Results in Engineering 16 (2022) 100722

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Results in Engineering
journal homepage: www.sciencedirect.com/journal/results-in-engineering

Optimization of multilateral well trajectories using pattern search and

genetic algorithms
Shahram Ghadami a, Hassan Biglarian b, *, Hossein Beyrami c, Mohsen Salimi d
a
School of Mechanical Engineering, Sharif University of Technology, Tehran, Iran
b
Energy Research Division, Research Institute of Petroleum Industry (RIPI), Tehran, Iran
c
Upstream and Exploration Research Division, Research Institute of Petroleum Industry (RIPI), Tehran, Iran
d
Renewable Energy Research Department, Niroo Research Institute (NRI), Tehran, Iran

A R T I C L E I N F O A B S T R A C T

Keywords: Multilateral well is a promising technology in developing oil reservoirs. Because this technology may increase the
Multilateral wells production rate per well and reduce the costs of field development, it is rapidly replacing the old methods. This
Line-source model study uses a three-dimensional line-source model with direct search methods, including pattern search and
Unconventional wells optimization
genetic algorithms to optimize the well trajectories. This method was applied to several cases, with different
Genetic algorithm
Pattern search algorithm
forms of wells and reservoirs. In all cases, significant improvement was observed in the production rate.
Furthermore, the production enhancement using the optimized well trajectories which have curved-paths is
compared to the case with linear well trajectories. It was shown that at least a 6% production increase is possible
for the curved trajectory well with respect to the well with the constant slope lines. Besides, it was illustrated that
the oil production is boosted solely by altering the slope of the well or its laterals along the well path.

1. Introduction highest amount of profit. Forouzanfar et al. [12] introduced a method­

Drilling the wellbores is one of the costliest items in developing oil
and gas reservoirs. It will be a significant help for oil and gas companies
around the world to minimize drilling costs. One of the main factors of
the drilling costs is the wellbore’s length. Therefore, wellbore lengths’
optimization regarding the constraints improves the drilling economics.
Successful studies in this field have been performed for Paleogene
Kongdian Formation (East China) [1], Sulige gas field (North West
China) [2], Upper Ordovician Wufeng formation (East China) [3],
Xujiaweizi area (Northeast China) [4], and Upper Permian Changxing
(Sichuan province, China) [5,6].
Oil wells and reservoirs have been studied extensively [7–9]. Many
studies have been conducted to optimize the monobore wells. Seifert
et al. [10] offered a method of finding the optimal location of horizontal
or deviated wells; in this way, to have the highest production, the most
optimal well path inside the reservoir will have to be found. Further­
more, Yeten et al. [11] considered optimizing multilateral wells using a
genetic algorithm in reservoirs with heterogeneous permeability. In this
way, they assumed that the well and its laterals are straight and do not
have any curvature. Using this assumption, the number and length of
laterals and the well trajectories were determined to be the case with the
ology for estimating the location of horizontal and vertical wells. Based
on a continuous variable, optimal well placement for wells was found.
Wu et al. [13] considered a three-dimensional trajectory design problem
for a horizontal well. A penalty function method and a smoothing
technique were introduced for problem-solving. Mansouri et al. [14]
proposed an optimization model for 3-D well path designing that offers
the shortest wellbore length. Different parameters of the Genetic Algo­
rithm were assessed, and adaptive parameters were used for MOGA
coding. Moradi [15] used an approach to study fracture height and
escalation of stress in horizontal wells to better test and improve the
hydraulic fracturing of unconventional reservoirs.
Liu et al. [16,17] performed layout optimization for the subsea field.
For the first time, the Dubins curve method was used to design well
trajectory. In this study, the gradient descent method was used to find
the best location for the drilling site and to utilize the 3D Dubins curve
for optimal well trajectory. This optimization will be used to minimize
the cost of well development. Lyu et al. [18] used a new approach for
optimizing well trajectory using fast-marching method. The well path
optimization maximizes the productivity and reduces drilling length.
This method is used for the optimization of the well trajectory drilled in
the heterogeneous oil/gas reservoirs. In another study [19], Kasravi

* Corresponding author.
E-mail address: biglarianh@ripi.ir (H. Biglarian).

