What’s new in

Petrel RE 2021
Prepared by:
Ramin Bahiraie
Petrel RE 2021 new features
Advanced well completion
optimization

Workover candidates

Surfactant
Petrel RE 2021 new features

Advanced well completion optimization

Workover candidates

Surfactant
Petrel RE 2021 – Advanced well completion optimization
Advanced well completion
optimization

The Advanced completion optimization (ACO) workflow is a reservoir-centric approach for rapidly optimizing wells with configurable
downhole control valves and is available on Petrel 2021. The workflow is based on an INTERSECT reservoir simulation model. This
functionality is available in Field development group of Well engineering domain, under Reservoir and Production perspective.

You can use the ACO workflow for a single well or for multiple wells using a full field model.
• Flow control devises essentially impose a pressure drop between the sand face and
tubing in order to control the well.
• Petrel can model a range of different types of Inflow Control Devices (ICDs) and Flow
Control Valves (FCV) corresponding to the types of flow control devices that the
simulators can simulate.
• In order to simulate flow control devices, you must use a multi-segmented (MSW)
flow model.
• Petrel also allows you to model this pressure drop by the use of a hydraulic (VFP)
table rather than the built-in simulator equations if you prefer. Tables of pressure drop
against flow rate for specific phases can be obtained from the device
manufacturers and converted into hydraulics tables.
Petrel RE 2021 – Advanced well completion optimization
Advanced well completion
optimization workflow

Define downhole control valves for the wells you want to optimize (if not already defined) by
using the completion design tools in Petrel.

Define the well segmentation set (if not defined) in the Define well Segmentation dialog
box. To simulate downhole flow control valves, you must use a multi-segmented flow model.

Add the wells you want to optimize to the Advanced completions optimization dialog box
and define the device control parameters. You can edit the parameters previously defined in
completion design for the downhole devices, and set some additional device characteristics.

Define the optimization settings in the Advanced completions optimization box. Choose the
optimization approach that best suits your reservoir management objectives from options
available.
Set up a production strategy with the required constraints in the Field management dialog
box. You can also apply some constraints in the Advanced completions optimization dialog
box, at both the well and device levels.
Set up the INTERSECT optimization case in the Define simulation case dialog box.
Run the simulation case and visualize the results.
Petrel RE 2021 – Advanced well completion optimization
Advanced well completion Proactive Reactive Hybrid
optimization options optimization optimization optimization
Proactive optimization:
Before water or gas breakthrough. The objective of
downhole optimization before water or gas
breakthrough is to ensure that each well zone
contributes to hydrocarbon production. Proactive
optimization includes two options: Fixed Strategy and
Streamline.

Fixed Strategy
In a fixed strategy, ACO
Flow balancing
operates flow control valves
(FCV) to balance zonal flow
rates or zonal pressure KH weighted
draw-down subject to flow balancing
device constraints. There
are three types of fixed
strategy: Drawdown
balancing
Petrel RE 2021 – Advanced well completion optimization
Advanced well completion Proactive Reactive Hybrid
optimization options optimization optimization optimization

Fixed Strategy

Flow balancing
In this method, the well flow rate target is shared equally
between the zones. The zonal flow rate target QFCVi is If the target of a well is to produce 1000
calculated as: bbl/day with five FCVs defined, ACO
𝑄 operates each FCV to achieve a zonal
𝑄𝐹𝐶 𝑉𝑖 =
𝑛 flow rate of 200 bbl/day.
Where:
𝑄: well flow rate target
𝑛: number of zones
Petrel RE 2021 – Advanced well completion optimization
Advanced well completion Proactive Reactive Hybrid
optimization options optimization optimization optimization

