Integrated Approach to Drilling Project in Unconventional Reservoir Using Reservoir Simulation

Science.gov (United States)

Stopa, Jerzy; Wiśniowski, Rafał; Wojnarowski, Paweł; Janiga, Damian; Skrzypaszek, Krzysztof

2018-03-01

Accumulation and flow mechanisms in unconventional reservoir are different compared to conventional. This requires a special approach of field management with drilling and stimulation treatments as major factor for further production. Integrated approach of unconventional reservoir production optimization assumes coupling drilling project with full scale reservoir simulation for determine best well placement, well length, fracturing treatment design and mid-length distance between wells. Full scale reservoir simulation model emulate a part of polish shale - gas field. The aim of this paper is to establish influence of technical factor for gas production from shale gas field. Due to low reservoir permeability, stimulation treatment should be direct towards maximizing the hydraulic contact. On the basis of production scenarios, 15 stages hydraulic fracturing allows boost gas production over 1.5 times compared to 8 stages. Due to the possible interference of the wells, it is necessary to determine the distance between the horizontal parts of the wells trajectories. In order to determine the distance between the wells allowing to maximize recovery factor of resources in the stimulated zone, a numerical algorithm based on a dynamic model was developed and implemented. Numerical testing and comparative study show that the most favourable arrangement assumes a minimum allowable distance between the wells. This is related to the volume ratio of the drainage zone to the total volume of the stimulated zone.

Application of parallel computing techniques to a large-scale reservoir simulation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhang, Keni; Wu, Yu-Shu; Ding, Chris; Pruess, Karsten

2001-01-01

Even with the continual advances made in both computational algorithms and computer hardware used in reservoir modeling studies, large-scale simulation of fluid and heat flow in heterogeneous reservoirs remains a challenge. The problem commonly arises from intensive computational requirement for detailed modeling investigations of real-world reservoirs. This paper presents the application of a massive parallel-computing version of the TOUGH2 code developed for performing large-scale field simulations. As an application example, the parallelized TOUGH2 code is applied to develop a three-dimensional unsaturated-zone numerical model simulating flow of moisture, gas, and heat in the unsaturated zone of Yucca Mountain, Nevada, a potential repository for high-level radioactive waste. The modeling approach employs refined spatial discretization to represent the heterogeneous fractured tuffs of the system, using more than a million 3-D gridblocks. The problem of two-phase flow and heat transfer within the model domain leads to a total of 3,226,566 linear equations to be solved per Newton iteration. The simulation is conducted on a Cray T3E-900, a distributed-memory massively parallel computer. Simulation results indicate that the parallel computing technique, as implemented in the TOUGH2 code, is very efficient. The reliability and accuracy of the model results have been demonstrated by comparing them to those of small-scale (coarse-grid) models. These comparisons show that simulation results obtained with the refined grid provide more detailed predictions of the future flow conditions at the site, aiding in the assessment of proposed repository performance

Hydrodynamic modeling of petroleum reservoirs using simulator MUFITS

Science.gov (United States)

Afanasyev, Andrey

2015-04-01

MUFITS is new noncommercial software for numerical modeling of subsurface processes in various applications (www.mufits.imec.msu.ru). To this point, the simulator was used for modeling nonisothermal flows in geothermal reservoirs and for modeling underground carbon dioxide storage. In this work, we present recent extension of the code to petroleum reservoirs. The simulator can be applied in conventional black oil modeling, but it also utilizes a more complicated models for volatile oil and gas condensate reservoirs as well as for oil rim fields. We give a brief overview of the code by providing the description of internal representation of reservoir models, which are constructed of grid blocks, interfaces, stock tanks as well as of pipe segments and pipe junctions for modeling wells and surface networks. For conventional black oil approach, we present the simulation results for SPE comparative tests. We propose an accelerated compositional modeling method for sub- and supercritical flows subjected to various phase equilibria, particularly to three-phase equilibria of vapour-liquid-liquid type. The method is based on the calculation of the thermodynamic potential of reservoir fluid as a function of pressure, total enthalpy and total composition and storing its values as a spline table, which is used in hydrodynamic simulation for accelerated PVT properties prediction. We provide the description of both the spline calculation procedure and the flashing algorithm. We evaluate the thermodynamic potential for a mixture of two pseudo-components modeling the heavy and light hydrocarbon fractions. We develop a technique for converting black oil PVT tables to the potential, which can be used for in-situ hydrocarbons multiphase equilibria prediction under sub- and supercritical conditions, particularly, in gas condensate and volatile oil reservoirs. We simulate recovery from a reservoir subject to near-critical initial conditions for hydrocarbon mixture. We acknowledge

Nonlinear Multigrid for Reservoir Simulation

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Christensen, Max la Cour; Eskildsen, Klaus Langgren; Engsig-Karup, Allan Peter

2016-01-01

efficiency for a black-oil model. Furthermore, the use of the FAS method enables a significant reduction in memory usage compared with conventional techniques, which suggests new possibilities for improved large-scale reservoir simulation and numerical efficiency. Last, nonlinear multilevel preconditioning...

Use of natural geochemical tracers to improve reservoir simulation models

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Huseby, O.; Chatzichristos, C.; Sagen, J.; Muller, J.; Kleven, R.; Bennett, B.; Larter, S.; Stubos, A.K.; Adler, P.M.

2005-01-01

This article introduces a methodology for integrating geochemical data in reservoir simulations to improve hydrocarbon reservoir models. The method exploits routine measurements of naturally existing inorganic ion concentration in hydrocarbon reservoir production wells, and uses the ions as non-partitioning water tracers. The methodology is demonstrated on a North Sea field case, using the field's reservoir model, together with geochemical information (SO{sub 4}{sup 2}, Mg{sup 2+} K{sup +}, Ba{sup 2+}, Sr{sup 2+}, Ca{sup 2+}, Cl{sup -} concentrations) from the field's producers. From the data-set we show that some of the ions behave almost as ideal sea-water tracers, i.e. without sorption to the matrix, ion-exchange with the matrix or scale-formation with other ions in the formation water. Moreover, the dataset shows that ion concentrations in pure formation-water vary according to formation. This information can be used to allocate produced water to specific water-producing zones in commingled production. Based on an evaluation of the applicability of the available data, one inorganic component, SO{sub 4}{sup 2}, is used as a natural seawater tracer. Introducing SO{sub 4}{sup 2} as a natural tracer in a tracer simulation has revealed a potential for improvements of the reservoir model. By tracking the injected seawater it was possible to identify underestimated fault lengths in the reservoir model. The demonstration confirms that geochemical data are valuable additional information for reservoir characterization, and shows that integration of geochemical data into reservoir simulation procedures can improve reservoir simulation models. (author)

Numerical Simulation of Two Dimensional Flows in Yazidang Reservoir

Science.gov (United States)

Huang, Lingxiao; Liu, Libo; Sun, Xuehong; Zheng, Lanxiang; Jing, Hefang; Zhang, Xuande; Li, Chunguang

2018-01-01

This paper studied the problem of water flow in the Yazid Ang reservoir. It built 2-D RNG turbulent model, rated the boundary conditions, used the finite volume method to discrete equations and divided the grid by the advancing-front method. It simulated the two conditions of reservoir flow field, compared the average vertical velocity of the simulated value and the measured value nearby the water inlet and the water intake. The results showed that the mathematical model could be applied to the similar industrial water reservoir.

Uncertainties in reservoir performance forecasts; Estimativa de incertezas na previsao de desempenho de reservatorios

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Loschiavo, Roberto

1999-07-01

Project economic evaluation as well as facilities design for oil exploration is, in general based on production forecast. Since production forecast depends on several parameters that are not completely known, one should take a probabilistic approach for reservoir modeling and numerical flow simulation. In this work, we propose a procedure to estimate probabilistic production forecast profiles based on the decision tree technique. The most influencing parameters of a reservoir model are identified identified and combined to generate a number of realizations of the reservoirs. The combination of each branch of the decision tree defines the probability associated to each reservoir model. A computer program was developed to automatically generate the reservoir models, submit them to the numerical simulator, and process the results. Parallel computing was used to improve the performance of the procedure. (author)

Combined reservoir simulation and seismic technology, a new approach for modeling CHOPS

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Aghabarati, H.; Lines, L.; Settari, A. [Calgary Univ., AB (Canada); Dumitrescu, C. [Sensor Geophysical Ltd., Calgary, AB (Canada)

2008-10-15

One of the primary recovery schemes for developing heavy oil reservoirs in Canada is cold heavy oil production with sand (CHOPS). With the introduction of progressive cavity pumps, CHOPS can be applied in unconsolidated or weakly consolidated formations. In order to better understand reservoir properties and recovery mechanism, this paper discussed the use of a combined reservoir simulation and seismic technology that were applied for a heavy oil reservoir situated in Saskatchewan, Canada. Using a seismic survey acquired in 1989, the study used geostatistical methods to estimate the initial reservoir porosity. Sand production was then modeled using an erosional velocity approach and the model was run based on oil production. The paper also compared the results of true porosity derived from simulation against the porosity estimated from a second seismic survey acquired in 2001. Last, the extent and the shape of the enhanced permeability region was modelled in order to estimate porosity distribution. It was concluded that the performance of the CHOPS wells depended greatly on the rate of creation of the high permeability zone around the wells. 9 refs., 2 tabs., 18 figs., 1 appendix.

Simulation study of huff-n-puff air injection for enhanced oil recovery in shale oil reservoirs

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hu Jia

2018-03-01

Full Text Available This paper is the first attempt to evaluate huff-n-puff air injection in a shale oil reservoir using a simulation approach. Recovery mechanisms and physical processes of huff-n-puff air injection in a shale oil reservoir are investigated through investigating production performance, thermal behavior, reservoir pressure and fluid saturation features. Air flooding is used as the basic case for a comparative study. The simulation study suggests that thermal drive is the main recovery mechanism for huff-n-puff air injection in the shale oil reservoir, but not for simple air flooding. The synergic recovery mechanism of air flooding in conventional light oil reservoirs can be replicated in shale oil reservoirs by using air huff-n-puff injection strategy. Reducing huff-n-puff time is better for performing the synergic recovery mechanism of air injection. O2 diffusion plays an important role in huff-n-puff air injection in shale oil reservoirs. Pressure transmissibility as well as reservoir pressure maintenance ability in huff-n-puff air injection is more pronounced than the simple air flooding after primary depletion stage. No obvious gas override is exhibited in both air flooding and air huff-n-puff injection scenarios in shale reservoirs. Huff-n-puff air injection has great potential to develop shale oil reservoirs. The results from this work may stimulate further investigations.

Microbial Enhanced Oil Recovery - Advanced Reservoir Simulation

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nielsen, Sidsel Marie

the water phase. The biofilm formation implies that the concentration of bacteria near the inlet increases. In combination with surfactant production, the biofilm results in a higher surfactant concentration in the initial part of the reservoir. The oil that is initially bypassed in connection...... simulator. In the streamline simulator, the effect of gravity is introduced using an operator splitting technique. The gravity effect stabilizes oil displacement causing markedly improvement of the oil recovery, when the oil density becomes relatively low. The general characteristics found for MEOR in one......-dimensional simulations are also demonstrated both in two and three dimensions. Overall, this MEOR process conducted in a heterogeneous reservoir also produces more oil compared to waterflooding, when the simulations are run in multiple dimensions. The work presented in this thesis has resulted in two publications so far....