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rineng.2022.100722
Received 16 July 2022; Received in revised form 18 October 2022; Accepted 21 October 2022
Available online 22 October 2022
2590-1230/© 2022 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
S. Ghadami et al.
et al. used a population-feedback control algorithm for optimization of
the well trajectory. An artificial neural network was utilized to decrease
computation costs to estimate the actual wellbore behavior. In another
study [20], an evolution strategy algorithm was used to optimize well
trajectory. The performance of evolution strategy algorithm method was
compared with Particle Swarm Optimization and Genetic Algorithms.
The results showed that evolution strategy algorithm method delivers
promising results.
Lyu et al. [21] worked on the multilateral well optimization in shale
oil/gas wells. Benchmark tests were used to verify the presented
method. The method was used for optimization and comparison of
different well configurations. Atashnezhad et al. [22] optimized devi­
ated wellbore trajectories based on Particle Swarm Algorithms. The
methods have fast convergence and better final points, making them
promising tools for economically-effective trajectories. Almedallah et al.
[23] optimized a well-path by a vector-based 3D method. The
vector-based method satisfies the geological constraints by building a
geological model and extracting key points’ borehole logs along the well
path. The method can be used for the path planning of a single well. In
another study, Almedallah et al. [24] presented a numerical model to
integrate well paths’ optimization and surface facilities to determine the
number, size, and location of offshore platforms and optimize pipeline
routes and well paths. The model is proper for shallow water gas and oil
fields’ development. Redouane et al. [25] applied adaptive surrogate
modeling, sampling design, and genetic algorithm to optimize well
placement. Results were acceptable for a fractured unconventional
reservoir.
Several studies performed optimization of multilateral well trajec­
tories using the machine learning method. Kristoffersen et al. [26] used
a machine learning method to decrease the parameterization of the well
path for well trajectories design. This method helps to reduce the de­
grees of freedom. The results showed that the presented methodology
improved convergence and optimized well configuration. Wang et al.
[27] utilized machine learning to forecast child wells’ productivity.
Different strategies were applied to omit redundant variables. The re­
sults were verified with actual observation data. Gan et al. [28] used
machine learning methods (scattered interpolant, Kriging, support
vector regression, and random forest) to plan drilling trajectories. Re­
sults demonstrated that random forest has the best accuracy in its
prediction.
In the works that have been done to optimize the trajectory of a
multilateral well, it is assumed that the mainbore and laterals of the well
were determined by the equation of a straight line. In this study, using
the equation obtained by the line-source method, a model is used to
optimize in which the mainbore of the well and its laterals can have a
curved path. In the following the necessity of using algorithms based on
statistical methods will be discussed, and an explanation of direct search
methods including methods of pattern search and genetic algorithms is
given.
2. Description of the equations and optimization method
There are three models for the simulation of a well and reservoir:
closed, semi-analytical, and numerical. Due to the form of the equation
of states, the first model is very specific and does not apply to multi­
lateral wells and, therefore, cannot be used. Numerical methods have
the advantage that they are capable of great flexibility and can simulate
wells and reservoirs with different shapes and complexity. However,
these methods have a big problem. First, we need to have more infor­
mation about the well and reservoir, such as the permeability distribu­
tion throughout the reservoir. This information is often not available at
the beginning time to work of the well, and due to this fact, the obtained
results may not have enough accuracy.
On the other hand, the programs written with numerical methods
compared to semi-analytical methods are very time-consuming. For
example, this is true if we use optimization algorithms such as a genetic
2
Results in Engineering 16 (2022) 100722
algorithm requiring much calculation. This study uses the line-source
model [29,30] for well and reservoir modeling. However, this has the
limitation that the reservoir should be considered homogeneous, but its
execution speed is much faster than entirely numerical methods.
Unconventional wells where the well trajectories and the number of
laterals are different have great potential to increase production. But the
complexity and diversity of these types of wells make it challenging to
make an optimum selection. Location selection and trajectory optimi­
zation for unconventional wells are complicated. It is much more diffi­
cult than other well optimization problems (such as vertical, deviated,
etc. wells) since various wells must be considered. This leads to the
number of variables being very high, and a vast range of answers.
Optimization aims to find the maximum or minimum value of an
objective function. If the objective function does not have a smooth
surface or the search space is large, any optimization method to ensure
optimum does not find the target. Most optimization methods use the
objective functions’ derivatives or gradients to search. However, the
optimal performance of these algorithms reduces when the magnitude of
the problem increases and the solution depends on the initial guess
vector. Specifically, for large issues, such methods are leading to a
convergence in the local optimum.
The objective function in this case can be a benefit of the plan or the
maximum oil production. These functions have more dimensions and
have generally non-flat surfaces. Gradient-based optimization methods
are not suitable for this kind of problem and in such cases, it is better to
use direct search methods that in order not to be caught in the local
optimum the statistical methods are used in them. Unlike traditional
optimization methods that the data of slope and higher-order derivatives
are used to find the optimum point; the direct search method, a series of
points around the current point of search, be evaluated that the value of
the objective function is maximized (or minimized). This method can be
used to solve problems where the objective function does not have a
continuous derivative.
In this study, both methods, pattern search, and genetic algorithm
have been used in the optimization, which will be discussed briefly in
the following.
2.1. Descriptive equations
To optimize the objective function, the total oil production is defined
from the beginning of production until the stable production state
(Fig. 1). In other words, we have
∑
N ∑
M
Total production = q(i, j) + qmain bore (1)
j=1 i=1
As shown in Fig. 1, in the above equation, i represents the number of
Fig. 1. Numbering of laterals and part of a multilateral well.
S. Ghadami et al. Results in Engineering 16 (2022) 100722