Fixed Strategy

KH weighted flow balancing

This method is an extension of the Flow balancing method. The zonal drawdown pressure is
A permeability*perforation length quantity is calculated for calculated as the difference between
each device and then used to calculate the target zonal the FCV inlet pressure and the average
production rates as follows: pressure for all simulation cell
𝑘ℎ𝐹𝐶 𝑉𝑖 connections upstream of the FCV. This
𝑄𝐹𝐶 𝑉𝑖 = 𝑛 𝑄
σ1 𝑘ℎ𝐹𝐶𝑉𝑖 balancing method controls the setting
Where: of the FCVs in a way that minimizes the
𝑄𝐹𝐶𝑉𝑖 :zonal flow rate target
𝑄: target flow rate for the completion zones
deviation from an average pressure
𝑘ℎ𝐹𝐶𝑉𝑖 :permeability*perforation length for 𝐹𝐶𝑉𝑖 drawdown.
𝑛: number of completion zones
Petrel RE 2021 – Advanced well completion optimization
Advanced well completion Proactive Reactive Hybrid
optimization options optimization optimization optimization

Fixed Strategy

Streamline This objective is achieved by assigning

This method is based on streamlines generated at
run time by INTERSECT. The streamlines are The objective of
bundled depending on the receiving FCV. Then, streamline optimization
each bundle is analyzed using streamline properties method is to equalize
to determine the arrival time, which depends on the arrival time in all
the reservoir properties and flow rates: zones, so that:
𝜏1 = 𝜏2 = ⋯ = 𝜏𝑛
𝑉𝑝 𝑆 = න 𝜏 𝑆 𝑄 𝑆 𝑑𝑠
Where:
𝑛: total number of FCVs
considered for
Where: optimization
𝑄: flow rate
𝑉𝑝: displacement pore volume
𝜏: time of flight of a particle through streamline bundle
flow rate targets as constraints for
each FCV. Streamline is a superior
proactive optimization method
compared to fixed strategies because
it takes into consideration the distance
between the FCVs and the fluid
sources such as injection wells and
aquifers. There are some limitations in
the current implementation:
• The streamline method cannot be followed
by a reactive optimization phase (in other
words, hybrid optimization cannot be
used).
• The streamline method is not supported
for gas well optimization.
Petrel RE 2021 – Advanced well completion optimization
Advanced well completion Proactive Reactive Hybrid
optimization options optimization optimization optimization

Reactive optimization:
After water or gas breakthrough. The objective is to
minimize the production of undesirable phases (water
and gas) and maximize production of the preferred
phase (oil or gas). In ACO, you can do this using the
Fiscal or Rate penalty methods.

Rate penalty method

Facial method
uses a phase minimization
uses price and cost as
objective that penalizes well
coefficients to calculate a
zones that produce
fiscal objective
unwanted fluids
Petrel RE 2021 – Advanced well completion optimization
Advanced well completion Proactive Reactive Hybrid
optimization options optimization optimization optimization

Facial method

The objective is to maximize the instantaneous revenue

from a well by optimizing its device settings. The revenue is
calculated as:
𝑛 For gas well optimization, the gas cost
𝑓 𝑥 = ෍ 𝛼𝑖 (𝑃𝑂𝑖 − 𝐶 𝑔 𝐺𝑖 − 𝐶 𝑤 𝑊𝑖 ) is replaced by the gas price with a
𝑖=1 positive contribution to the fiscal term.
Where: You can enter the weighting factor for
𝑃: oil price
𝐶 𝑔: cost of gas processing each device using the device control
𝑂𝑖 : surface oil production rate for the device parameters.
𝐺𝑖 : surface gas production rate for the device
𝑊𝑖 : surface water production rate for the device
𝛼𝑖 : weighting factor for the device
𝑛: number of completion zones in the well
Petrel RE 2021 – Advanced well completion optimization
Advanced well completion Proactive Reactive Hybrid
optimization options optimization optimization optimization