A compositional reservoir simulator on distributed memory parallel computers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rame, M.; Delshad, M.

1995-01-01

This paper presents the application of distributed memory parallel computes to field scale reservoir simulations using a parallel version of UTCHEM, The University of Texas Chemical Flooding Simulator. The model is a general purpose highly vectorized chemical compositional simulator that can simulate a wide range of displacement processes at both field and laboratory scales. The original simulator was modified to run on both distributed memory parallel machines (Intel iPSC/960 and Delta, Connection Machine 5, Kendall Square 1 and 2, and CRAY T3D) and a cluster of workstations. A domain decomposition approach has been taken towards parallelization of the code. A portion of the discrete reservoir model is assigned to each processor by a set-up routine that attempts a data layout as even as possible from the load-balance standpoint. Each of these subdomains is extended so that data can be shared between adjacent processors for stencil computation. The added routines that make parallel execution possible are written in a modular fashion that makes the porting to new parallel platforms straight forward. Results of the distributed memory computing performance of Parallel simulator are presented for field scale applications such as tracer flood and polymer flood. A comparison of the wall-clock times for same problems on a vector supercomputer is also presented

Performance of a system of reservoirs on futuristic front

Science.gov (United States)

Saha, Satabdi; Roy, Debasri; Mazumdar, Asis

2017-10-01

Application of simulation model HEC-5 to analyze the performance of the DVC Reservoir System (a multipurpose system with a network of five reservoirs and one barrage) on the river Damodar in Eastern India in meeting projected future demand as well as controlling flood for synthetically generated future scenario is addressed here with a view to develop an appropriate strategy for its operation. Thomas-Fiering model (based on Markov autoregressive model) has been adopted for generation of synthetic scenario (monthly streamflow series) and subsequently downscaling of modeled monthly streamflow to daily values was carried out. The performance of the system (analysed on seasonal basis) in terms of `Performance Indices' (viz., both quantity based reliability and time based reliability, mean daily deficit, average failure period, resilience and maximum vulnerability indices) for the projected scenario with enhanced demand turned out to be poor compared to that for historical scenario. However, judicious adoption of resource enhancement (marginal reallocation of reservoir storage capacity) and demand management strategy (curtailment of projected high water requirements and trading off between demands) was found to be a viable option for improvement of the performance of the reservoir system appreciably [improvement being (1-51 %), (2-35 %), (16-96 %), (25-50 %), (8-36 %) and (12-30 %) for the indices viz., quantity based reliability, time based reliability, mean daily deficit, average failure period, resilience and maximum vulnerability, respectively] compared to that with normal storage and projected demand. Again, 100 % reliability for flood control for current as well as future synthetically generated scenarios was noted. The results from the study would assist concerned authority in successful operation of reservoirs in the context of growing demand and dwindling resource.

Parallel, Multigrid Finite Element Simulator for Fractured/Faulted and Other Complex Reservoirs based on Common Component Architecture (CCA)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Milind Deo; Chung-Kan Huang; Huabing Wang

2008-08-31

Black-oil, compositional and thermal simulators have been developed to address different physical processes in reservoir simulation. A number of different types of discretization methods have also been proposed to address issues related to representing the complex reservoir geometry. These methods are more significant for fractured reservoirs where the geometry can be particularly challenging. In this project, a general modular framework for reservoir simulation was developed, wherein the physical models were efficiently decoupled from the discretization methods. This made it possible to couple any discretization method with different physical models. Oil characterization methods are becoming increasingly sophisticated, and it is possible to construct geologically constrained models of faulted/fractured reservoirs. Discrete Fracture Network (DFN) simulation provides the option of performing multiphase calculations on spatially explicit, geologically feasible fracture sets. Multiphase DFN simulations of and sensitivity studies on a wide variety of fracture networks created using fracture creation/simulation programs was undertaken in the first part of this project. This involved creating interfaces to seamlessly convert the fracture characterization information into simulator input, grid the complex geometry, perform the simulations, and analyze and visualize results. Benchmarking and comparison with conventional simulators was also a component of this work. After demonstration of the fact that multiphase simulations can be carried out on complex fracture networks, quantitative effects of the heterogeneity of fracture properties were evaluated. Reservoirs are populated with fractures of several different scales and properties. A multiscale fracture modeling study was undertaken and the effects of heterogeneity and storage on water displacement dynamics in fractured basements were investigated. In gravity-dominated systems, more oil could be recovered at a given pore

Numerical Simulation Study on Steam-Assisted Gravity Drainage Performance in a Heavy Oil Reservoir with a Bottom Water Zone

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jun Ni

2017-12-01

Full Text Available In the Pikes Peak oil field near Lloydminster, Canada, a significant amount of heavy oil reserves is located in reservoirs with a bottom water zone. The properties of the bottom water zone and the operation parameters significantly affect oil production performance via the steam-assisted gravity drainage (SAGD process. Thus, in order to develop this type of heavy oil resource, a full understanding of the effects of these properties is necessary. In this study, the numerical simulation approach was applied to study the effects of properties in the bottom water zone in the SAGD process, such as the initial gas oil ratio, the thickness of the reservoir, and oil saturation of the bottom water zone. In addition, some operation parameters were studied including the injection pressure, the SAGD well pair location, and five different well patterns: (1 two corner wells, (2 triple wells, (3 downhole water sink well, (4 vertical injectors with a horizontal producer, and (5 fishbone well. The numerical simulation results suggest that the properties of the bottom water zone affect production performance extremely. First, both positive and negative effects were observed when solution gas exists in the heavy oil. Second, a logarithmical relationship was investigated between the bottom water production ratio and the thickness of the bottom water zone. Third, a non-linear relation was obtained between the oil recovery factor and oil saturation in the bottom water zone, and a peak oil recovery was achieved at the oil saturation rate of 30% in the bottom water zone. Furthermore, the operation parameters affected the heavy oil production performance. Comparison of the well patterns showed that the two corner wells and the triple wells patterns obtained the highest oil recovery factors of 74.71% and 77.19%, respectively, which are almost twice the oil recovery factors gained in the conventional SAGD process (47.84%. This indicates that the optimized SAGD process

Simulation of a multistage fractured horizontal well in a water-bearing tight fractured gas reservoir under non-Darcy flow

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Rui-Han; Zhang, Lie-Hui; Wang, Rui-He; Zhao, Yu-Long; Huang, Rui

2018-06-01

Reservoir development for unconventional resources such as tight gas reservoirs is in increasing demand due to the rapid decline of production in conventional reserves. Compared with conventional reservoirs, fluid flow in water-bearing tight gas reservoirs is subject to more nonlinear multiphase flow and gas slippage in nano/micro matrix pores because of the strong collisions between rock and gas molecules. Economic gas production from tight gas reservoirs depends on extensive application of water-based hydraulic fracturing of horizontal wells, associated with non-Darcy flow at a high flow rate, geomechanical stress sensitivity of un-propped natural fractures, complex flow geometry and multiscale heterogeneity. How to efficiently and accurately predict the production performance of a multistage fractured horizontal well (MFHW) is challenging. In this paper, a novel multicontinuum, multimechanism, two-phase simulator is established based on unstructured meshes and the control volume finite element method to analyze the production performance of MFHWs. The multiple interacting continua model and discrete fracture model are coupled to integrate the unstimulated fractured reservoir, induced fracture networks (stimulated reservoir volumes, SRVs) and irregular discrete hydraulic fractures. Several simulations and sensitivity analyses are performed with the developed simulator for determining the key factors affecting the production performance of MFHWs. Two widely applied fracturing models, classic hydraulic fracturing which generates long double-wing fractures and the volumetric fracturing aimed at creating large SRVs, are compared to identify which of them can make better use of tight gas reserves.

Reservoir characterization and performance predictions for the E.N. Woods lease

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Aka-Milan, Francis A.

2000-07-07

The task of this work was to evaluate the past performance of the E.N. WOODS Unit and to forecast its future economic performance by taking into consideration the geology, petrophysics and production history of the reservoir. The Decline Curve Analysis feature of the Appraisal of Petroleum Properties including Taxation Systems (EDAPT) software along with the Production Management Systems (PMS) software were used to evaluate the original volume of hydrocarbon in place and estimate the reserve. The Black Oil Simulator (BOAST II) was then used to model the waterflooding operation and estimate the incremental oil production attributable to the water injection. BOAST II was also used to predict future performance of the reservoir.

Reservoir Simulation on the Cerro Prieto Geothermal Field: A Continuing Study

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Castaneda, M.; Marquez, R.; Arellano, V.; Esquer, C.A.

1983-12-15

The Cerro Prieto geothermal field is a liquid-dominated geothermal reservoir of complex geological and hydrological structure. It is located at the southern end of the Salton-Mexicali trough which includes other geothermal anomalies as Heber and East Mesa. Although in 1973, the initial power plant installed capacity was 75 MW of electrical power, this amount increased to 180 MW in 1981 as field development continued. It is expected to have a generating capacity of 620 MW by the end of 1985, when two new plants will be completely in operation. Questions about field deliverability, reservoir life and ultimate recovery related to planned installations are being presently asked. Numerical modeling studies can give very valuable answers to these questions, even at the early stages in the development of a field. An effort to simulate the Cerro Prieto geothermal reservoir has been undergoing for almost two years. A joint project among Comision Federal de Electricidad (CFE), Instituto de Investigaciones Electricas (IIE) and Intercomp of Houstin, Texas, was created to perform reservoir engineering and simulation studies on this field. The final project objective is tosimulate the behavior of the old field region when production from additional wells located in the undeveloped field zones will be used for feeding the new power plants.

Simulation of California's Major Reservoirs Outflow Using Data Mining Technique

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, T.; Gao, X.; Sorooshian, S.

2014-12-01

The reservoir's outflow is controlled by reservoir operators, which is different from the upstream inflow. The outflow is more important than the reservoir's inflow for the downstream water users. In order to simulate the complicated reservoir operation and extract the outflow decision making patterns for California's 12 major reservoirs, we build a data-driven, computer-based ("artificial intelligent") reservoir decision making tool, using decision regression and classification tree approach. This is a well-developed statistical and graphical modeling methodology in the field of data mining. A shuffled cross validation approach is also employed to extract the outflow decision making patterns and rules based on the selected decision variables (inflow amount, precipitation, timing, water type year etc.). To show the accuracy of the model, a verification study is carried out comparing the model-generated outflow decisions ("artificial intelligent" decisions) with that made by reservoir operators (human decisions). The simulation results show that the machine-generated outflow decisions are very similar to the real reservoir operators' decisions. This conclusion is based on statistical evaluations using the Nash-Sutcliffe test. The proposed model is able to detect the most influential variables and their weights when the reservoir operators make an outflow decision. While the proposed approach was firstly applied and tested on California's 12 major reservoirs, the method is universally adaptable to other reservoir systems.

