RESERVOIR

MODELING
WORFLOW

Eng Mohamed Ameen

Senior Reservoir Engineer (GPC)
AGENDA
1. E&P Upstream Life Cycle
2. Reservoir Modeling Importance
3. Reservoir Modeling workflow
E&P Upstream Life Cycle
E&P Upstream Life Cycle
E&P Upstream Life Cycle
E&P Upstream Life Cycle
Reservoir Modeling Importance
• When You Should Use Reservoir Simulation?
• When the problem cannot be solved any other way (Great capillary
forces or spatial concerned problem).
• When reservoir simulation is more reliable than other methods.
• GENERAL RULE: Problems should be solved using the simplest and least
costly method that will yield an answer consistent with the objectives of your
study and the available data.
Reservoir Modeling Importance
• Applications of Reservoir Simulation:
1. Determine the accurate performance of an oil reservoir under Effect of
natural depletion, water injection or gas injection. capillary
2. Assessment of the effects of early gas or water breakthrough and forces
investigation of how to minimize them.
3. Accurate determination of recoverable reserves
4. Compare flank waterflooding to pattern waterflooding.
5. Determination of the number of wells needed
Effect of
6. Determination of the best well pattern
spatial
7. Determine the effects of well location, spacing and producing rate
on recovery. parameters
8. Estimate lease-line drainage in heterogeneous oil or gas fields.
 Reservoir Modeling workflow
• Reservoir models has two main steps: Facies
1. Static modelling ( depositional model)

2. Dynamic modelling

Structural model
PVT
(Maps”surfaces/Faults)
SCAL
Well design
Production

Property model
(K & phi & N/G…etc)
 Reservoir Static Modeling workflow
Data preparation
and interpretation

Structural modeling
Upscaling &
Post-prosess

Facies
modelling Property
uncertainty analysis Modeling
& OOIP Calculation

Petrophysical
modelling
Reservoir Static Modeling workflow
• Data preparation and interpretation Examples:
Well Logs Seismic Facies Well Rock
Interpretation Interpretation Identification Correlation Typing
 Reservoir Static Modeling workflow
• Structural modeling: The objective is to identify the buliding of the
reservoir (Top/Base (Horizons), Faults, Layers)

Top skeleton Fault

Mid skeleton
Horizons

Base skeleton

Zones
Layesrs
Reservoir Static Modeling workflow
• Structural modeling Workflow:

Not OK?
Adjust
Fault modeling Pillar Skeleton Layering Key
Gridding Pillars,
adjust
Fault
Distance,
or Edit 3D
grid

OK ? Build 3D model
Failed ? Create
Adjust Key Pillars Skeleton Skeleton
OK: Insert
QC Skeleton Seismic
Skeleton Not OK horizons
1. Repeat Pillar
Gridding or
2. Repeat Fault
Modeling
Reservoir Static Modeling workflow
• Data Preparation for Property
Modeling:
1. Well Data
1. Facies log
2. Petrophysical logs, such as porosity and
permeability
2. Conceptual sedimentological model or
knowledge
3. Seismic attributes that can be related to
facies or petrophysics
4. Other constrain data, like trends
Reservoir Static Modeling workflow
• Facies Modeling:
• Capture large scale heterogeneity
• Model facies architecture
• Flow units
• Barriers
• Object based or grid based
• Interactive or stochastic
Reservoir Static Modeling workflow
• Facies Modeling:

Common carbonate facies types Common clastic facies types

Reservoir Static Modeling workflow
• Facies Modeling Techniques:
Interactive,
Deterministic Seismic volume extraction

Facies Fuzzy facies or

Pixel based facies transition
Stochastic SIS, TGSIM

Facies with
Object based defined shapes
Object, Fluvial
Reservoir Static Modeling workflow
• Petrophysical modeling :
• Distribution of petrophysical parameters like,
porosity, Vsh in 3D Model.
• Porosity is normally modeled prior to permeability.
• Porosity calculation is more reliable than permeability
• Porosity is better correlated to seismic attributes
• A facies model can be used as input or a seismic
attribute can be used as a secondary variable
• The same facies model (Better RT) will be used
for permeability modeling
Reservoir Static Modeling workflow
• Petrophysical modeling Techniques :

Deterministic Interpolation with smooth effect

Kriging, Moving average
Petrophysical
Regenerate local variation
Stochastic SGS
Reservoir Static Modeling workflow
• Uncertainty analysis & OOIP Calculation:
• As the distribution of each property in 3D Model is done usually by
stochastic techniques incorporating assumptions so we have some
uncertainity.
• This Uncertainity in properties will lead to Uncertainity in OOIP , Cum
Production, Pressure….etc.
• For Example; if we have a range for porosity from 20 to 25% so we
have uncertainity in OOIP from 100 to 120 MMSTB.
Reservoir Static Modeling workflow
• Uncertainty analysis & OOIP Calculation:
• Dynamic & Static Uncertainities:
• Static uncertainties affect the HIIP:
• Structure tops and contact levels
• Porosity
• Net and gross thickness.
• Dynamic uncertainties affect rate and recovery:
• Permeability
• Residual oil saturation
• Oil and water viscosity
• Fault sealing.
Reservoir Static Modeling workflow
• Uncertainty analysis & OOIP Calculation:
• How is it done??
Reservoir Static Modeling workflow
• Grid Upscaling:

Upscaling

Static Grid Simulation Grid

High no of cells less no of cells
Reservoir Static Modeling workflow
• Grid Upscaling: Let’s ask questions??
Is it A must
Process??
Why
Upscaling
??
 Reservoir Dynamic Modeling workflow
Static Model QC
uncertainty & Optimization
Process (U&O)

