the reservoir into active cells of a global cell domain according to the presence of collocated interacting continua in the cells, the partitioned reservoir cells having flow interchange between the continua therein; arranging the input reservoir property data for active cells into a computation matrix for processing by the computer; assigning a global cell number of the global cell domain to the active reservoir cells; partitioning the input reservoir property data for the active cells into a number of parallel data subdomains for the continua present in the active cells according to the number of processors operating in parallel; assigning a local cell index to the cells of the parallel data subdomains to form simulation subdomains; determining in the processors inter-continua transmissibilities and intra-continua transmissibilities for the assigned cells of the parallel data subdomains; solving simultaneously in the processors assigned the parallel data subdomains a fully-coupled set of constraint equations to determine multiphase fluid flow within the active cells of the simulation subdomains; and linearizing the solution of fully coupled nonlinear set of constraint equations, wherein the step of arranging the active cells comprises the step of: arranging the active cells into a computation matrix in an order in which the inter-continuum connections of the cells are located nearest a diagonal of the matrix, and next vertical interporosity continua and next lateral interporosity continua.