lateral and j represents the number of lateral parts, so M represents the laterals, and the slope of parts of the mainbore and laterals.
number of lateral and N the number of parts of each of the lateral (each
lateral is divided into N part).
2.2. Optimization algorithms
To optimize, each lateral or mainbore is divided into several equal
parts, and in every part, it is assumed that the characteristics such as
Genetic Algorithm (GA) and Pattern Search are the two methods
pressure and fluid velocity are uniform. Having well geometry, the
used for optimization. The function presented in equation (1) is used as
calculation process is described in the following way. To find the orig­
the objective function. Because only the minimum point of the functions
inal location of laterals and the length of each lateral, we proceed as
in these two methods is given as output, the objective function value
follows.
should be multiplied by − 1 to the maximum amount searched. The
It is assumed that the total length of the well is fixed (length of the
evaluated variables include the branching point of the laterals on the
mainbore and other laterals), to obtain the length of each lateral (for a
mainbore, the length of the laterals, and the slopes.
well with I lateral), equation (2) is used:
To find the location of the branching point, as mentioned in the
Lmain bore = m(1) Ltotal section of governing equations, we multiply parameter m, which has a
Llateral (1) = m(2) (Ltotal − Lmain bore ) value between zero and one, to the length of the mainbore to obtain the
Llateral (2) = m(3) (Ltotal − Lmain bore − Llateral (1))
(2) branching point. As bounds of this variable, 1 and 0 are upper and lower
... bounds, respectively. Equation (2) is used to find the length of the
Llateral (i − 1) = m(i) (Ltotal − Lmain bore − Llateral (1) − ... − Llateral (i − 1))
mainbore and laterals, and the upper and lower bounds of these vari­
Llateral (i) = Ltotal − Lmain bore − Llateral (1) − ... − Llateral (i − 1)
ables are selected 1 and 0 again. The slope of the lines is limited so that
the angle between the laterals and the mainbore in the connection point
where Ltotal is the total length of the well (total length of the mainbore
has a value between 20 and 80◦ .
plus laterals) and assumed to be fixed and Lmain bore is the length of the
Another limitation must be met: all the wells should be placed inside
mainbore and Llateral (i) is the length of lateral i. Variable m(i) denotes the
the reservoir. For this purpose, using the non-linear function limitation,
length of each lateral where 0 < m < 1. The optimal value of m(i) is
we determine with the values assigned to the objective function are well
obtained using optimization algorithms. To get the branching point of
placed in the reservoir or not. If the whole well is not placed inside the
each lateral after obtaining the length of the mainbore and laterals,
reservoir, the algorithm will choose different values for the parameters.
using equation (3), the length of the part of the mainbore from which the
To compare the performance of the two algorithms, an equal number of
lateral i is split will be achieved:
iterations for both algorithms is considered.
Llateral (i) = n(i)Lmain bore (3)
3. The code verification
where the parameter n(i) has a value between zero and one, and its
optimal value is achieved using optimization algorithms. Because it is Verifying the line-source model and comparing the results with
assumed that the mainbore of the well, as well as its laterals, has similar models in the literature verifies that the written program is
different slopes, finding the branching location on the mainbore be­ correct. This section considers some cases to verify the model used in the
comes a little complicated and is described in the following: optimization.
When the starting point of the well is placed on the axis portion with
• Since the mainbore of the well is divided into several parts, at first, more length than the other dimensions, the best way to have maximum
we find that part: production is the straight line that passes through the axis of symmetry.
⎢ ⎥
⎢ ⎥ To investigate this case, the well is divided into several equal parts (in
⎢L ⎥
(i)
⎢ branch ⎥
Division number = ⎣ Lmain bore ⎦ (4) this case 5 parts), and starting point coordinates of the well on the axis of
n symmetry are (3000, 1000, 25) ft, and the length of the well is assumed
to be 7000 ft (Well and reservoir properties are given in Table 1). Using
genetic and pattern search algorithms, the wells’ slopes were optimized,
where n represents the number of parts on the mainbore branch and
and each case is mentioned in the following.
Division number is part of the well in which the branching point is placed.