Using Traditional RE Tools

to have a conceptual model

Production Prediction &

Field Development Plan (FDP) PVT Modeling Dynamic
Data
Input
History Matching
SCAL Data
Reservoir Dynamic Modeling workflow
• Static Model QC Process: is to quality check the provided model to assure
the following:
1. Structurally or geometrically:
1. Good representing the reservoir model
2. Grids and fault arrangement should be built to prevent any convergence problems.
3. Cells shape and orentation is arranged to prevent any numerical dispersion according to
flow stream lines.
4. Up-scaled has the bulk volume as the finer grid
5. Cells sizes is upscaled properly.
1. Not big to lead to smeared water front advance or hide details between wells
2. Not small to get high number of nodes increasing simulation time.
2. Petro-physical representing the geological conceptual model:
1. Up-scaled grid should have the same petro-physical distribution as the well logs and the
fine grid.
2. Same pore volume as the finer grid
3. Others terms according to every field circumstances.
Reservoir Dynamic Modeling workflow
• Static Model QC : Example: Cell Orientation
Reservoir Dynamic Modeling workflow
• Using Traditional RE Tools to have a conceptual model:
1. Decline curve analysis (Emprical model – Just an equation without any
physical meaning – requires same operating conditions in pseudo state
conditions).
2. Material Balance equation (Mass balance – Doesn’t consider capillary
pressure / reltive permeability / Zero dimension model:no spatial meaning).
3. Well test: (Analytical solution for diffusivity equation – Assume constant
rate and solve for pressure and vice versa – one value for K,Phi,H,Vis,Bo)
4. Numerical reservoir simulation: (3D Numerical solution for diffusivity
equation – Consider all variable fluid and rock properties).
Reservoir Dynamic Modeling workflow
• Simulation Model Types according to PVT:
1. Black Oil Simulators (ECLIPSE (100) Blackoil)
• Oil & Gas phases are represented by one
‘component’
• Assumes composition of gas & oil components are
constant with pressure & time
2. Compositional Simulators (ECLIPSE (300)
Compositional)
• Oil & Gas phases are represented by
multicomponent mixtures
• Assumes the reservoir fluids at all temperatures,
pressures, compositions & time can be represented
by EOS
Reservoir Dynamic Modeling workflow
• Rock physics functions / SCAL : that represent
the physics of the rock and the interaction
between rock and fluids:
1. Relative permeability: determines the
mobility of a particular phase in the presence
of other phase and to identify critical end-
points that determines residual saturation.
2. Capillary pressure: determines the initial
phase distribution and size of the transition
zones.
Reservoir Dynamic Modeling workflow
• History Matching
• An Inverse problem refers to the determination
of the plausible physical properties of the
system, given the observed response of the
system to some stimulus.
• History matching is an example of an inverse
problem as it consists of estimating reservoir
properties to match measured (observed) data
at well locations (BHP, well-head pressures,
production and injection rates, water cut, and
gas-oil ratios).
Reservoir Dynamic Modeling workflow
Reservoir Dynamic Modeling workflow
Reservoir Dynamic Modeling workflow
Case_1: Simulator predicts early arrival of water to producer but
shape of water-cut curves are similar after BT.

Possible adjustments:
- Effective end-point krw
- kh of well to aquifer layer
- Shale or barrier between wells and water
- kv between wells and water
- Numerical dispersion/grid effects
Reservoir Dynamic Modeling workflow
• Common uses for future performance predictions
• Depletion studies
• Secondary studies
• Enhanced oil recovery
• Timing of facilities installation
• Timing of well workovers
• Timing of well conversions
• Infill drilling studies
Reservoir Dynamic Modeling workflow
• Uncertainty & Optimization Process (U&O)
• Sensitivity: When you want to know the parameters that affect some
phenomena like OOIP, water production, reservoir pressure.
• Uncertainty : when you doing a prediction or estimation for OOIP and you
have uncertainties (ranges) in some data like almost all reservoir aspects, so
you need to know the uncertainty (range) in OOIP or expected recoverable
cum oil. You need first to know pinpoint the effective parameters which is
sensitivity analysis.
• Optimization:
• History matching: You want to mimic historical data (Minimize Obj. Fun.) by changing
the effective parameters (sensitivity analysis).
• Prediction: You want to maximize production or NPV (Maximize Obj. Fun.) by changing
the effective parameters like water injection rate (Sensitivity analysis).
Sensitivity Study
• Sensitivity Study
• Which parameter affect Cum Oil Prod Most?
• in this case the $HEIGHT variable is most
sensitive, and the $InjBHP is least sensitive. This
plot could be used to screen which variables to
use in an optimization run. In the example,
$InjBHP will not significantly affect the
objective function of total oil production.
Reservoir Dynamic Modeling workflow
• Uncertainty Study:
• The objective of uncertainty analysis is to identify the
effect of parameter variations on different model
responses ranges.
• Example_1: If we have a range of porosity from 18 to
25% and the uncertainty in OWC from 2000 to 2100
what is the range of resulted OOIP or Cum Oil
Production?
• Example_2: It is likely that the:
• reservoir properties
• relative permability curve
• skin
• drilling error
What is the uncertainty for the well rate?
Reservoir Dynamic Modeling workflow

• Optimization task:

• Which Qinj & FPR will

achieve Highest Cum
Oil?
 Thanks !!!!!

Any Questions???