Integrated Asset Modeling Through Optimization of Multiple Reservoirs Using Next-Generation Reservoir Simulators
Authors: Temizel Cenk , Purwar Suryansh , Abdullayev Azer , Urrutia Karelis , Gorucu S.Emre , Agarwal Amit 
Published: April 2015

Integrated asset modeling (IAM) offers the oil industry several benefits. Next-generation reservoir simulators help achieve faster runtimes, offer insight into interaction between various components of a development, and can be used as an effective tool in detecting bottlenecks in a production system as well as a constant and more effective communication tool between various departments. IAM provides significant opportunities for the optimization of very large or complex infrastructures and life-of-field analyses of production optimization scenarios.

Simultaneous modeling of surface and subsurface components helps reduce time and enhances efficiency during the decision-making process, which eliminates the requirement for tedious, time-consuming work and iterations between separate solutions of reservoir and surface networks. Beyond this convenience, this technology makes it possible to reach more robust results more quickly using surface-subsurface coupling. The objective of this study is to outline the advantages and the challenges in using next-generation simulators for the simulation of multiple reservoirs in integrated asset management.

Simultaneous simulation of multiple reservoirs adds another dimension of complexity to the process of integrated asset modeling. Several sub-reservoir models can be simulated simultaneously in large fields comprising sub-reservoirs with complex surface systems, which could otherwise become very tedious to handle. In this study, a next-generation reservoir simulator is coupled with an optimization and uncertainty tool that is used to optimize the net present value of the entire asset. Several constraints and bottlenecks in such a large system exist all connected to one another. IAM proves useful in debottlenecking to increase the efficiency of the total system. The strengths and difficulties associated with simultaneous simulation and optimization of multiple reservoirs are compared to the more conventional way of simulating the assets separately, thus illustrating the benefits of using next-generation reservoir simulators during the optimization of multiple reservoirs.

The results show that a simultaneous solution of the surface-subsurface coupling gives significantly faster results than that of a system that consists of separate solutions for surface and subsurface. The speed difference becomes more significant when the number of reservoirs simulated is greater than one. This study outlines the workflow in setting up the model, the CPU time for each component of the simulation, and the explanation of each important item in this process to illustrate the incremental benefits of the use of next-generation reservoir simulators in simulating multiple reservoirs with surface facilities taken into account.

Although the use of next-generation simulators is becoming more common, solid examples that illustrate the benefits of simultaneous simulation of multiple reservoirs with surface facilities under several different constraints, like this study, are important to prove the use of such tools to carry out the optimization in a system that handles decision parameters and constraints simultaneously.