• Pattern search algorithm

• Using geometric similarity, the exact location of the branching point
can be found:
As shown in Fig. 2, obtained slopes by this algorithm are:
Lbranch (i)
cc =
Lmain bore Table 1
n Properties of the well and the reservoir.
xbranch (i) = x0 + cc (x1 − x0 ) (5)
Properties Data
ybranch (i) = y0 + cc (y1 − y0 ) Length of the reservoir (ft) 12000
Width of the reservoir (ft) 6000
zbranch (i) = z0 + cc (z1 − z0 )
The thickness of the reservoir (ft) 50
The initial pressure of the reservoir (psi) 4000
Wherein the above x0 and x1 indicate the beginning and end of each part Formation Volume Factor (RB/STB) 1.05
of the mainbore, respectively, and the same process is used for the Length of well (ft) 6000
components y and z. Well diameter (ft) 0.25
Oil viscosity (cp) 1
Then in the summary optimization process is as follows: Assuming
Well location in the x direction (ft) 3000
that the reservoir is homogeneous (so line-source equation can be used) Well location in the z-direction (ft) 25
and the difference between the outlet pressure and initial reservoir (ft) Soe location in the y-direction 3000
pressure is part of the information, some parameters are assumed to be Well-toe location in the y-direction (ft) 9000
unknown, and optimization algorithms are used to find the optimal Oil density in the reservoir (lb/ft3) 49
Compressibility (psi− 1) 3 e− 5
value of these parameters. The parameters were optimized according to
Permeability in all directions (md) 6000
the number of laterals, the branching point of laterals, the length of Relative roughness of well 0.0005

3
S. Ghadami et al. Results in Engineering 16 (2022) 100722

Fig. 4. Changes in the objective function in the pattern search algorithm.

Fig. 2. The optimum slopes of wells.

m = [0.006219; − 0.025; 0.00625; − 0.02488]

That is close to zero. Changes in the grid size are shown in Fig. 3, and the
convergence criteria are grid size is smaller than 1e− 6. In Fig. 4, changes
in the objective function versus iterations are shown.

• Genetic algorithm

With the previous data, this time genetic algorithm is used to opti­
mize the well path, and as is shown in Fig. 5, the values obtained for the
slopes of the well parts, like the previous case, have values close to zero.
Fig. 6 shows the gap among the populations in every generation. It
vanishes as the algorithm converges. Also, in Fig. 7, changes in the value
of the function and the average value of the objective function are given
in each generation.
Fig. 5. The optimum slopes obtained using the genetic algorithm.
Hence, as was demonstrated in the above example, when the starting
point of the well is on the symmetry axis, the best path for the well is a
straight line that passes through the axis symmetry. But if the starting
point of the well is elsewhere, a straight line is not necessarily the best
possible case, and in the following, this case is considered.

