Patent ID: 8401832

Claim:
A computer-executable method of coupling multiple independent reservoir and network simulators with a physical controller comprising: providing an open message-passing interface that communicates with black oil model reservoir simulators, compositional model reservoir simulators, and different types of surface network simulators; initiating a first reservoir simulation on a first simulator for a first set of one or more physical parameters of a first reservoir, the first reservoir simulation using a first fluid model, the first reservoir simulator using a first set of components for a compositional reservoir model; initiating a second reservoir simulation on a second simulator for a second set of one or more physical parameters of a second reservoir, the second reservoir simulation using a second fluid model; initiating a network simulation on a network simulator to model a network for coupling the first reservoir and the second reservoir to a surface facility, the network simulator using a second set of components for a compositional network model; selecting maximum synchronization intervals to limit controller time steps; defining network balancing times based on the controller time steps; applying the controller time steps via the open message-passing interface to the advancement through time of the first reservoir simulator, the second reservoir simulator, and the network simulator, each controller time step enabling the first reservoir simulator, the second reservoir simulator, and the network simulator to each take an independent number of non-identical time steps to advance to the start of a next controller time step; varying the duration of the controller time steps in response to a production rate or an injection rate of the first reservoir simulator or the second reservoir simulator; translating via the open message-passing interface each of a first hydrocarbon fluid stream of the first reservoir simulator and a second hydrocarbon fluid stream of the second reservoir simulator to a common fluid model, wherein the translating comprises: selecting a super-set of components for the controller, the super-set of components comprising the first set of components and the second set of components, delumping the first set of components from the first reservoir simulation into the super-set of components for the controller, and lumping the super-set of components for the controller into the second set of components for the network simulation; and initiating network balancing among the simulators at a corresponding point in each controller time step.