First Norne Field Case on History Matching and Recovery Optimization
Authors: Denney Dennis 
Published: February 2015

This article, written by Senior Technology Editor Dennis Denney, contains highlights of paper SPE 157112, ’Results of the First Norne Field Case on History Matching and Recovery Optimization Using Production and 4D-Seismic Data,’ by Richard Rwechungura, SPE, NTNU; Eric Bhark, SPE, Texas A&M University; Ola T. Miljeteig, SPE, NTNU; Amit Suman, SPE, and Drosos Kourounis, Stanford University; Bjarne Foss, SPE, NTNU; Lars Hoier, Statoil; and Jon Kleppe, SPE, NTNU, prepared for the 2012 SPE Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition, San Antonio, Texas, 8-10 October. The paper has not been peer reviewed.

In preparation for the SPE Applied Technology Workshop on Use of 4D-Seismic and Production Data for History Matching and Optimization—Application to Norne (Norway), 14–16 June 2011, a test-case study (Norne E-segment), based on field data of an offshore Norway brownfield, was organized to evaluate and compare mathematical methods for history matching and strategies for optimal production or enhanced oil recovery (EOR). The integrated-data set provided an opportunity to discuss emerging and classical history-matching and optimization methods after being tested with real field data.

Introduction

The Center of Integrated Operation in the petroleum industry at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), in conjunction with SPE, organized an SPE Applied Technology Workshop on the use of real data from the Norne field. The workshop attracted 80 delegates and international speakers from more than 10 countries. This workshop addressed a comparative case study that used real field data that included time-lapse-seismic data.

The purpose of reservoir management is to control operations to maximize short- and long-term production. The process consists of life-cycle optimization based on reservoir-model uncertainties and model updating by production measurements, time-lapse-seismic data, and other available data. Time-lapse-seismic data help determine reservoir changes that occur with time and can be used as a new dimension in history matching because they contain information about fluid movement and pressure changes between and beyond wells.

The well-production schedule and history for the period from December 1997 through December 2004 were provided as observation data for the history match. A previous full-field calibration was performed by the operator to match the history up to 2003. The reservoir attributes calibrated in the previous history match included fault-transmissibility multipliers, regional relative permeability parameters, and large-scale (absolute) permeability and porosity het-erogeneity using regional and constant multipliers. These attributes defined a global history match for a single (structural) reservoir description. The exercise was to improve the match and then perform a recovery optimization.

Five groups participated in this exercise, of which four presented their results during the workshop. The number of participants was limited because the Norne database has a license limitation regarding commercial companies. The participants in this comparative study were expected to produce a history-matched model, preferably using an integration of production and time-lapse-seismic data, and to produce an optimal production strategy for the remaining recoverable resources.