4. Results

4.1. Horizontal well with constant and variable slope

In this case, production enhancement in a horizontal well on the y-z

plane in two cases having a constant well slope and dividing the well
into equal parts with different slopes are compared. Using two optimi­
zation algorithms, the optimum case is calculated, and production

Fig. 6. The distance between the populations in each generation.

Fig. 3. The changes in grid size in the pattern search algorithm.
values are compared. In this example, it is assumed that the wells in both
cases have equal length and starting point of the wells in both cases are
the same, which was placed on a point in the corner of the reservoir. The
height of the well does not change during its path, and the well is placed
at the center of the reservoir. A reason for this is the reduction of
problem variables and computational time.
Length 10000 ft is assumed to be constant, and coordinates of the
well’s starting point are assumed to be constant and equal (25, 25, 25) ft.

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S. Ghadami et al. Results in Engineering 16 (2022) 100722

Fig. 7. Changes in the optimum and the average value of the function in
Fig. 9. Changes in grid size versus the number of iterations of the pattern
every generation.
search algorithm.

The slope of the well is variable, and the well is divided into five equal
parts, and optimal slopes for each part are calculated. In the solution of
equations, all losses caused by friction are ignored, and production has
increased up to 6.6% in the case of variable slopes versus constant
slopes. This production enhancement shows that the design of this form
of wells can be economically feasible.

• Pattern search algorithm

Using this algorithm, the optimal path of the well has been obtained
for the case that the slope varies along the well and once again for the
case that the slope is constant. In Fig. 8, the slope values of each part are
given, and changes in grid size and objective function values for the case
with constant slope are presented in Figs. 9 and 10, respectively.
Fig. 10. Changes in the objective function versus the number of iterations of
the pattern search algorithm.
• Genetic algorithm

Stages done by pattern search algorithm are repeated, this time using
a genetic algorithm. Optimum slopes obtained by this algorithm are
shown in Fig. 11, and obtained values are close to the previous values. In
Fig. 12, changes in optimal and average values of the objective function
in each generation are given. In the end, in Fig. 13, distances among the
population of each generation are shown, and its value vanishes when
the algorithm converges.

• Comparison of the algorithms

Fig. 11. Obtained optimal values for the slope of each part of the well using the
genetic algorithm.

As shown in Fig. 14, the results of both algorithms with the same
number of iterations are similar. Tables 2 and 3 show a comparison of
the production optimization with the assumption of variable slope along
the path of the well using pattern search and genetic algorithms,
respectively. As is shown in the tables, regardless of the losses, more
than 6% improvement and with respect to losses, more than 3.5%
enhancement in production is possible. Therefore, to optimize the slope
of the well, using this method in which slopes are assumed to be variable
may be economically feasible.
Fig. 8. The optimum values for the slope of each part of the well using the
pattern search algorithm.

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S. Ghadami et al. Results in Engineering 16 (2022) 100722

Table 2
Comparison of the well production in cases with constant and variable slopes
and considering or regardless of the pressure loss inside the well (using the
pattern search algorithm).
Well type Well production Well production enhancement
(STB/Day) percent in case of variable
slope

Constant slope (without 99194.9 6.04%

losses)
Variable slope (with five 105189.4
variable slopes and without
losses)
Constant slope (considering 62121 3.67%
losses)
Fig. 12. Changes in optimum and average values of the objective function in Variable slope (with five 64399
each generation. variable slopes and
considering losses)

Table 3
Comparison of the well production in cases with constant and variable slope and
considering or regardless of the pressure loss inside the well (using the genetic
algorithm).
Well type Well production Well production enhancement
(STB/Day) percent in case of variable
slope

Constant slope (without 98853.7 6.05%

losses)
Variable slope (with five 104832.3
variable slopes and without
losses)
Constant slope (considering 61157 3.96%
losses)
Variable slope (with five 63573
variable slopes and
considering losses)

Fig. 13. The average distance among population versus generation.