Communication: Relaxation-limited electronic currents in extended reservoir simulations

Science.gov (United States)

Gruss, Daniel; Smolyanitsky, Alex; Zwolak, Michael

2017-10-01

Open-system approaches are gaining traction in the simulation of charge transport in nanoscale and molecular electronic devices. In particular, "extended reservoir" simulations, where explicit reservoir degrees of freedom are present, allow for the computation of both real-time and steady-state properties but require relaxation of the extended reservoirs. The strength of this relaxation, γ, influences the conductance, giving rise to a "turnover" behavior analogous to Kramers turnover in chemical reaction rates. We derive explicit, general expressions for the weak and strong relaxation limits. For weak relaxation, the conductance increases linearly with γ and every electronic state of the total explicit system contributes to the electronic current according to its "reduced" weight in the two extended reservoir regions. Essentially, this represents two conductors in series—one at each interface with the implicit reservoirs that provide the relaxation. For strong relaxation, a "dual" expression-one with the same functional form-results, except now proportional to 1/γ and dependent on the system of interest's electronic states, reflecting that the strong relaxation is localizing electrons in the extended reservoirs. Higher order behavior (e.g., γ2 or 1/γ2) can occur when there is a gap in the frequency spectrum. Moreover, inhomogeneity in the frequency spacing can give rise to a pseudo-plateau regime. These findings yield a physically motivated approach to diagnosing numerical simulations and understanding the influence of relaxation, and we examine their occurrence in both simple models and a realistic, fluctuating graphene nanoribbon.

Mathematical simulation of oil reservoir properties

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ramirez, A.; Romero, A.; Chavez, F.; Carrillo, F.; Lopez, S.

2008-01-01

The study and computational representation of porous media properties are very important for many industries where problems of fluid flow, percolation phenomena and liquid movement and stagnation are involved, for example, in building constructions, ore processing, chemical industries, mining, corrosion sciences, etc. Nevertheless, these kinds of processes present a noneasy behavior to be predicted and mathematical models must include statistical analysis, fractal and/or stochastic procedures to do it. This work shows the characterization of sandstone berea core samples which can be found as a porous media (PM) in natural oil reservoirs, rock formations, etc. and the development of a mathematical algorithm for simulating the anisotropic characteristics of a PM based on a stochastic distribution of some of their most important properties like porosity, permeability, pressure and saturation. Finally a stochastic process is used again to simulated the topography of an oil reservoir

Application of an expert system to optimize reservoir performance

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gharbi, Ridha

2005-01-01

The main challenge of oil displacement by an injected fluid, such as in Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR) processes, is to reduce the cost and improve reservoir performance. An optimization methodology, combined with an economic model, is implemented into an expert system to optimize the net present value of full field development with an EOR process. The approach is automated and combines an economic package and existing numerical reservoir simulators to optimize the design of a selected EOR process using sensitivity analysis. The EOR expert system includes three stages of consultations: (1) select an appropriate EOR process on the basis of the reservoir characteristics, (2) prepare appropriate input data sets to design the selected EOR process using existing numerical simulators, and (3) apply the discounted-cash-flow methods to the optimization of the selected EOR process to find out under what conditions at current oil prices this EOR process might be profitable. The project profitability measures were used as the decision-making variables in an iterative approach to optimize the design of the EOR process. The economic analysis is based on the estimated recovery, residual oil in-place, oil price, and operating costs. Two case studies are presented for two reservoirs that have already been produced to their economic limits and are potential candidates for surfactant/polymer flooding, and carbon-dioxide flooding, respectively, or otherwise subject to abandonment. The effect of several design parameters on the project profitability of these EOR processes was investigated

Neuro-Simulation Tool for Enhanced Oil Recovery Screening and Reservoir Performance Prediction

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Soheil Bahrekazemi

2017-09-01

Full Text Available Assessment of the suitable enhanced oil recovery method in an oilfield is one of the decisions which are made prior to the natural drive production mechanism. In some cases, having in-depth knowledge about reservoir’s rock, fluid properties, and equipment is needed as well as economic evaluation. Both putting such data into simulation and its related consequent processes are generally very time consuming and costly.  In order to reduce study cases, an appropriate tool is required for primary screening prior to any operations being performed, to which leads reduction of time in design of ether pilot section or production under field condition. In this research, two different and useful screening tools are presented through a graphical user interface. The output of just over 900 simulations and verified screening criteria tables were employed to design the mentioned tools. Moreover, by means of gathered data and development of artificial neural networks, two dissimilar screening tools for proper assessment of suitable enhanced oil recovery method were finally introduced. The first tool is about the screening of enhanced oil recovery process based on published tables/charts and the second one which is Neuro-Simulation tool, concerns economical evaluation of miscible and immiscible injection of carbon dioxide, nitrogen and natural gas into the reservoir. Both of designed tools are provided in the form of a graphical user interface by which the user, can perceive suitable method through plot of oil recovery graph during 20 years of production, costs of gas injection per produced barrel, cumulative oil production, and finally, design the most efficient scenario.

A Novel Method for Performance Analysis of Compartmentalized Reservoirs

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Shahamat Mohammad Sadeq

2016-05-01

Full Text Available This paper presents a simple analytical model for performance analysis of compartmentalized reservoirs producing under Constant Terminal Rate (CTR and Constant Terminal Pressure (CTP. The model is based on the well-known material balance and boundary dominated flow equations and is written in terms of capacitance and resistance of a production and a support compartment. These capacitance and resistance terms account for a combination of reservoir parameters which enable the developed model to be used for characterizing such systems. In addition to considering the properties contrast between the two reservoir compartments, the model takes into account existence of transmissibility barriers with the use of resistance terms. The model is used to analyze production performance of unconventional reservoirs, where the multistage fracturing of horizontal wells effectively creates a Stimulated Reservoir Volume (SRV with an enhanced permeability surrounded by a non-stimulated region. It can also be used for analysis of compartmentalized conventional reservoirs. The analytical solutions provide type curves through which the controlling reservoirs parameters of a compartmentalized system can be estimated. The contribution of the supporting compartment is modeled based on a boundary dominated flow assumption. The transient behaviour of the support compartment is captured by application of “distance of investigation” concept. The model shows that depletion of the production and support compartments exhibit two unit slopes on a log-log plot of pressure versus time for CTR. For CTP, however, the depletions display two exponential declines. The depletion signatures are separated by transition periods, which depend on the contribution of the support compartment (i.e. transient or boundary dominated flow. The developed equations can be implemented easily in a spreadsheet application, and are corroborated with the use of a numerical simulation. The study

Geothermal reservoir simulation of hot sedimentary aquifer system using FEFLOW®

Science.gov (United States)

Nur Hidayat, Hardi; Gala Permana, Maximillian

2017-12-01

The study presents the simulation of hot sedimentary aquifer for geothermal utilization. Hot sedimentary aquifer (HSA) is a conduction-dominated hydrothermal play type utilizing deep aquifer, which is heated by near normal heat flow. One of the examples of HSA is Bavarian Molasse Basin in South Germany. This system typically uses doublet wells: an injection and production well. The simulation was run for 3650 days of simulation time. The technical feasibility and performance are analysed in regards to the extracted energy from this concept. Several parameters are compared to determine the model performance. Parameters such as reservoir characteristics, temperature information and well information are defined. Several assumptions are also defined to simplify the simulation process. The main results of the simulation are heat period budget or total extracted heat energy, and heat rate budget or heat production rate. Qualitative approaches for sensitivity analysis are conducted by using five parameters in which assigned lower and higher value scenarios.

Exploitation and Optimization of Reservoir Performance in Hunton Formation, Oklahoma, Budget Period I, Class Revisit

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kelkar, Mohan

2002-04-02

This report explains the unusual characteristics of West Carney Field based on detailed geological and engineering analyses. A geological history that explains the presence of mobile water and oil in the reservoir was proposed. The combination of matrix and fractures in the reservoir explains the reservoir?s flow behavior. We confirm our hypothesis by matching observed performance with a simulated model and develop procedures for correlating core data to log data so that the analysis can be extended to other, similar fields where the core coverage may be limited.

DEVELOPMENT OF RESERVOIR CHARACTERIZATION TECHNIQUES AND PRODUCTION MODELS FOR EXPLOITING NATURALLY FRACTURED RESERVOIRS

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Michael L. Wiggins; Raymon L. Brown; Faruk Civan; Richard G. Hughes

2002-12-31

For many years, geoscientists and engineers have undertaken research to characterize naturally fractured reservoirs. Geoscientists have focused on understanding the process of fracturing and the subsequent measurement and description of fracture characteristics. Engineers have concentrated on the fluid flow behavior in the fracture-porous media system and the development of models to predict the hydrocarbon production from these complex systems. This research attempts to integrate these two complementary views to develop a quantitative reservoir characterization methodology and flow performance model for naturally fractured reservoirs. The research has focused on estimating naturally fractured reservoir properties from seismic data, predicting fracture characteristics from well logs, and developing a naturally fractured reservoir simulator. It is important to develop techniques that can be applied to estimate the important parameters in predicting the performance of naturally fractured reservoirs. This project proposes a method to relate seismic properties to the elastic compliance and permeability of the reservoir based upon a sugar cube model. In addition, methods are presented to use conventional well logs to estimate localized fracture information for reservoir characterization purposes. The ability to estimate fracture information from conventional well logs is very important in older wells where data are often limited. Finally, a desktop naturally fractured reservoir simulator has been developed for the purpose of predicting the performance of these complex reservoirs. The simulator incorporates vertical and horizontal wellbore models, methods to handle matrix to fracture fluid transfer, and fracture permeability tensors. This research project has developed methods to characterize and study the performance of naturally fractured reservoirs that integrate geoscience and engineering data. This is an important step in developing exploitation strategies for

Compositional simulations of producing oil-gas ratio behaviour in low permeable gas condensate reservoir

OpenAIRE

Gundersen, Pål Lee

2013-01-01

Master's thesis in Petroleum engineering Gas condensate flow behaviour below the dew point in low permeable formations can make accurate fluid sampling a difficult challenge. The objective of this study was to investigate the producing oil-gas ratio behaviour in the infinite-acting period for a low permeable gas condensate reservoir. Compositional isothermal flow simulations were performed using a single-layer, radial and two-dimensional, gas condensate reservoir model with low permeabili...

Data Compression of Hydrocarbon Reservoir Simulation Grids

KAUST Repository

Chavez, Gustavo Ivan; Harbi, Badr M.

2015-01-01

A dense volumetric grid coming from an oil/gas reservoir simulation output is translated into a compact representation that supports desired features such as interactive visualization, geometric continuity, color mapping and quad representation. A

Advanced Techniques for Reservoir Simulation and Modeling of Non-Conventional Wells

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Durlofsky, Louis J.

2000-08-28

This project targets the development of (1) advanced reservoir simulation techniques for modeling non-conventional wells; (2) improved techniques for computing well productivity (for use in reservoir engineering calculations) and well index (for use in simulation models), including the effects of wellbore flow; and (3) accurate approaches to account for heterogeneity in the near-well region.