Rate penalty method

The Rate penalty objective function is calculated You can set all the rate penalty
using the following equation: parameters, except for the
weighting factor, on
𝑓 𝑥 = 𝑄(1 − 𝑃) Where: the Advanced tab in the Advanced
𝑄: liquid production rate for the well completions optimization dialog
𝑃 𝑔: penalty for gas production
The settings of an FVC,x, is related to a penalty term 𝑃 𝑤: penalty for water production box.
P which can be defined as: 𝑊 𝑔: penalty for gas weight
𝑎: penalty multiplier
𝑏: penalty exponent
𝑃 = 𝑊 𝑔 𝑃𝑔 + 1 − 𝑊 𝑔 𝑃𝑤 𝐺𝑂𝑅: weighted gas-oil ratio for all devices
With: 𝑊𝐶: weighted water cut for all devices
You can set the weighting factor
𝛼𝑖 : weighting factor for the device for each device in the Device
𝑃 𝑔 = 𝑎(
𝐺𝑂𝑅−𝐺𝑂𝑅𝑚𝑖𝑛
)𝑏 , 𝑃 𝑤 = 𝑎(
𝑊𝐶−𝑊𝐶𝑚𝑖𝑛
)𝑏 𝑛: number of completion zones in the well control pane in the Advanced
𝐺𝑂𝑅𝑚𝑎𝑥−𝐺𝑂𝑅𝑚𝑖𝑛 𝑊𝐶𝑚𝑎𝑥−𝑊𝐶𝑚𝑖𝑛
completions optimization dialog
𝐺𝑂𝑅 = σ𝑛𝑖=1
𝛼𝑖 𝐺 𝑖
,
𝛼𝑊
𝑊𝐶 = σ𝑛𝑖=1 𝑖 𝑖 box.
𝑂𝑖 𝐿𝑖
Petrel RE 2021 – Advanced well completion optimization
Advanced well completion Proactive Reactive Hybrid
optimization options optimization optimization optimization

Proactive to reactive switch (Hybrid optimization):

Switch from proactive to reactive optimization based
on defined criteria. It is possible to combine proactive
and reactive optimization approaches. The switch from
proactive to reactive can be triggered by:
• Water-cut and/or gas-oil ratio in oil wells
• Gas-water ratio and/or oil-gas ratio in gas wells

The above quantities are evaluated for each device. If any of the
devices meet the above criteria, the well optimization switches to
reactive. You can define the triggers for each device individually
using the Additional parameters list in the Device control pane.

Only the fixed strategy proactive optimization methods work with

the hybrid approach (streamline is not supported). It is
recommended to define a proactive phase when reactive methods
are selected.
Petrel RE 2021 – Advanced well completion optimization
Advanced well completion optimization
in Define simulation case
Petrel RE 2021 new features

Advanced well completion optimization

Workover candidates

Surfactant
Petrel RE 2021 – Workover candidates
Workover candidates

Performing periodic interventions or workovers in wells is an established approach for

arresting production decline and maximizing production from a field. However, for
mature fields with large well counts, the process of determining the best candidates for
well interventions can be complicated and tedious. This can result in less than optimal
outcomes.

The Workover candidates recognition and validation workflow provides a structured

approach to identify the best candidates for workovers out of all the wells in the field.
This functionality is added to Petrel 2021 and is available in Field development group of
Well engineering domain, under Reservoir and Production perspective.
Petrel RE 2021 – Workover candidates
Workover candidates
workflow

Underperformance
identification

Problem well analysis

Forecast

Candidates summary for

selection and ranking
Petrel RE 2021 – Workover candidates
Workover candidates
workflow

Underperformance
identification The success of a workover campaign relies on the effective
screening of all wells to identify candidate wells that are not
producing to their full potential. Therefore, the first stage of the
workflow provides tools to sift through a large number of wells
and quickly identify potential candidates. The following
Problem well analysis
techniques are available:

Reservoir quality vs prod Production heterogeneity:

performance:
Forecast
This step enables you to
find the relationship
between reservoir quality
and prod performance for
multiple wells (wells that
Candidates summary for are producing less than
expected based on their
selection and ranking reservoir quality).
The outcome of this
This step identifies stage is the
underperformers by candidate wells list
comparing the production
that contains the
performance of individual
wells with the average wells that merit a
performance of other more detailed
wells in their group, using analysis in the next
Modified Heterogeneity
Index (MHI).
stage.
Petrel RE 2021 – Workover candidates
Workover candidates A cross-plot of the cumulative MHI for
two observed quantities helps to
workflow identify well clusters that might need
remediation. This example illustrates
how you can use the technique to
Underperformance recognize wells with excessive water
identification The success of a(quadrant
production workover I andcampaign
IV) and lowrelies on the effective
screeningproductivity
of all wells to identify
(quadrant III). candidate wells that are not
producing to their full potential. Therefore, the first stage of the
workflow provides tools to sift through a large number of wells
𝑉𝐴𝐿𝑈𝐸𝑊𝑒𝑙𝑙 − 𝑉𝐴𝐿𝑈𝐸𝐺𝑟𝑜𝑢𝑝𝐴𝑣𝑔
and . quickly identify potential candidates. The following
Problem
𝑀𝐻𝐼 = well analysis
𝑉𝐴𝐿𝑈𝐸𝑀𝑎𝑥𝑊𝑒𝑙𝑙 − 𝑉𝐴𝐿𝑈𝐸𝑀𝑖𝑛𝑊𝑒𝑙𝑙
techniques are available:
Where:
MHI = Modified heterogeneity index (between -1 and +1)
Reservoir quality vs prod Production heterogeneity:
VALUEGroup.Avg = Arithmetic average of all selected wells at current timestep
performance: The outcome of this
VALUEMaxWell = Maximum value at current timestep among all selected wells
Forecast
VALUEMinWell = Minimum value at current timestep among all selected wells (often zero) This step identifies stage is the
This step enables you to underperformers by candidate wells list
find rates
A positive MHI value for a well's primary phase production the (oilrelationship
or comparing the production
that contains the
gas) indicates that the well is outperforming its group, and a negative quality
between reservoir performance of individual
wells that merit a
and prod performance for wells with the average
value suggests below-average performance. By visualizing the running
multiple wells (wells that performance of other more detailed
sum of MHI over time, you can trace the relative performance of a well
Candidates summary for are producing less than
throughout its lifetime and detect events that cause major changes to theon their
wells in their group, using analysis in the next
expected based Modified Heterogeneity
selection and ranking
well's behavior. reservoir quality). Index (MHI).
stage.
Petrel RE 2021 – Workover candidates
Workover candidates
workflow

Underperformance
identification Problem well analysis is aimed at diagnosing the causes of the
underperformance of the wells identified in the previous stage. It
is important to understand the nature and severity of the problem
so that you can design effective remediation in the subsequent
Problem well analysis stages. The following analyses can be performed:

Rate transient analysis:

Forecast Offset well analysis: This enables you to Nodal analysis:
interpret key reservoir and
This enables you to completion parameters This helps you to assess
compare the candidate for the candidate well
well with its neighboring the reservoir-well system
using the observed and isolate the source of
wells to understand production data to reveal underperformance.
Candidates summary for anomalies and trends. the causes of
underperformance .
selection and ranking
Petrel RE 2021 – Workover candidates
Workover candidates
workflow

Underperformance After understanding the causes of underperformance, you can

identification design remediation actions to improve the well’s production
performance and quantify the improvement by using various
forecasting techniques:

Problem well analysis Production forecast: Economic analysis:

use numerical reservoir The selection of workover

simulation models (to
forecast the post-workover
performance of the well) or
analytical models (with
Forecast Production interpretation or
decline curve analysis for
forecasting the production
performance). The forecast
cases are incorporated into
the workflow to quantify the
Candidates summary for technical potential of the
wells after the proposed
selection and ranking intervention.
candidates must be based on Based on the
economic outcomes, that is,
you must prioritize the
production and
opportunities with the economic forecast,
highest expected economic
return. Economic analysis
you can select the
helps in decision making by preferred workover
calculating the economic
metrics, such as Net present
solution for each
value (NPV), for the different candidate well.
workover scenarios that are
evaluated for the candidate
wells.
Petrel RE 2021 – Workover candidates
Workover candidates
workflow

Underperformance
identification The final stage summarizes the analyses that you have performed
on the candidate wells, including the expected incremental
production after workover and the economic metrics for the
preferred solution for each candidate well, to enable the ranking
Problem well analysis and selection of the best candidates.

Forecast

Candidates summary for

selection and ranking
Petrel RE 2021 new features

Advanced well completion optimization

Workover candidates

Surfactant
Petrel RE 2021 – Surfactant
Surfactant

Petrel 2021 has surfactant support for INTERSECT simulator. This functionality is available in Surfactant group of EOR
domain, under Reservoir and Production perspective.