100, 25) ft. When the slope of the well is constant, and the well is divided
into three equal parts, the optimum slope of each part is obtained. The
work process is the same as the previous one, i.e., using the two algo­
rithms, optimization is done, and obtained optimal answers are
compared to each other.

• Pattern search algorithm

Using this algorithm, the optimal path is obtained for the case that

Fig. 14. Optimized well paths in both constant and variable slope cases with
constant length of the well assumption using pattern search and ge­
netic algorithms.

4.2. Well with a lateral having constant and variable slope

In this case, it is assumed that the well’s lateral and total length is
constant. First, the length of the mainbore and then the location of lat­
erals are selected using genetic or pattern search algorithms for the
optimal case. The problem in both cases, for the case where the slope of
the mainbore is constant and the case with the variable slope of the
mainbore, is solved.
The total length of the well is 16000 ft, and the coordinates of the
Fig. 15. The optimum values for the slope of each part of the well are obtained
starting point of the well are assumed to be constant and equal (3000,
using the pattern search algorithm.

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S. Ghadami et al. Results in Engineering 16 (2022) 100722

the slope of the well along the path changes and once again for the case
that the slope of the well is constant. In Fig. 15, optimized values are
given, and changes in grid size and objective function for the case of the
variable slope are given in Figs. 16 and 17, respectively.

• Genetic algorithm

Stages done in pattern search algorithms are repeated with a genetic

algorithm. The optimum slopes obtained using this algorithm are given
in Fig. 18. Changes in optimum value and the average value of the
objective function in each generation are presented in Fig. 19. The dis­
tances among the population of each generation are shown in Fig. 20,
and its value vanishes when the algorithm converges.
Fig. 17. Changes in objective function values versus the number of iterations in
• Comparison of the algorithms the pattern search algorithm.

As shown in Fig. 21, both algorithms, assuming the same iteration

numbers, have approximately the same answers. Comparison of the
production optimization with the variable well slope assumption along
the path using pattern search and genetic algorithms are given in Ta­
bles 4 and 5, respectively. As is shown in the Tables, regardless of losses
of more than 6% and considering losses of more than 4%, enhancements
in the production are possible.

4.3. Three-dimensional well with two laterals and constant or variable

slope

In this case, it is assumed that the wells, in addition to the x and y

axes, can also move along the z-axis. It is also assumed that the well has
two laterals, and the overall length of the well is constant. At first, the
length of the mainbore and then the location of laterals are selected
using genetic or pattern search algorithms for the optimal case. This
problem has been resolved in both cases; the slope of the mainbore is
constant, and in the case that this slope is variable.
The overall length of the well is 18000 ft, and the coordinates of the
starting point of the well are constant and equal (100, 6000, 5900) ft. In
Fig. 18. The obtained optimum values for each part of the well slope using the
the case of the variable well slope, the well is divided into 6 equal parts,
genetic algorithm.
and the optimum slope is obtained for each part. The work process is the
same as the previous cases, i.e., the optimization is done using two
different algorithms, and obtained results are compared to each other.

• Pattern search algorithm

An optimal path is obtained using this algorithm for the cases the
well slope is variable or constant along the well path. Changes in the grid
size and objective function values are shown in Figs. 22 and 23,
respectively.

• Genetic algorithm

Fig. 19. Changes in the optimum and average value of the objective function
versus each generation.

Stages done for the pattern search algorithm are repeated for the
genetic algorithm. Obtained results are similar and in the following
section are considered.

• Comparison of the algorithms

As shown in Figs. 24 and 25, both algorithms have approximately the

Fig. 16. Changes in grid size versus the number of iterations in the pattern same results with an equal number of iterations. In Tables 6 and 7,
search algorithm. production optimizations with constant and variable slope assumptions

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S. Ghadami et al. Results in Engineering 16 (2022) 100722

Table 5
Comparison of the well productions in constant and variable slope cases with
considering or regardless of the pressure losses inside the well (using the genetic
algorithm).
Well type Well production Well production enhancement
(STB/Day) percent in case of variable
slope

Constant slope (without 244830.3 6.25%

losses)
Variable slope (with five 260135.8
variable slopes and without
losses)
Constant slope (considering 148342 4.31%
losses)
Variable slope (with five 154733
variable slopes and
considering losses)

Fig. 20. The average distance among the population versus generation.