EXPLOITATION AND OPTIMIZATION OF RESERVOIR PERFORMANCE IN HUNTON FORMATION, OKLAHOMA

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mohan Kelkar

2002-03-31

The West Carney Field in Lincoln County, Oklahoma is one of few newly discovered oil fields in Oklahoma. Although profitable, the field exhibits several unusual characteristics. These include decreasing water-oil ratios, decreasing gas-oil ratios, decreasing bottomhole pressures during shut-ins in some wells, and transient behavior for water production in many wells. This report explains the unusual characteristics of West Carney Field based on detailed geological and engineering analyses. We propose a geological history that explains the presence of mobile water and oil in the reservoir. The combination of matrix and fractures in the reservoir explains the reservoir's flow behavior. We confirm our hypothesis by matching observed performance with a simulated model and develop procedures for correlating core data to log data so that the analysis can be extended to other, similar fields where the core coverage may be limited.

Molecular Simulation towards Efficient and Representative Subsurface Reservoirs Modeling

KAUST Repository

Kadoura, Ahmad Salim

2016-01-01

This dissertation focuses on the application of Monte Carlo (MC) molecular simulation and Molecular Dynamics (MD) in modeling thermodynamics and flow of subsurface reservoir fluids. At first, MC molecular simulation is proposed as a promising method

Adaptive implicit method for thermal compositional reservoir simulation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Agarwal, A.; Tchelepi, H.A. [Society of Petroleum Engineers, Richardson, TX (United States)]|[Stanford Univ., Palo Alto (United States)

2008-10-15

As the global demand for oil increases, thermal enhanced oil recovery techniques are becoming increasingly important. Numerical reservoir simulation of thermal methods such as steam assisted gravity drainage (SAGD) is complex and requires a solution of nonlinear mass and energy conservation equations on a fine reservoir grid. The most currently used technique for solving these equations is the fully IMplicit (FIM) method which is unconditionally stable, allowing for large timesteps in simulation. However, it is computationally expensive. On the other hand, the method known as IMplicit pressure explicit saturations, temperature and compositions (IMPEST) is computationally inexpensive, but it is only conditionally stable and restricts the timestep size. To improve the balance between the timestep size and computational cost, the thermal adaptive IMplicit (TAIM) method uses stability criteria and a switching algorithm, where some simulation variables such as pressure, saturations, temperature, compositions are treated implicitly while others are treated with explicit schemes. This presentation described ongoing research on TAIM with particular reference to thermal displacement processes such as the stability criteria that dictate the maximum allowed timestep size for simulation based on the von Neumann linear stability analysis method; the switching algorithm that adapts labeling of reservoir variables as implicit or explicit as a function of space and time; and, complex physical behaviors such as heat and fluid convection, thermal conduction and compressibility. Key numerical results obtained by enhancing Stanford's General Purpose Research Simulator (GPRS) were also presented along with a list of research challenges. 14 refs., 2 tabs., 11 figs., 1 appendix.

Coupling a fluid flow simulation with a geomechanical model of a fractured reservoir

OpenAIRE

Segura Segarra, José María; Paz, C.M.; de Bayser, M.; Zhang, J.; Bryant, P.W.; Gonzalez, Nubia Aurora; Rodrigues, E.; Vargas, P.E.; Carol, Ignacio; Lakshmikantha, Ramasesha Mookanahallipatna; Das, K. C.; Sandha, S.S.; Cerqueira, R.; Mello,, U.

2013-01-01

Improving the reliability of integrated reservoir development planning and addressing subsidence, fault reactivation and other environmental impacts, requires increasingly sophisticated geomechanical models, especially in the case of fractured reservoirs where fracture deformation is strongly coupled with its permeability change. Reservoir simulation has historically treated any geomechanical effects by means of a rock compressibility term/table, which can be improved by simulating the actual...

Analysis of IDR(s Family of Solvers for Reservoir Simulations on Different Parallel Architectures

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Seignole Vincent

2016-09-01

Full Text Available The present contribution consists in providing a detailed analysis of several realizations of the IDR(s family of solvers, under different facets: robustness, performance and implementation on different parallel environments in regards of sequential IDR(s resolution implementation tested through several industrial geologically and structurally coherent 3D-field case reservoir models. This work is the result of continuous efforts towards time-response improvement of Storengy’s reservoir three-dimensional simulator named Multi, dedicated to gas-storage applications.

Fortescue reservoir development and reservoir studies

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Henzell, S.T.; Hicks, G.J.; Horden, M.J.; Irrgang, H.R.; Janssen, E.J.; Kable, C.W.; Mitchell, R.A.H.; Morrell, N.W.; Palmer, I.D.; Seage, N.W.

1985-03-01

The Fortescue field in the Gippsland Basin, offshore southeastern Australia is being developed from two platforms (Fortescue A and Cobia A) by Esso Australia Ltd. (operator) and BHP Petroleum. The Fortescue reservoir is a stratigraphic trap at the top of the Latrobe Group of sediments. It overlies the western flank of the Halibut and Cobia fields and is separated from them by a non-net sequence of shales and coals which form a hydraulic barrier between the two systems. Development drilling into the Fortescue reservoir commenced in April 1983 with production coming onstream in May 1983. Fortescue, with booked reserves of 44 stock tank gigalitres (280 million stock tank barrels) of 43/sup 0/ API oil, is the seventh major oil reservoir to be developed in the offshore Gippsland Basin by Esso/BHP. In mid-1984, after drilling a total of 20 exploration and development wells, and after approximately one year of production, a detailed three-dimensional, two-phase reservoir simulation study was performed to examine the recovery efficiency, drainage patterns, pressure performance and production rate potential of the reservoir. The model was validated by history matching an extensive suite of Repeat Formation Test (RFT) pressure data. The results confirmed the reserves basis, and demonstrated that the ultimate oil recovery from the reservoir is not sensitive to production rate. This result is consistent with studies on other high quality Latrobe Group reservoirs in the Gippsland Basin which contain undersaturated crudes and receive very strong water drive from the Basin-wide aquifer system. With the development of the simulation model during the development phase, it has been possible to more accurately define the optimal well pattern for the remainder of the development.

Simulation-optimization model of reservoir operation based on target storage curves

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hong-bin Fang

2014-10-01

Full Text Available This paper proposes a new storage allocation rule based on target storage curves. Joint operating rules are also proposed to solve the operation problems of a multi-reservoir system with joint demands and water transfer-supply projects. The joint operating rules include a water diversion rule to determine the amount of diverted water in a period, a hedging rule based on an aggregated reservoir to determine the total release from the system, and a storage allocation rule to specify the release from each reservoir. A simulation-optimization model was established to optimize the key points of the water diversion curves, the hedging rule curves, and the target storage curves using the improved particle swarm optimization (IPSO algorithm. The multi-reservoir water supply system located in Liaoning Province, China, including a water transfer-supply project, was employed as a case study to verify the effectiveness of the proposed join operating rules and target storage curves. The results indicate that the proposed operating rules are suitable for the complex system. The storage allocation rule based on target storage curves shows an improved performance with regard to system storage distribution.

On Application of Non-cubic EoS to Compositional Reservoir Simulation

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Yan, Wei; Michelsen, Michael Locht; Stenby, Erling Halfdan

Compositional reservoir simulation uses almost exclusively cubic equations of state (EoS) such as the SRK EoS and the PR EoS. This is in contrast with process simulation in the downstream industry where more recent and advanced thermodynamic models are quickly adopted. Many of these models are non-cubic...... EoS, such as the PC-SAFT EoS. A major reason for the use of the conventional cubic EoS in reservoir simulation is the concern over computation time. Flash computation is the most time consuming part in compositional reservoir simulation, and the extra complexity of the non-cubic EoS may significantly...... increase the time consumption. In addition to this, the non-cubic EoS also needs a C7+ characterization. The main advantage of the non-cubic EoS is that it provides for a more accurate descrition of fluid properties, and it is therefore of interest to investigate the computational aspects of using...

Small Reservoir Impact on Simulated Watershed-Scale Nutrient Yield

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Shane J. Prochnow

2007-01-01

Full Text Available The soil and water assessment tool (SWAT is used to assess the influence of small upland reservoirs (PL566 on watershed nutrient yield. SWAT simulates the impact of collectively increasing and decreasing PL566 magnitudes (size parameters on the watershed. Totally removing PL566 reservoirs results in a 100% increase in total phosphorus and an 82% increase in total nitrogen, while a total maximum daily load (TMDL calling for a 50% reduction in total phosphorus can be achieved with a 500% increase in the magnitude of PL566s in the watershed. PL566 reservoirs capture agriculture pollution in surface flow, providing long-term storage of these constituents when they settle to the reservoir beds. A potential strategy to reduce future downstream nutrient loading is to enhance or construct new PL566 reservoirs in the upper basin to better capture agricultural runoff.

Lithofacies and associated reservoir properties co-simulations constraint by seismic data; Cosimulations de lithofacies et de proprietes reservoirs associees contraintes par les donnees sismiques

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Fichtl, P.

1998-01-19

Integration of data different sources and nature leads to more accurate reservoir models, useful for controlling fluid and assessing final uncertainties. In this frame, this thesis presents a new technique for co-simulating in 3D two high resolution properties - one categorical, one continuous - conditionally to well information and under the constraint of seismic data. This technique could be applied to simulate lithofacies and related reservoir properties like acoustic impedances or porosities. The proposed algorithm combines a non-parametric approach for the categorical variable and a parametric approach for the continuous variable through a sequential co-simulation. The co-simulation process is divided in two steps: in the first step, the lithofacies is co-simulated with the seismic information by a sequential indicator co-simulation with co-kriging and, in the second step, the reservoir property of interest is simulated from the previously co-simulated lithofacies using sequential Gaussian (co- )simulation or P-field simulation. A validation study on a synthetic but realistic model shows that this technique provides alternative models of lithofacies and associated high resolution acoustic impedances consistent with the seismic data. The seismic information constraining the co-simulations contributes to reduce the uncertainties for the lithofacies distribution at the reservoir level. In some case, a Markov co-regionalization model can be used for simplifying the inference and modelling of the cross-covariances; finally, the co-simulation algorithm was applied to a 3D real case study with objective the joint numerical modelling of lithofacies and porosity in a fluvial channel reservoir. (author) 88 refs.

Speeding up compositional reservoir simulation through an efficient implementation of phase equilibrium calculation

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Belkadi, Abdelkrim; Yan, Wei; Moggia, Elsa

2013-01-01

Compositional reservoir simulations are widely used to simulate reservoir processes with strong compositional effects, such as gas injection. The equations of state (EoS) based phase equilibrium calculation is a time consuming part in this type of simulations. The phase equilibrium problem can....... Application of the shadow region method to skip stability analysis can further cut the phase equilibrium calculation time. Copyright 2013, Society of Petroleum Engineers....

