Patent ID: 7603265

Claim:
A method of simulating geomechanical behavior of an underground reservoir by coupling with a reservoir model for simulation of fluid flows in the reservoir a geomechanical model that can simulate the geomechanical behavior, comprising: acquiring data from the reservoir regarding geometry, lithofacies and petrophysical properties related to the reservoir wherein each lithofacies comprises a rock type; constructing, using a computer, a geological model of the reservoir discretized by a fine grid utilizing the data; constructing, using a computer, a reservoir model of multiphase flow by scaling the geological model wherein the reservoir model has cells larger than the cells of the geological model; acquiring geomechanical properties related to the reservoir and assigning the geomechanical properties to the cells of the geological model; constructing, using a computer, the geomechanical model of the reservoir discretized by a geomechanical grid wherein the geomechanical model has cells of same size or larger than the cells of the reservoir model; performing, using a computer, a scaling method for calculating the geomechanical properties of the geomechanical cells of the geomechanical model, from the geomechanical properties of the geological cells; performing, using a computer, a homogenization method to calculate the geomechanical properties at a scale of the geomechanical cells assuming that the geomechanical cells have a stratified structure, wherein each lithofacies contained in each geomechanical cell has a stratified distribution therein; performing, using a computer, reservoir simulation using the reservoir model and determining multiphase flow characteristics and related petrophysical properties of the cells in the reservoir model; performing, using a computer, simulation of geomechanical behavior using the geomechanical model and determining the geomechanical properties of the cells of the geomechanical model having a stratified structure; and using the results of simulation with the geomechanical model to modify the petrophysical properties of the reservoir model.