Fig. 22. Changes in grid size versus the number of iterations of the pattern
search algorithm.
Fig. 21. Optimized well paths in constant and variable slope cases assuming a
constant total length of the well using pattern search and genetic algorithms.

Table 4
Comparison of the well productions in constant and variable slope cases with
considering or regardless of the pressure losses inside the well (using the pattern
search algorithm).
Well type Well production Well production enhancement
(STB/Day) percent in case of variable
slope

Constant slope (without 244920.5 7.04%

losses)
Variable slope (with five 263001.3
variable slopes and without
losses)
Constant slope (considering 146952 4.66%
losses)
Variable slope (with five 153800.8 Fig. 23. Changes in the objective function value versus the number of itera­
variable slopes and tions of the pattern search algorithm.
considering losses)
on the well production performance in an optimal way and find the
optimal case among the uncountable cases. This method was used in a
are done using pattern search and genetic algorithms. As seen in the
number of cases, including different forms of wells and reservoirs. In all
Tables, regardless of the losses of more than 6% enhancement and
cases, significant improvement was observed in production.
considering the losses of more than 3.8%, production enhancement is
A major advantage of this method over previous methods is that only
possible.
with the changes in the slope of the well or its laterals along the well
path we were able to increase the oil production. This work was done by
5. Conclusions
assuming that the overall well length and its laterals be constant and by
assuming the length of each lateral, the number of laterals, and the
This study offered a method for optimizing the wells’ type, location,
branching point of the laterals to be unknown. In addition, it was
and path. This method involves using line-source equations for the
assumed that the slopes of the different parts of the well were variable.
three-dimensional case and pattern search and genetic algorithms to
So keeping costs relatively constant, we can use this method to increase
find the best value of the objective function (peak production). Using
production and profits.
this method, it is possible to consider the effectiveness of the parameters
The aim of this study was to provide a method to increase production

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S. Ghadami et al. Results in Engineering 16 (2022) 100722

Table 6
Comparison of the well productions in constant and variable slope cases with
considering or regardless of the pressure losses inside the well (using the pattern
search algorithm).
Well type Well production Well production enhancement
(STB/Day) percent in case of variable
slope

Constant slope (without 3.90*106 6.15%

losses)
6
Variable slope (with five 4.14*10
variable slopes and without
losses)
Constant slope (considering 2.34*106 3.84%
losses)
6
Variable slope (with five 10 *2.41
variable slopes and
considering losses)

Table 7
Comparison of the well productions in constant and variable slope cases with
considering or regardless of the pressure losses inside the well (using the genetic
algorithm).
Well type Well production Well production enhancement
Fig. 24. Optimized well paths in both cases of constant and variable slopes (STB/Day) percent in case of variable
with the assumption of the constant overall length of the well using the pattern slope
search algorithm. Constant slope (without 3.89*106 6.17%
losses)
Variable slope (with five 4.13*106
variable slopes and without
losses)
Constant slope (considering 3.33*106 3.81%
losses)
Variable slope (with five 2.41*106
variable slopes and
considering losses)

interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence

the work reported in this paper.

Data availability

The authors do not have permission to share data.

References

Fig. 25. Optimized well paths in both cases of constant and variable slopes
with the assumption of the constant overall length of the well using the ge­
netic algorithm.
by finding optimal paths that did not necessarily coincide with the lines
with constant slopes.
Author contributions
Shahram Ghadami: Conceptualization, Methodology, Software, Su­
pervision. Hassan Biglarian: Investigation, Visualization, Writing – re­
view & editing. Hossein Beyrami: Formal analysis, Visualization,
Writing – original draft. Mohsen Salimi: Investigation, Writing – original
draft, Writing – review & editing.
[10] D. Seifert, J.J.M. Lewis, C.Y. Hern, N.C.T. Steel, Well placement optimisation and
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