The Purpose

1) To predict the field performance and optimise the recovery by various field
development scenario.
2) To evaluate the effects of various operational conditions on the recovery.
3) To compare the economics of different recovery methods.

Input data from geological modelling.

1. Structural modelling (geological grid, faults and fault properties, reservoir
zonation, vertical communication, fluid contacts)
2. Property modelling (porosity, permeability, net-to-gross ratio, initial
water saturation, end-point fluid saturations).

reservoir zonation

Five zones (or averaged groups of data) usually are obtained, each of which is treated as
HOMOGENEOUS in subsequent calculations. This paper presents a statistical
technique for identifying these natural zones and for ascertaining which ones are likely to
be continuous between adjacent wells. The zones defined have minimum variation of
permeability internally and a maximum variation between zones. The technique is
general and can thus be applied to reservoir properties other than permeability.
Sources:- https://www.onepetro.org/journal-paper/SPE-286-PA

Areal grid and layering

a rule of thumb is that the reservoir simulation cell dimension should be approximately twice that of
the geological model cell in X- and Y-directions in areas where hydrocarbons and wells are
presented
Reservoir rock and fluid properties

Rock compressibility
Rock compressibility is one of the most important input parameters for initialization of any reservoir
simulation study. This parameter should be based on core analysis and rock mechanics studies.

Fluid PVT data

The two most common types of reservoir fluid models are black-oil models and compositional models. The
black-oil models are based on the assumptions that the saturated phase properties of two hydrocarbon
phases (oil and gas) depend on pressure only.

Compositional models also assume two hydrocarbon phases, but they allow the definition of many
hydrocarbon components. The time cost of running a compositional simulator increases dramatically with
an increase in the number of components modeled, but the additional components make it possible to
more accurately model complex fluid phase behavior.

The typical fluid PVT properties used in reservoir simulation study, are: formation volume factor, viscosity,
solution gas-oil-ratio and water compressibility.

Oil Formation Volume Factor (Bo)

Oil formation volume factor is defined as the ratio of the volume of oil at reservoir (in-situ) conditions
to that at stock tank (surface) conditions. This factor, is used to convert the flow rate of oil (at stock
tank conditions) to reservoir conditions. It is defined as:

Below the bubble point pressure, the oil formation volume factor increases with pressure. This is
because more gas goes into solution as the pressure is increased causing the oil to swell. Above the
bubble point pressure, the oil formation volume factor decreases as the pressure is increased,
because there is no more gas available to go into solution and the oil is compressed. when calculating
the oil formation volume factor from correlations, the solution gas oil ratio (Rs) has a significant effect
on the value.
The value of the oil formation volume factor is generally between 1 and 2 Rbbl / stbbl (R m3 / st m3)
Relative permeability and capillary pressure
Relative permeability curves represent flow mechanisms, such as drainage or imbibition processes, or fluid
wettability. Relative permeability data should be obtained by experiments that best model the type of
displacement processes in the reservoirs

Dynamic properties and well data

Dynamic properties and well data are primarily required for the following:

 Reservoir simulation model quality control

 History matching process
 Predictions

The historical well tubing head pressure, well bottomhole pressure, well productivity index (PI), and well
flow performance tables are required to calibrate reservoir simulation models when reservoir simulation
models are used for predictions (in other words, when the wells are changed from volume control to
pressure control)

Reservoir simulation model initialization and validation

Reservoir simulation model initialization

To initialize a reservoir simulation model, the initial oil, gas and water pressure distribution and initial
saturations must be defined in the reservoir model. Pressure data are usually referenced to some datum
depth. It is convenient to specify a pressure and saturation at the datum depth and then to calculate phase
pressures based on fluid densities and depths.

Why do we do initialization

The initialization of the reservoir simulation models is the process where the reservoir simulation model is
reviewed to make sure that all input data and volumetrics are internally consistent with those in the
geomodel.

Non-equilibrium at initial conditions may imply some data error or the need to introduce pressure barriers
(thresholds) between equilibrium regions.

Reservoir simulation model validation

At this step, the main objective is to verify that the reservoir simulation model accurately represents the
structure and properties in the geologic model. The following validation steps are recommended:

Visualize and compare reservoir simulation model properties (porosity, permeability, net-to-gross ration and
fluid saturation) with those in the geological model.
Compare reservoir simulation model gross-rock-volume, pore volume, and hydrocarbon in-place volumes
with the geological model volumes

Verify that the wells are consistently represented in the reservoir simulation grid.

History matching
The main objective of the history match is to achieve a reasonable agreement between the simulated and
observed historical field/well behavior to establish a satisfactory quality reservoir management tool. This is
done under the premises that the geological model, the reservoir parameters, and other static and dynamic
data used have a “defendable” quality

Reservoir simulation model prediction capability

When a reservoir simulation model is changed from history matching to prediction mode, the phase rate
profiles should be smooth, provided new wells are not added or existing wells shut-in, and the fundamental
constraints on the wells are not changed. There should not be a shift up or down in rates at this point. Such
a shift is usually indicative of non-calibrated wells.

It is recommended that the last year of history is run in prediction mode and the actual production
compared with the simulated prediction. While this should not be expected to give a perfect match, it will
help to highlight major discrepancies in the model.

When a reservoir simulation model is used for predictions, the limitations and uncertainties involved in the
reservoir simulation models should be recognized. If the geological model, for example, is not
reasonable and observed data quality is poor, not much quality can be expected from reservoir
simulation model, no matter the quality of the history match.

Dual Porosity
Naturally fractured reservoirs have two distinct porosities, one in the matrix and one in the
fractures. Although naturally fractured reservoirs consist of irregular fractures, they can be
represented by equivalent homogeneous dual porosity systems (Warren and Root (1963)).

Naturally fractured reservoirs are characterized by two parameters, the interporosity flow coefficient
() and the storativity ratio ()..

Interporosity Flow Coefficient ( )

In a dual porosity reservoir, the interporosity flow coefficient is defined as the ratio of the permeability
of the matrix (k m) to that of the fractures (kf) defined as:

Note that the geometric coefficient ( ) accounts for the shape of the matrix blocks.

The interporosity flow coefficient is usually in the range of 10-4 to 10-8 and is always used in
conjunction with the storativity ratio in dual porosity reservoirs.

Storativity Ratio ()

In a dual porosity reservoir, the storativity ratio is defined as the fraction of the total pore volume
associated with one of the porosities. Specifically, in a naturally fractured reservoir it refers to the
volume of reserves contained within the fractures and is defined as:

The storativity ratio has a significant effect on the short term deliverability of a reservoir. It is usually
in the range of 0.01 to 0.1 and is always used in conjunction with the interporosity flow
coefficient in dual porosity reservoirs.

Adsorption
Source:
http://www.fekete.com/SAN/WebHelp/FeketeHarmony/Harmony_WebHelp/Content/HTML_Files/Reference_Material/Gen
eral_Concepts/Langmuir_Isotherm.htm

In adsorption, molecules of gas become attached to the surface of coal or to organic material in shale.
Nearly all of the gas stored by adsorption to coal/shale exists in a condensed, near liquid state.
coal and shale reservoirs can store far more gas in the adsorbed state than conventional reservoirs
can hold by compression at pressures below 1000 psia. Since the volume of a cleat or fracture
system is small when compared to the volume of the reservoir, free gas only accounts for a small
portion of the gas stored in coal/shale. As a result, the pressure volume relationship is often described
by the desorption isotherm only.