An efficient algorithm for removal of inactive blocks in reservoir simulation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Abou-Kassem, J.H.; Ertekin, T. (Pennsylvania State Univ., PA (United States))

1992-02-01

In the efficient simulation of reservoirs having irregular boundaries one is confronted with two problems: the removal of inactive blocks at the matrix level and the development and application of a variable band-width solver. A simple algorithm is presented that provides effective solutions to these two problems. The algorithm is demonstrated for both the natural ordering and D4 ordering schemes. It can be easily incorporated in existing simulators and results in significant savings in CPU and matrix storage requirements. The removal of the inactive blocks at the matrix level plays a major role in effecting these savings whereas the application of a variable band-width solver plays an enhancing role only. The value of this algorithm lies in the fact that it takes advantage of irregular reservoir boundaries that are invariably encountered in almost all practical applications of reservoir simulation. 11 refs., 3 figs., 3 tabs.

Simulating reservoir lithologies by an actively conditioned Markov chain model

Science.gov (United States)

Feng, Runhai; Luthi, Stefan M.; Gisolf, Dries

2018-06-01

The coupled Markov chain model can be used to simulate reservoir lithologies between wells, by conditioning them on the observed data in the cored wells. However, with this method, only the state at the same depth as the current cell is going to be used for conditioning, which may be a problem if the geological layers are dipping. This will cause the simulated lithological layers to be broken or to become discontinuous across the reservoir. In order to address this problem, an actively conditioned process is proposed here, in which a tolerance angle is predefined. The states contained in the region constrained by the tolerance angle will be employed for conditioning in the horizontal chain first, after which a coupling concept with the vertical chain is implemented. In order to use the same horizontal transition matrix for different future states, the tolerance angle has to be small. This allows the method to work in reservoirs without complex structures caused by depositional processes or tectonic deformations. Directional artefacts in the modeling process are avoided through a careful choice of the simulation path. The tolerance angle and dipping direction of the strata can be obtained from a correlation between wells, or from seismic data, which are available in most hydrocarbon reservoirs, either by interpretation or by inversion that can also assist the construction of a horizontal probability matrix.

Stochastic reservoir simulation for the modeling of uncertainty in coal seam degasification

Science.gov (United States)

Karacan, C. Özgen; Olea, Ricardo A.

2015-01-01

Coal seam degasification improves coal mine safety by reducing the gas content of coal seams and also by generating added value as an energy source. Coal seam reservoir simulation is one of the most effective ways to help with these two main objectives. As in all modeling and simulation studies, how the reservoir is defined and whether observed productions can be predicted are important considerations.

Incorporating Scale-Dependent Fracture Stiffness for Improved Reservoir Performance Prediction

Science.gov (United States)

Crawford, B. R.; Tsenn, M. C.; Homburg, J. M.; Stehle, R. C.; Freysteinson, J. A.; Reese, W. C.

2017-12-01

We present a novel technique for predicting dynamic fracture network response to production-driven changes in effective stress, with the potential for optimizing depletion planning and improving recovery prediction in stress-sensitive naturally fractured reservoirs. A key component of the method involves laboratory geomechanics testing of single fractures in order to develop a unique scaling relationship between fracture normal stiffness and initial mechanical aperture. Details of the workflow are as follows: tensile, opening mode fractures are created in a variety of low matrix permeability rocks with initial, unstressed apertures in the micrometer to millimeter range, as determined from image analyses of X-ray CT scans; subsequent hydrostatic compression of these fractured samples with synchronous radial strain and flow measurement indicates that both mechanical and hydraulic aperture reduction varies linearly with the natural logarithm of effective normal stress; these stress-sensitive single-fracture laboratory observations are then upscaled to networks with fracture populations displaying frequency-length and length-aperture scaling laws commonly exhibited by natural fracture arrays; functional relationships between reservoir pressure reduction and fracture network porosity, compressibility and directional permeabilities as generated by such discrete fracture network modeling are then exported to the reservoir simulator for improved naturally fractured reservoir performance prediction.

APPLICATION OF INTEGRATED RESERVOIR MANAGEMENT AND RESERVOIR CHARACTERIZATION

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Jack Bergeron; Tom Blasingame; Louis Doublet; Mohan Kelkar; George Freeman; Jeff Callard; David Moore; David Davies; Richard Vessell; Brian Pregger; Bill Dixon; Bryce Bezant

2000-03-01

Reservoir performance and characterization are vital parameters during the development phase of a project. Infill drilling of wells on a uniform spacing, without regard to characterization does not optimize development because it fails to account for the complex nature of reservoir heterogeneities present in many low permeability reservoirs, especially carbonate reservoirs. These reservoirs are typically characterized by: (1) large, discontinuous pay intervals; (2) vertical and lateral changes in reservoir properties; (3) low reservoir energy; (4) high residual oil saturation; and (5) low recovery efficiency. The operational problems they encounter in these types of reservoirs include: (1) poor or inadequate completions and stimulations; (2) early water breakthrough; (3) poor reservoir sweep efficiency in contacting oil throughout the reservoir as well as in the nearby well regions; (4) channeling of injected fluids due to preferential fracturing caused by excessive injection rates; and (5) limited data availability and poor data quality. Infill drilling operations only need target areas of the reservoir which will be economically successful. If the most productive areas of a reservoir can be accurately identified by combining the results of geological, petrophysical, reservoir performance, and pressure transient analyses, then this ''integrated'' approach can be used to optimize reservoir performance during secondary and tertiary recovery operations without resorting to ''blanket'' infill drilling methods. New and emerging technologies such as geostatistical modeling, rock typing, and rigorous decline type curve analysis can be used to quantify reservoir quality and the degree of interwell communication. These results can then be used to develop a 3-D simulation model for prediction of infill locations. The application of reservoir surveillance techniques to identify additional reservoir ''pay'' zones

Quantification of a maximum injection volume of CO2 to avert geomechanical perturbations using a compositional fluid flow reservoir simulator

Science.gov (United States)

Jung, Hojung; Singh, Gurpreet; Espinoza, D. Nicolas; Wheeler, Mary F.

2018-02-01

Subsurface CO2 injection and storage alters formation pressure. Changes of pore pressure may result in fault reactivation and hydraulic fracturing if the pressure exceeds the corresponding thresholds. Most simulation models predict such thresholds utilizing relatively homogeneous reservoir rock models and do not account for CO2 dissolution in the brine phase to calculate pore pressure evolution. This study presents an estimation of reservoir capacity in terms of allowable injection volume and rate utilizing the Frio CO2 injection site in the coast of the Gulf of Mexico as a case study. The work includes laboratory core testing, well-logging data analyses, and reservoir numerical simulation. We built a fine-scale reservoir model of the Frio pilot test in our in-house reservoir simulator IPARS (Integrated Parallel Accurate Reservoir Simulator). We first performed history matching of the pressure transient data of the Frio pilot test, and then used this history-matched reservoir model to investigate the effect of the CO2 dissolution into brine and predict the implications of larger CO2 injection volumes. Our simulation results -including CO2 dissolution- exhibited 33% lower pressure build-up relative to the simulation excluding dissolution. Capillary heterogeneity helps spread the CO2 plume and facilitate early breakthrough. Formation expansivity helps alleviate pore pressure build-up. Simulation results suggest that the injection schedule adopted during the actual pilot test very likely did not affect the mechanical integrity of the storage complex. Fault reactivation requires injection volumes of at least about sixty times larger than the actual injected volume at the same injection rate. Hydraulic fracturing necessitates much larger injection rates than the ones used in the Frio pilot test. Tested rock samples exhibit ductile deformation at in-situ effective stresses. Hence, we do not expect an increase of fault permeability in the Frio sand even in the presence of

Understanding the True Stimulated Reservoir Volume in Shale Reservoirs

KAUST Repository

Hussain, Maaruf

2017-06-06

Successful exploitation of shale reservoirs largely depends on the effectiveness of hydraulic fracturing stimulation program. Favorable results have been attributed to intersection and reactivation of pre-existing fractures by hydraulically-induced fractures that connect the wellbore to a larger fracture surface area within the reservoir rock volume. Thus, accurate estimation of the stimulated reservoir volume (SRV) becomes critical for the reservoir performance simulation and production analysis. Micro-seismic events (MS) have been commonly used as a proxy to map out the SRV geometry, which could be erroneous because not all MS events are related to hydraulic fracture propagation. The case studies discussed here utilized a fully 3-D simulation approach to estimate the SRV. The simulation approach presented in this paper takes into account the real-time changes in the reservoir\\'s geomechanics as a function of fluid pressures. It is consisted of four separate coupled modules: geomechanics, hydrodynamics, a geomechanical joint model for interfacial resolution, and an adaptive re-meshing. Reservoir stress condition, rock mechanical properties, and injected fluid pressure dictate how fracture elements could open or slide. Critical stress intensity factor was used as a fracture criterion governing the generation of new fractures or propagation of existing fractures and their directions. Our simulations were run on a Cray XC-40 HPC system. The studies outcomes proved the approach of using MS data as a proxy for SRV to be significantly flawed. Many of the observed stimulated natural fractures are stress related and very few that are closer to the injection field are connected. The situation is worsened in a highly laminated shale reservoir as the hydraulic fracture propagation is significantly hampered. High contrast in the in-situ stresses related strike-slip developed thereby shortens the extent of SRV. However, far field nature fractures that were not connected to

Simulation and optimisation modelling approach for operation of the Hoa Binh Reservoir, Vietnam

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ngo, Long le; Madsen, Henrik; Rosbjerg, Dan

2007-01-01

Hoa Binh, the largest reservoir in Vietnam, plays an important role in flood control for the Red River delta and hydropower generation. Due to its multi-purpose character, conflicts and disputes in operating the reservoir have been ongoing since its construction, particularly in the flood season....... This paper proposes to optimise the control strategies for the Hoa Binh reservoir operation by applying a combination of simulation and optimisation models. The control strategies are set up in the MIKE 11 simulation model to guide the releases of the reservoir system according to the current storage level......, the hydro-meteorological conditions, and the time of the year. A heuristic global optimisation tool, the shuffled complex evolution (SCE) algorithm, is adopted for optimising the reservoir operation. The optimisation puts focus on the trade-off between flood control and hydropower generation for the Hoa...

One-dimensional simulation of stratification and dissolved oxygen in McCook Reservoir, Illinois

Science.gov (United States)

Robertson, Dale M.

2000-01-01

As part of the Chicagoland Underflow Plan/Tunnel and Reservoir Plan, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Chicago District, plans to build McCook Reservoir.a flood-control reservoir to store combined stormwater and raw sewage (combined sewage). To prevent the combined sewage in the reservoir from becoming anoxic and producing hydrogen sulfide gas, a coarse-bubble aeration system will be designed and installed on the basis of results from CUP 0-D, a zero-dimensional model, and MAC3D, a three-dimensional model. Two inherent assumptions in the application of MAC3D are that density stratification in the simulated water body is minimal or not present and that surface heat transfers are unimportant and, therefore, may be neglected. To test these assumptions, the previously tested, one-dimensional Dynamic Lake Model (DLM) was used to simulate changes in temperature and dissolved oxygen in the reservoir after a 1-in-100-year event. Results from model simulations indicate that the assumptions made in MAC3D application are valid as long as the aeration system, with an air-flow rate of 1.2 cubic meters per second or more, is operated while the combined sewage is stored in the reservoir. Results also indicate that the high biochemical oxygen demand of the combined sewage will quickly consume the dissolved oxygen stored in the reservoir and the dissolved oxygen transferred through the surface of the reservoir; therefore, oxygen must be supplied by either the rising bubbles of the aeration system (a process not incorporated in DLM) or some other technique to prevent anoxia.