Surfactant requires the use of advanced brine and the use of FM (Field Management) strategy to input injected quantities.

Surfactants are molecules

that reduce interfacial
tension between oil and
water. When injected with
water in the reservoir,
surfactants help mobilize
more oil by decreasing
residual saturation more
than in a simple waterflood.
Petrel RE 2021 – Surfactant
Surfactant

To define a surfactant for INTERSECT, you must define properties giving

molecular weight, density at surface, reference pressure and the
associated compressibility. Formation Volume Factor (FVF) enables you
to calculate surfactant volume and mass at reservoir conditions.

Critical micellar concentration (CMC) is a threshold volumetric

concentration below where no microemulsion can occur. Below the
CMC, surfactant is considered to be in water.

Select the Activate Cation exchange on Surfactant check box to

capture parameters specific to ionic exchange models such
as Surfactant valency and Surfactant cation exchange parameter.
The Effective salinity parameter ß++ helps to capture how cation
exchange on a surfactant can influence surfactant effective salinity.
Petrel RE 2021 – Surfactant
Surfactant

Microemulsion phase behavior is controlled by the input of the transition salinities, which define the
state of an oil, water, surfactant mix, and the bi-nodal height parameters, that controls how much oil
and water gets solubilized. Bi-nodal parameter represents surfactant efficiency. Microemulsion
describes the phase where the surfactant is located. It changes when salinity changes.
Phase behavior:
You can create a new or edit an existing microemulsion phase behavior model in the Microemulsion
phase behavior dialog box.

For salinities below the lower For salini ties above the upper For salinities situated between the lower
transition limit, surfactant is tra nsi tion limi t, a s ys tem as illus tra ted and upper tra nsition limi t, oil , wa ter and
essentially located among the water. above exis ts . Surfa ctant is essentiall y mi croemulsion phase ma y now exis t
present wi thi n the oil phase. Oil together. Mi croemulsion is composed of
Water phase becomes the
phase becomes the mi croemulsion all the surfactant, of some solubilized oil ,
microemulsion phase containing all and of some solubilized wa ter. It can
phase containing all the oil , all the
the water, all the surfactant and surfa ctant and sol ubilized wa ter. coexis t wi th an oil phase composed of oil
solubilized oil. Microemulsion coexists Mi croemulsion coexis ts wi th a wa ter onl y, and a wa ter phase composed of
with an oil phase containing only oil. pha s e containing only wa ter. wa ter only.
Petrel RE 2021 – Surfactant
Surfactant

Interfacial tension:
You can define the properties that are used to calculate the reduction in interfacial tension
between oil, microemulsion and water.
Oil water interfacial tension represents initial interfacial tension between oil and water.

C and A parameters for Chun Huh correlations are input parameters necessary for
the Chun Huh model as implemented. The correlation is as below:

𝒄𝑭𝒐 𝟑
𝝈𝑶𝑴 = 𝝈𝑶𝑨 𝒆−𝒂𝑹𝑶𝑴 + 𝟐
(𝟏 − 𝒆 −𝒂𝑹 𝑶𝑴
)
𝑹𝑶𝑴
Where:
𝜎𝑂𝑀: interfacial tension between oil and microemulsion
𝜎𝑂𝐴: interfacial tension between oil and water
𝐶𝑀,𝑝𝑜
𝑅𝑂𝑀 = : solubilization ration with: 𝐶𝑀,𝑝𝑜 and 𝐶𝑀,𝑝𝑠 defined as volumetric concentration of oil and
𝐶𝑀,𝑝𝑠
surfactant in microemulsion, respectively
𝑎, 𝑐: Chun Huh model parameters
Petrel RE 2021 – Surfactant
Surfactant

Microemulsion viscosity is strong function of effective salinity and depends on its

composition, using below equation:

𝜇 𝑀 = 𝐶𝑀,𝑝𝑤 𝜇 𝑝𝑤 𝑒 𝛼1 (𝐶𝑀 ,𝑝𝑜 +𝐶𝑀 ,𝑝𝑠 ) + 𝐶𝑀,𝑝𝑜 𝜇 𝑝𝑜 𝑒 𝛼2 (𝐶𝑀 ,𝑝𝑤 +𝐶𝑀 ,𝑝𝑠 ) + 𝐶𝑀,𝑝𝑠 𝛼3 𝑒 (𝛼4 𝐶𝑀 ,𝑝𝑤 +𝛼5 𝐶𝑀 ,𝑝𝑜 )

Where:
𝐶𝑀𝑖: relative volumes of oil, water and surfactant in microemulsion
𝜇 𝑝𝑤, 𝜇 𝑝𝑜: viscosities of water and oil respectively
𝛼�1, 𝛼�2, 𝛼�3, 𝛼�4 and 𝛼�5: viscosity parameters defined in Microemulsion viscosity tab.
Petrel RE 2021 – Surfactant
Surfactant

You can create a new or edit an existing Surfactant adsorption model in the Surfactant
adsorption dialog box

Surfactant is controlled by the Langmuir isotherm according to the following

formula:

𝑎(𝐶𝑠 −𝐶 𝑆𝑤𝑎𝑑𝑠 )
𝐶𝑆𝑎𝑑𝑠 = with 𝑎 = (𝑎1 + 𝑎2 . 𝐶𝑆𝐸𝑠𝑢𝑟𝑓 )
1+𝑏(𝐶𝑠 −𝐶 𝑆 )
𝑤𝑎𝑑𝑠

Where:
𝐶𝑆𝑎𝑑𝑠 : adsorbed surfactant concentration
𝐶𝑆𝐸𝑠𝑢𝑟𝑓 : effective salinity concentration for surfactant
𝐶𝑠: total surfactant concentration
𝐶𝑆𝑤𝑎𝑑𝑠: concentration of pseudo-surfactant in solution relative to pure water overall volume
𝑎1, 𝑎2, 𝑏: parameters defined in Surfactant adsorption window
Petrel RE 2021 – Surfactant
Surfactant

Capillary desaturation parameters are used to control the interpolation between

miscible and immiscible relative permeability curves.

A capillary desaturation curve is the relationship between a capillary number

𝑣𝑖𝑠𝑐𝑜𝑢𝑠 𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑐𝑒 𝜇𝑣
𝑁𝑐 = 𝑐𝑎𝑝𝑖𝑙𝑙𝑎𝑟𝑦 𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑐𝑒 = , ℎ𝑖𝑔ℎ 𝑛𝑢𝑚𝑏𝑒𝑟𝑠 → ℎ𝑖𝑔ℎ 𝑟𝑒𝑐𝑜𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑦, 𝑙𝑜𝑤 𝑛𝑢𝑚𝑏𝑒𝑟𝑠 → 𝑙𝑜𝑤 𝑟𝑒𝑐𝑜𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑦
𝜎
and the residual saturation of a phase. A low capillary number indicates high
residual saturations. Residual saturation decreases as the capillary number
increases. A generic shape for a capillary desaturation curve is:

𝑙𝑜𝑤𝑁𝑐 ℎ𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑁𝑐
ℎ𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑁𝑐 𝑆𝑟 − 𝑆𝑟
𝑆𝑟 = 𝑆𝑟 +
1 + 𝑇𝑁𝑐
Where:
𝑆𝑟 : residual saturation at the capillary number 𝑁𝑐
𝑆𝑟𝑙𝑜𝑤𝑁𝑐 : residual saturation at low capillary numbers (low mobilization)
𝑆𝑟ℎ𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑁𝑐 : residual saturation at high capillary numbers (high mobilization)
𝑇: capillary desaturation parameter that gives the shape of the desaturation curve and
must be defined for oil, water and microemulsion phases.
Petrel RE 2021 – Surfactant
Surfactant

Define advanced brine, polymer and surfactant in Define simulation case

Notes:
1. All polymer and surfactant objects must belong to the same polymer and surfactant model
2. Compositional fluid is not supported for Surfactant.
Thanks for your attention

Thanks for your attention