Model Dimensions

The first step in setting up a model is to define:

• Title of run

• Type of geometry to be used (Cartesian or radial, though Cartesian is often the default)

• Number of cells in each direction (x, y, z, or r, θ, z)

• Phases to be modelled (oil, water, gas, vapourised oil in the gas, dissolved gas in the oil)

• Units to be used (field, metric or lab)

• Number of wells

• Start date for simulation (usually corresponding to the date of first oil production)

The model set up in Tutorial 1A consists of a Cartesian grid of 5 x 5 x 3 cells, each cell having
dimensions of 500 ft x 500 ft x 50 ft, as shown in Figure 3.

Cartesian is the default geometry used by ECLIPSE, so it does need to be specified explicitly. A
two-phase oil and water calculation is to be performed in this model, with the injection and
production wells to be located at opposite corners, and completed in all three layers. ECLIPSE
allows wells to be grouped together so that the cumulative production or injection rates may
be specified or calculated. Here, we will assume that the injection and production wells are in
two separate groups. Field units are to be used throughout the input data file. (Note that once
a choice of units has been made, it must be used consistently for all data entry. This precludes,
for example, using feet (field units) for depths and bars (metric units) for pressures in the same
run.) The title for this calculation will be “3D 2-Phase”, and it is assumed that first oil was on
1st January 2001. Generated output should be written to a single unified output file. (The
ECLIPSE default is to create a separate output file for every time step, which has the advantage
that not all the data output data is lost if one file is in some way corrupted, but this may result
in an unmanageable number of files being generated.)

The above information is all that is required for defining the dimensioning data that goes in the
first section of an ECLIPSE data file, referred to as the RUNSPEC section. The form in which this
data should be entered is shown in Figure 4. The following keywords are used:

RUNSPEC Section header

DIMENS Number of cells in X, Y and Z directions

OIL Calculate oil flows

WATER Calculate water flows

FIELD Use field units throughout (i.e. feet, psi, lb, bbl, etc.)

WELLDIMS Number of wells, connections per well, groups, wells per group

UNIFOUT Unified output file

START Start date of simulation (1st day of production)

Every time an unfamiliar keyword is encountered, it is well worth looking it up in the online
manual, and this is probably as good a point to start as any! Particular attention should be paid
to units. For example, when using field units gas rates are entered in MSCF/day. Entering a
value in SCF/day would be allowed by the simulator, but would lead to completely wrong
results.

Grid and Rock Properties

Having identified the number of grid cells in the X, Y and Z directions required to model the
reservoir or part of the reservoir being studied, the following grid properties must be defined:

• Dimensions of each cell

• Depth of each cell (or at least the top layer)

• Cell permeabilities in each direction (x, y, z, or r, θ, z)

• Cell porosities

If a Cartesian grid is being used, as here, then the size of each cell may be specified by
providing data on the length, width and height of each cell. The current grid has 75 cells (5 x 5
x 3), and thus 75 values must be specified for each property.

Each cell in the model is to be 500 ft long, by 500 ft wide, by 50 ft thick. There are three layers,
the top layer being at a depth of 8,000 ft. All three layers are assumed to be continuous in the
vertical direction, so there is no need to specify the depths of the second and third layers - the
simulator can calculate these implicitly from the depth of the top layer and the thickness of the
top and middle layers. The formation has a uniform porosity of 0.25, and the layer
permeabilities in each direction are given below.

This represents the minimum information that is required for defining the grid and rock
properties for the second section of an ECLIPSE data file, referred to as the GRID Section. It is
useful to output a file that allows these values to be viewed graphically by one of the post-
processors. This enables a quick visual check that the grid data has been entered correctly. The
following keywords are used:

GRID Section header

DX Size of cells in the X direction

DY Size of cells in the Y direction

DZ Size of cells in the Z direction

TOPS Depth of cells

PERMX Cell permeabilities in the X direction

PERMY Cell permeabilities in the Y direction

PERMZ Cell permeabilities in the Z direction

PORO Cell porosities

INIT Output grid values to .INIT file

ECLIPSE normally assumes that grid values, such as DY, DZ, PERMX, PORO, etc., are being
entered for the whole grid. If values are only being entered for a subsection of the grid, then
the BOX and ENDBOX keywords may be used to identify this subsection (an example is given
later). If no BOX is defined, or after an ENDBOX

keyword, ECLIPSE assumes that cell values are being defined for the entire grid.

The values of each grid property, such as cell length, DX, are read in a certain order. If the co-
ordinates of each cell are specified by indices (i, j, k), where i is in the X direction, j is in the Y
direction, and k is in the Z direction, then the values are read in with i varying fastest, and k
slowest. The first value that is read in is for cell (1, 1, 1), and the last one is for cell (NX, NY, NZ),
where NX, NY and NZ are the number of cells in the X, Y and Z directions respectively.

Thus, in this (NX=5, NY=5, NZ=3) model, the values of DX (and every other grid value such as
DY, DZ, PERMX, PORO, etc.) will be read in in the order shown in Figure 5.

The length (DX) of each of the 75 cells in Tutorial 1A is the same: 500 ft. Thus the data may be
entered as:

DX

500 500 500 500 500 500 500 500 500 500 500 500 500 500 500 500 500 500 500 500 500 500
500 500 500 500 500 500 500 500 500 500 500 500 500 500 500 500 500 500 500 500 500 500
500 500 500 500 500 500 500 500 500 500 500 500 500 500 500 500 500 500 500 500 500 500
500 500 500 500 500 500 500 500 500 /

Most simulators will allow the definition of multiple cells, each with the same size, to be
lumped together. In ECLIPSE this is done by prefixing the value (cell size) by the number of cells
to be assigned that value, and separating these two numbers by a “*”. Thus, since all 75 cells in
the model have a length of 500 ft, this may be entered as:

DX

75*500 /

Note that the multiplier comes first, then the “*” operator, then the value. There should be no
spaces on either side of the “*”.

This convention may be used for all other grid parameters.

If cell depths are only to be defined for the top layer of cells using the TOPS keyword, then a
box must be used to identify this top layer as the only section of the grid for which depths are
being defined. The box that encompasses the top layer is defined as from 1 to 5 in the X
direction, 1 to 5 in the Y direction, but only 1 in the Z direction. Instead of 75 cells for the
whole model, there are only 25 cells in this section of the model, and thus only 25 values of
TOPS need be defined:

BOX

151511/

TOPS

25*8000 /

ENDBOX

The GRID Section of the Tutorial 1A input data file should be as shown in Figure 6.