Simulation of petroleum recovery in naturally fractured reservoirs: physical process representation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Paiva, Hernani P.; Miranda Filho, Daniel N. de [Petroleo Brasileiro S.A. (PETROBRAS), Rio de Janeiro, RJ (Brazil); Schiozer, Denis J. [Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP), SP (Brazil)

2012-07-01

The naturally fractured reservoir recovery normally involves risk especially in intermediate to oil wet systems because of the simulations poor efficiency results under waterflood displacement. Double-porosity models are generally used in fractured reservoir simulation and have been implemented in the major commercial reservoir simulators. The physical processes acting in petroleum recovery are represented in double-porosity models by matrix-fracture transfer functions, therefore commercial simulators have their own implementations, and as a result different kinetics and final recoveries are attained. In this work, a double porosity simulator was built with Kazemi et al. (1976), Sabathier et al. (1998) and Lu et al. (2008) transfer function implementations and their recovery results have been compared using waterflood displacement in oil-wet or intermediate-wet systems. The results of transfer function comparisons have showed recovery improvements in oil-wet or intermediate-wet systems under different physical processes combination, particularly in fully discontinuous porous medium when concurrent imbibition takes place, coherent with Firoozabadi (2000) experimental results. Furthermore, the implemented transfer functions, related to a double-porosity model, have been compared to double-porosity commercial simulator model, as well a discrete fracture model with refined grid, showing differences between them. Waterflood can be an effective recovery method even in fully discontinuous media for oil-wet or intermediate-wet systems where concurrent imbibition takes place with high enough pressure gradients across the matrix blocks. (author)

HIGH RESOLUTION PREDICTION OF GAS INJECTION PROCESS PERFORMANCE FOR HETEROGENEOUS RESERVOIRS

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Franklin M. Orr, Jr.

2004-05-01

This final technical report describes and summarizes results of a research effort to investigate physical mechanisms that control the performance of gas injection processes in heterogeneous reservoirs and to represent those physical effects in an efficient way in simulations of gas injection processes. The research effort included four main lines of research: (1) Efficient compositional streamline methods for 3D flow; (2) Analytical methods for one-dimensional displacements; (3) Physics of multiphase flow; and (4) Limitations of streamline methods. In the first area, results are reported that show how the streamline simulation approach can be applied to simulation of gas injection processes that include significant effects of transfer of components between phases. In the second area, the one-dimensional theory of multicomponent gas injection processes is extended to include the effects of volume change as components change phase. In addition an automatic algorithm for solving such problems is described. In the third area, results on an extensive experimental investigation of three-phase flow are reported. The experimental results demonstrate the impact on displacement performance of the low interfacial tensions between the gas and oil phases that can arise in multicontact miscible or near-miscible displacement processes. In the fourth area, the limitations of the streamline approach were explored. Results of an experimental investigation of the scaling of the interplay of viscous, capillary, and gravity forces are described. In addition results of a computational investigation of the limitations of the streamline approach are reported. The results presented in this report establish that it is possible to use the compositional streamline approach in many reservoir settings to predict performance of gas injection processes. When that approach can be used, it requires substantially less (often orders of magnitude) computation time than conventional finite difference

CO2/ brine substitution experiments at simulated reservoir conditions

Science.gov (United States)

Kummerow, Juliane; Spangenberg, Erik

2015-04-01

Capillary properties of rocks affect the mobility of fluids in a reservoir. Therefore, the understanding of the capillary pressure behaviour is essential to assess the long-term behaviour of CO2 reservoirs. Beyond this, a calibration of the petrophysical properties on water saturation of reservoir rocks at simulated in situ conditions is crucial for a proper interpretation of field monitoring data. We present a set-up, which allows for the combined measurements of capillary pressure, electric resistivity, and elastic wave velocities under controlled reservoir conditions (pconf = 400 bar, ppore = 180 bar, T = 65 ° C) at different brine-CO2 saturations. The capillary properties of the samples are measured using the micropore membrane technique. The sample is jacketed with a Viton tube (thickness = 4 mm) and placed between two current electrode endcaps, which as well contain pore fluid ports and ultrasonic P and S wave transducers. Between the sample and the lower endcap the hydrophilic semi-permeable micro-pore membrane (pore size = 100 nm) is integrated. It is embedded into filter papers to establish a good capillary contact and to protect the highly sensitive membrane against mechanical damage under load. Two high-precision syringe pumps are used to displace a quantified volume of brine by CO2 and determine the corresponding sample saturation. The fluid displacement induces a pressure gradient along the sample, which corresponds to the capillary pressure at a particular sample saturation. It is measured with a differential pressure sensor in the range between 0 - 0.2 MPa. Drainage and imbibition cycles are performed to provide information on the efficiency of capillary trapping and to get a calibration of the petrophysical parameters of the sample.

Hedging Rules for Water Supply Reservoir Based on the Model of Simulation and Optimization

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yi Ji

2016-06-01

Full Text Available This study proposes a hedging rule model which is composed of a two-period reservior operation model considering the damage depth and hedging rule parameter optimization model. The former solves hedging rules based on a given poriod’s water supply weighting factor and carryover storage target, while the latter optimization model is used to optimize the weighting factor and carryover storage target based on the hedging rules. The coupling model gives the optimal poriod’s water supply weighting factor and carryover storage target to guide release. The conclusions achieved from this study as follows: (1 the water supply weighting factor and carryover storage target have a direct impact on the three elements of the hedging rule; (2 parameters can guide reservoirs to supply water reasonably after optimization of the simulation and optimization model; and (3 in order to verify the utility of the hedging rule, the Heiquan reservoir is used as a case study and particle swarm optimization algorithm with a simulation model is adopted for optimizing the parameter. The results show that the proposed hedging rule can improve the operation performances of the water supply reservoir.

Numerical simulations of highly buoyant flows in the Castel Giorgio - Torre Alfina deep geothermal reservoir

Science.gov (United States)

Volpi, Giorgio; Crosta, Giovanni B.; Colucci, Francesca; Fischer, Thomas; Magri, Fabien

2017-04-01

Geothermal heat is a viable source of energy and its environmental impact in terms of CO2 emissions is significantly lower than conventional fossil fuels. However, nowadays its utilization is inconsistent with the enormous amount of energy available underneath the surface of the earth. This is mainly due to the uncertainties associated with it, as for example the lack of appropriate computational tools, necessary to perform effective analyses. The aim of the present study is to build an accurate 3D numerical model, to simulate the exploitation process of the deep geothermal reservoir of Castel Giorgio - Torre Alfina (central Italy), and to compare results and performances of parallel simulations performed with TOUGH2 (Pruess et al. 1999), FEFLOW (Diersch 2014) and the open source software OpenGeoSys (Kolditz et al. 2012). Detailed geological, structural and hydrogeological data, available for the selected area since early 70s, show that Castel Giorgio - Torre Alfina is a potential geothermal reservoir with high thermal characteristics (120 ° C - 150 ° C) and fluids such as pressurized water and gas, mainly CO2, hosted in a carbonate formation. Our two steps simulations firstly recreate the undisturbed natural state of the considered system and then perform the predictive analysis of the industrial exploitation process. The three adopted software showed a strong numerical simulations accuracy, which has been verified by comparing the simulated and measured temperature and pressure values of the geothermal wells in the area. The results of our simulations have demonstrated the sustainability of the investigated geothermal field for the development of a 5 MW pilot plant with total fluids reinjection in the same original formation. From the thermal point of view, a very efficient buoyant circulation inside the geothermal system has been observed, thus allowing the reservoir to support the hypothesis of a 50 years production time with a flow rate of 1050 t

Using microstructure observations to quantify fracture properties and improve reservoir simulations. Final report, September 1998

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Laubach, S.E.; Marrett, R.; Rossen, W.; Olson, J.; Lake, L.; Ortega, O.; Gu, Y.; Reed, R.

1999-01-01

The research for this project provides new technology to understand and successfully characterize, predict, and simulate reservoir-scale fractures. Such fractures have worldwide importance because of their influence on successful extraction of resources. The scope of this project includes creation and testing of new methods to measure, interpret, and simulate reservoir fractures that overcome the challenge of inadequate sampling. The key to these methods is the use of microstructures as guides to the attributes of the large fractures that control reservoir behavior. One accomplishment of the project research is a demonstration that these microstructures can be reliably and inexpensively sampled. Specific goals of this project were to: create and test new methods of measuring attributes of reservoir-scale fractures, particularly as fluid conduits, and test the methods on samples from reservoirs; extrapolate structural attributes to the reservoir scale through rigorous mathematical techniques and help build accurate and useful 3-D models of the interwell region; and design new ways to incorporate geological and geophysical information into reservoir simulation and verify the accuracy by comparison with production data. New analytical methods developed in the project are leading to a more realistic characterization of fractured reservoir rocks. Testing diagnostic and predictive approaches was an integral part of the research, and several tests were successfully completed.

Simulation of a SAGD well blowout using a reservoir-wellbore coupled simulator

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Walter, J.; Vanegas, P.; Cunha, L.B. [Alberta Univ., Edmonton, AB (Canada); Worth, D.J. [C-FER Technologies, Edmonton, AB (Canada); Crepin, S. [Petrocedeno, Caracas (Venezuela)

2008-10-15

Single barrier completion systems are typically used in SAGD projects due to the lack of equipment suitable for high temperature SAGD downhole environments. This study used a wellbore and reservoir coupled thermal simulator tool to investigate the blowout behaviour of a steam assisted gravity drainage (SAGD) well pair when the safety barrier has failed. Fluid flow pressure drop through the wellbore and heat losses between the wellbore and the reservoir were modelled using a discretized wellbore option and a semi-analytical model. The fully coupled mechanistic model accounted for the simultaneous transient pressure and temperature variations along the wellbore and the reservoir. The simulations were used to predict flowing potential and fluid compositions of both wells in a SAGD well pair under various flowing conditions. Blowout scenarios were created for 3 different points in the well pair's life. Three flow paths during the blowout were evaluated for both the production and injection wells. Results of the study were used to conduct a comparative risk assessment between a double barrier and a single barrier completion. The modelling study confirmed that both the injection and production wells had the potential for blowouts lasting significant periods of time, with liquid rates over 50 times the normal production liquid rates. The model successfully predicted the blowout flow potential of the SAGD well pairs. 8 refs., 3 tabs., 18 figs.

Generation of hybrid meshes for the simulation of petroleum reservoirs; Generation de maillages hybrides pour la simulation de reservoirs petroliers

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Balaven-Clermidy, S.

2001-12-01

Oil reservoir simulations study multiphase flows in porous media. These flows are described and evaluated through numerical schemes on a discretization of the reservoir domain. In this thesis, we were interested in this spatial discretization and a new kind of hybrid mesh has been proposed where the radial nature of flows in the vicinity of wells is directly taken into account in the geometry. Our modular approach described wells and their drainage area through radial circular meshes. These well meshes are inserted in a structured reservoir mesh (a Corner Point Geometry mesh) made up with hexahedral cells. Finally, in order to generate a global conforming mesh, proper connections are realized between the different kinds of meshes through unstructured transition ones. To compute these transition meshes that we want acceptable in terms of finite volume methods, an automatic method based on power diagrams has been developed. Our approach can deal with a homogeneous anisotropic medium and allows the user to insert vertical or horizontal wells as well as secondary faults in the reservoir mesh. Our work has been implemented, tested and validated in 2D and 2D1/2. It can also be extended in 3D when the geometrical constraints are simplicial ones: points, segments and triangles. (author)

Quantifying the uncertainties of climate change effects on the storage-yield and performance characteristics of the Pong multi-purpose reservoir, India

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

B. Soundharajan

2015-06-01

Full Text Available Climate change is predicted to affect water resources infrastructure due to its effect on rainfall, temperature and evapotranspiration. However, there are huge uncertainties on both the magnitude and direction of these effects. The Pong reservoir on the Beas River in northern India serves irrigation and hydropower needs. The hydrology of the catchment is highly influenced by Himalayan seasonal snow and glaciers, and Monsoon rainfall; the changing pattern of the latter and the predicted disappearance of the former will have profound effects on the performance of the reservoir. This study employed a Monte-Carlo simulation approach to characterise the uncertainties in the future storage requirements and performance of the reservoir. Using a calibrated rainfall-runoff (R-R model, the baseline runoff scenario was first simulated. The R-R inputs (rainfall and temperature were then perturbed using plausible delta-changes to produce simulated climate change runoff scenarios. Stochastic models of the runoff were developed and used to generate ensembles of both the current and climate-change perturbed future scenarios. The resulting runoff ensembles were used to simulate the behaviour of the reservoir and determine "populations" of reservoir storage capacity and performance characteristics. Comparing these parameters between the current and the perturbed provided the population of climate change effects which was then analysed to determine the uncertainties. The results show that contrary to the usual practice of using single records, there is wide variability in the assessed impacts. This variability or uncertainty will, no doubt, complicate the development of climate change adaptation measures; however, knowledge of its sheer magnitude as demonstrated in this study will help in the formulation of appropriate policy and technical interventions for sustaining and possibly enhancing water security for irrigation and other uses served by Pong reservoir.

Use of black oil simulator for coal bed methane reservoir model

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sonwa, R.; Enachescu, C.; Rohs, S. [Golder Associates GmbH, Celle (Germany)

2013-08-01

This paper starts from the work done by Seidle et al. (1990) and other authors on the topic of coal degasification and develops a more accurate representative naturally fractured CBM-reservoir by using a Discrete Fracture Network modeling approach. For this issue we firstly calibrate the reservoir simulator tNAVIGATOR by showing his ability to reproduce the work done by Seidle et al. and secondly generate a DFN model using FracMan in accordance with the distribution and orientation of the cleats. tNavigator was then used to simulate multiphase flow through the DFN- Model. (orig.)

Static and dynamic load-balancing strategies for parallel reservoir simulation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Anguille, L.; Killough, J.E.; Li, T.M.C.; Toepfer, J.L.

1995-01-01

Accurate simulation of the complex phenomena that occur in flow in porous media can tax even the most powerful serial computers. Emergence of new parallel computer architectures as a future efficient tool in reservoir simulation may overcome this difficulty. Unfortunately, major problems remain to be solved before using parallel computers commercially: production serial programs must be rewritten to be efficient in parallel environments and load balancing methods must be explored to evenly distribute the workload on each processor during the simulation. This study implements both a static load-balancing algorithm and a receiver-initiated dynamic load-sharing algorithm to achieve high parallel efficiencies on both the IBM SP2 and Intel IPSC/860 parallel computers. Significant speedup improvement was recorded for both methods. Further optimization of these algorithms yielded a technique with efficiencies as high as 90% and 70% on 8 and 32 nodes, respectively. The increased performance was the result of the minimization of message-passing overhead

Surrogate reservoir models for CSI well probabilistic production forecast

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Saúl Buitrago

2017-09-01

Full Text Available The aim of this work is to present the construction and use of Surrogate Reservoir Models capable of accurately predicting cumulative oil production for every well stimulated with cyclic steam injection at any given time in a heavy oil reservoir in Mexico considering uncertain variables. The central composite experimental design technique was selected to capture the maximum amount of information from the model response with a minimum number of reservoir models simulations. Four input uncertain variables (the dead oil viscosity with temperature, the reservoir pressure, the reservoir permeability and oil sand thickness hydraulically connected to the well were selected as the ones with more impact on the initial hot oil production rate according to an analytical production prediction model. Twenty five runs were designed and performed with the STARS simulator for each well type on the reservoir model. The results show that the use of Surrogate Reservoir Models is a fast viable alternative to perform probabilistic production forecasting of the reservoir.

Application of Reservoir Flow Simulation Integrated with Geomechanics in Unconventional Tight Play

Science.gov (United States)

Lin, Menglu; Chen, Shengnan; Mbia, Ernest; Chen, Zhangxing

2018-01-01

Multistage hydraulic fracturing techniques, combined with horizontal drilling, have enabled commercial production from the vast reserves of unconventional tight formations. During hydraulic fracturing, fracturing fluid and proppants are pumped into the reservoir matrix to create the hydraulic fractures. Understanding the propagation mechanism of hydraulic fractures is essential to estimate their properties, such as half-length. In addition, natural fractures are often present in tight formations, which might be activated during the fracturing process and contribute to the post-stimulation well production rates. In this study, reservoir simulation is integrated with rock geomechanics to predict the well post-stimulation productivities. Firstly, a reservoir geological model is built based on the field data collected from the Montney formation in the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin. The hydraulic fracturing process is then simulated through an integrated approach of fracturing fluid injection, rock geomechanics, and tensile failure criteria. In such a process, the reservoir pore pressure increases with a continuous injection of the fracturing fluid and proppants, decreasing the effective stress exerted on the rock matrix accordingly as the overburden pressure remains constant. Once the effective stress drops to a threshold value, tensile failure of the reservoir rock occurs, creating hydraulic fractures in the formation. The early production history of the stimulated well is history-matched to validate the predicted fracture geometries (e.g., half-length) generated from the fracturing simulation process. The effects of the natural fracture properties and well bottom-hole pressures on well productivity are also studied. It has been found that nearly 40% of hydraulic fractures propagate in the beginning stage (the pad step) of the fracturing schedule. In addition, well post-stimulation productivity will increase significantly if the natural fractures are propped or

Modelling and simulation of compressible fluid flow in oil reservoir: a case study of the Jubilee Field, Tano Basin (Ghana)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gawusu, S.

2015-07-01

Oil extraction represents an important investment and the control of a rational exploitation of a field means mastering various scientific techniques including the understanding of the dynamics of fluids in place. This thesis presents a theoretical investigation of the dynamic behaviour of an oil reservoir during its exploitation. The study investigated the dynamics of fluid flow patterns in a homogeneous oil reservoir using the Radial Diffusivity Equation (RDE) as well as two phase oil-water flow equations. The RDE model was solved analytically and numerically for pressure using the Constant Terminal Rate Solution (CTRS) and the fully implicit Finite Difference Method (FDM) respectively. The mathematical derivations of the models and their solution procedures were presented to allow for easy utilization of the techniques for reservoir and engineering applications. The study predicted that the initial oil reservoir pressure will be able to do the extraction for a very long time before any other recovery method will be used to aid in the extraction process depending on the rate of production. Reservoir simulation describing a one dimensional radial flow of a compressible fluid in porous media may be adequately performed using ordinary laptop computers as revealed by the study. For the simulation of MATLAB, the case of the Jubilee Fields, Tano Basin was studied, an algorithm was developed for the simulation of pressure in the reservoir. It ensues from the analysis of the plots of pressure vrs time and space that the Pressure Transient Analysis (PTA) was duly followed. The approximate solutions of the analytical and numerical solutions to the Radial Diffusivity Equation (RDE) were in excellent agreement, thus the reservoir simulation model developed can be used to describe typical pressure-time relationships that are used in conventional Pressure Transient Analysis (PTA). The study was extended to two phase oil-water flow in reservoirs. The flow of fluids in multi

Performance of thermal solvent process in Athabasca reservoir

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Das, Swapan [Marathon Oil (Canada)

2011-07-01

In the petroleum industry, due to depletion of conventional resources and high demand operators are looking into heavy oil and bitumen production. Different recovery methods exist, some of them based on heating the reservoir and others on the use of solvent. Thermal solvent process is a combination of both: a small amount of heat is used to maintain a solvent vapor phase in the reservoir. This process has advantages, solvent is mostly recycled which increases bitumen recovery efficiency and reduces the need for fresh solvent, but it also poses challenges, such as maintaining a vapor chamber and the fact that solvent solubility might be affected by heating. The aim of this paper is to discuss these issues. Simulations and field tests were conducted on bitumen in the the Athabasca region. This paper presented a thermal solvent process and its application's results in Athabasca reservoir.

Geothermal reservoir simulation to enhance confidence in predictions for nuclear waste disposal

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kneafsey, Timothy J.; Pruess, Karsten; O'Sullivan, Michael J.; Bodvarsson, Gudmundur S.

2002-01-01

Numerical simulation of geothermal reservoirs is useful and necessary in understanding and evaluating reservoir structure and behavior, designing field development, and predicting performance. Models vary in complexity depending on processes considered, heterogeneity, data availability, and study objectives. They are evaluated using computer codes written and tested to study single and multiphase flow and transport under nonisothermal conditions. Many flow and heat transfer processes modeled in geothermal reservoirs are expected to occur in anthropogenic thermal (AT) systems created by geologic disposal of heat-generating nuclear waste. We examine and compare geothermal systems and the AT system expected at Yucca Mountain, Nevada, and their modeling. Time frames and spatial scales are similar in both systems, but increased precision is necessary for modeling the AT system, because flow through specific repository locations will affect long-term ability radionuclide retention. Geothermal modeling experience has generated a methodology, used in the AT modeling for Yucca Mountain, yielding good predictive results if sufficient reliable data are available and an experienced modeler is involved. Codes used in geothermal and AT modeling have been tested extensively and successfully on a variety of analytical and laboratory problems

Sudden water pollution accidents and reservoir emergency operations: impact analysis at Danjiangkou Reservoir.

Science.gov (United States)

Zheng, Hezhen; Lei, Xiaohui; Shang, Yizi; Duan, Yang; Kong, Lingzhong; Jiang, Yunzhong; Wang, Hao

2018-03-01

Danjiangkou Reservoir is the source reservoir of the Middle Route of the South-to-North Water Diversion Project (MRP). Any sudden water pollution accident in the reservoir would threaten the water supply of the MRP. We established a 3-D hydrodynamic and water quality model for the Danjiangkou Reservoir, and proposed scientific suggestions on the prevention and emergency management for sudden water pollution accidents based on simulated results. Simulations were performed on 20 hypothetical pollutant discharge locations and 3 assumed amounts, in order to model the effect of pollutant spreading under different reservoir operation types. The results showed that both the location and mass of pollution affected water quality; however, different reservoir operation types had little effect. Five joint regulation scenarios, which altered the hydrodynamic processes of water conveyance for the Danjiangkou and Taocha dams, were considered for controlling pollution dispersion. The results showed that the spread of a pollutant could be effectively controlled through the joint regulation of the two dams and that the collaborative operation of the Danjiangkou and Taocha dams is critical for ensuring the security of water quality along the MRP.

Performance Analysis of Depleted Oil Reservoirs for Underground Gas Storage

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dr. C.I.C. Anyadiegwu

2014-02-01

Full Text Available The performance of underground gas storage in depleted oil reservoir was analysed with reservoir Y-19, a depleted oil reservoir in Southern region of the Niger Delta. Information on the geologic and production history of the reservoir were obtained from the available field data of the reservoir. The verification of inventory was done to establish the storage capacity of the reservoir. The plot of the well flowing pressure (Pwf against the flow rate (Q, gives the deliverability of the reservoir at various pressures. Results of the estimated properties signified that reservoir Y-19 is a good candidate due to its storage capacity and its flow rate (Q of 287.61 MMscf/d at a flowing pressure of 3900 psig

Scale Model Simulation of Enhanced Geothermal Reservoir Creation

Science.gov (United States)

Gutierrez, M.; Frash, L.; Hampton, J.

2012-12-01

Geothermal energy technology has successfully provided a means of generating stable base load electricity for many years. However, implementation has been spatially limited to limited availability of high quality traditional hydro-thermal resources possessing the combination of a shallow high heat flow anomaly and an aquifer with sufficient permeability and continuous fluid recharge. Enhanced Geothermal Systems (EGS) has been proposed as a potential solution to enable additional energy production from the non-conventional hydro-thermal resources. Hydraulic fracturing is considered the primary means of creating functional EGS reservoirs at sites where the permeability of the rock is too limited to allow cost effective heat recovery. EGS reservoir creation requires improved fracturing methodology, rheologically controllable fracturing fluids, and temperature hardened proppants. Although large fracture volumes (several cubic km) have been created in the field, circulating fluid through these full volumes and maintaining fracture volumes have proven difficult. Stimulation technology and methodology as used in the oil and gas industry for sedimentary formations are well developed; however, they have not sufficiently been demonstrated for EGS reservoir creation. Insufficient data and measurements under geothermal conditions make it difficult to directly translate experience from the oil and gas industries to EGS applications. To demonstrate the feasibility of EGS reservoir creation and subsequent geothermal energy production, and to improve the understanding of hydraulic and propping in EGS reservoirs, a heated true-triaxial load cell with a high pressure fluid injection system was developed to simulate an EGS system from stimulation to production. This apparatus is capable of loading a 30x30x30 cubic cm rock sample with independent principal stresses up to 13 MPa while simultaneously providing heating up to 180 degree C. Multiple orientated boreholes of 5 to 10 mm

Parallel Reservoir Simulations with Sparse Grid Techniques and Applications to Wormhole Propagation

KAUST Repository

Wu, Yuanqing

2015-09-08

In this work, two topics of reservoir simulations are discussed. The first topic is the two-phase compositional flow simulation in hydrocarbon reservoir. The major obstacle that impedes the applicability of the simulation code is the long run time of the simulation procedure, and thus speeding up the simulation code is necessary. Two means are demonstrated to address the problem: parallelism in physical space and the application of sparse grids in parameter space. The parallel code can gain satisfactory scalability, and the sparse grids can remove the bottleneck of flash calculations. Instead of carrying out the flash calculation in each time step of the simulation, a sparse grid approximation of all possible results of the flash calculation is generated before the simulation. Then the constructed surrogate model is evaluated to approximate the flash calculation results during the simulation. The second topic is the wormhole propagation simulation in carbonate reservoir. In this work, different from the traditional simulation technique relying on the Darcy framework, we propose a new framework called Darcy-Brinkman-Forchheimer framework to simulate wormhole propagation. Furthermore, to process the large quantity of cells in the simulation grid and shorten the long simulation time of the traditional serial code, standard domain-based parallelism is employed, using the Hypre multigrid library. In addition to that, a new technique called “experimenting field approach” to set coefficients in the model equations is introduced. In the 2D dissolution experiments, different configurations of wormholes and a series of properties simulated by both frameworks are compared. We conclude that the numerical results of the DBF framework are more like wormholes and more stable than the Darcy framework, which is a demonstration of the advantages of the DBF framework. The scalability of the parallel code is also evaluated, and good scalability can be achieved. Finally, a mixed

Experiences with linear solvers for oil reservoir simulation problems

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Joubert, W.; Janardhan, R. [Los Alamos National Lab., NM (United States); Biswas, D.; Carey, G.

1996-12-31

This talk will focus on practical experiences with iterative linear solver algorithms used in conjunction with Amoco Production Company`s Falcon oil reservoir simulation code. The goal of this study is to determine the best linear solver algorithms for these types of problems. The results of numerical experiments will be presented.

SIMULATION AND OPTIMIZATION OF THE HYDRAULIC FRACTURING OPERATION IN A HEAVY OIL RESERVOIR IN SOUTHERN IRAN

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

REZA MASOOMI

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Extraction of oil from some Iranian reservoirs due to high viscosity of their oil or reducing the formation permeability due to asphaltene precipitation or other problems is not satisfactory. Hydraulic fracturing method increases production in the viscous oil reservoirs that the production rate is low. So this is very important for some Iranian reservoirs that contain these characteristics. In this study, hydraulic fracturing method has been compositionally simulated in a heavy oil reservoir in southern Iran. In this study, the parameters of the fracture half length, the propagation direction of the cracks and the depth of fracturing have been considered in this oil reservoir. The aim of this study is to find the best scenario which has the highest recovery factor in this oil reservoir. For this purpose the parameters of the length, propagation direction and depth of fracturing have been optimized in this reservoir. Through this study the cumulative oil production has been evaluated with the compositional simulation for the next 10 years in this reservoir. Also at the end of this paper, increasing the final production of this oil reservoir caused by optimized hydraulic fracturing has been evaluated.

The pressure equation arising in reservoir simulation. Mathematical properties, numerical methods and upscaling

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Nielsen, Bjoern Fredrik

1997-12-31

The main purpose of this thesis has been to analyse self-adjoint second order elliptic partial differential equations arising in reservoir simulation. It studies several mathematical and numerical problems for the pressure equation arising in models of fluid flow in porous media. The theoretical results obtained have been illustrated by a series of numerical experiments. The influence of large variations in the mobility tensor upon the solution of the pressure equation is analysed. The performance of numerical methods applied to such problems have been studied. A new upscaling technique for one-phase flow in heterogeneous reservoirs is developed. The stability of the solution of the pressure equation with respect to small perturbations of the mobility tensor is studied. The results are used to develop a new numerical method for a model of fully nonlinear water waves. 158 refs, 39 figs., 12 tabs.

The pressure equation arising in reservoir simulation. Mathematical properties, numerical methods and upscaling

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Nielsen, Bjoern Fredrik

1998-12-31

The main purpose of this thesis has been to analyse self-adjoint second order elliptic partial differential equations arising in reservoir simulation. It studies several mathematical and numerical problems for the pressure equation arising in models of fluid flow in porous media. The theoretical results obtained have been illustrated by a series of numerical experiments. The influence of large variations in the mobility tensor upon the solution of the pressure equation is analysed. The performance of numerical methods applied to such problems have been studied. A new upscaling technique for one-phase flow in heterogeneous reservoirs is developed. The stability of the solution of the pressure equation with respect to small perturbations of the mobility tensor is studied. The results are used to develop a new numerical method for a model of fully nonlinear water waves. 158 refs, 39 figs., 12 tabs.

Simulation of the hydrodynamic behaviour of a Mediterranean reservoir under different climate change and management scenarios

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jordi Prats

2017-11-01

Full Text Available One of the most important current issues in the management of lakes and reservoirs is the prediction of global climate change effects to determine appropriate mitigation and adaptation actions. In this paper we analyse whether management actions can limit the effects of climate change on water temperatures in a reservoir. For this, we used the model EOLE to simulate the hydrodynamic and thermal behaviour of the reservoir of Bimont (Provence region, France in the medium term (2036-2065 and in the long term (2066-2095 using regionalised projections by the model CNRM-CERFACS-CNRM-CM5 under the emission scenarios RCP 4.5 and RCP 8.5. Water temperature projections were compared to simulations for the reference period 1993-2013, the longest period for which we had year-long data for both hydrology and meteorology. We calibrated the model using profile measurements for the period 2010-2011 and we carried an extensive validation and assessment of model performance. In fact, we validated the model using profile measurements for 2012-2014, obtaining a root mean square error of 1.08°C and mean bias of -0.11°C, and we assured the consistency of model simulations in the long term by comparing simulated surface temperature to satellite measurements for 1999-2013. We assessed the effect using synthetic input data instead of measured input data by comparing simulations made using both kinds of data for the reference period. Using synthetic data resulted in slightly lower (-0.3°C average and maximum epilimnion temperatures, a somewhat deeper thermocline, and slightly higher evaporation (+7%. To investigate the effect of different management strategies, we considered three management scenarios: i bottom outlet and present water level; ii bottom outlet and elevated water level; and iii surface outlet and elevated water level. According to the simulations, the reservoir of Bimont will have a low rate of warming of the epilimnion of 0.009-0.024 °C·yr-1, but a

Numerical simulation of carbon dioxide effects in geothermal reservoirs

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Moya, S.L.; Iglesias, E.R. [Instituto de Investigaciones Electricas, Cuernavaca (Mexico)

1995-03-01

We developed and coded a new equation of state (EOS) for water-carbon dioxide mixtures and coupled it to the TOUGH numerical simulator. This EOS is valid up to 350{degrees}C and 500 bar. Unlike previous thermodynamical models, it rigorously considers the non-ideal behavior of both components in the gaseous mixture and formally includes the effect of the compressibility of the liquid phase. We refer to the coupling of this EOS with TOUGH as TOUGH-DIOX. To complement this enhancement of TOUGH, we added indexed output files for easy selection and interpretation of results. We validated TOUGH-DIOX against published results. Furthermore we used TOUGH-DIOX to explore and compare mass and energy inflow performance relationships of geothermal wells with/without carbon dioxide (CO{sub 2}). Our results include the effects of a broad range of fluid and formation properties, initial conditions and history of reservoir production. This work contributes with generalized dimensionless inflow performance relationships appropriate for geothermal use.

Considering heterogeneities by transmissibilities averaging on adapted meshes in reservoir simulation; Prise en compte des heterogeneites par prise de moyenne des transmissivites sur maillages adaptes en simulation de reservoir

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Urgelli, D

1998-10-16

Reservoir heterogeneity can be described using geostatistical models. But these models generate the heterogeneity on millions of fine grid blocks, which leads to prohibitive computational costs for reservoir simulations. In order to reduce the number of grid blocks, averaging techniques are needed to up-scale the fine scale permeabilities to the larger scales appropriate for flow simulation and engineering calculations. Grid block permeability up-scaling for numerical reservoir simulations has been discussed for a long time in the literature. It is now recognized that a full permeability tensor is needed to get an accurate reservoir description. But, the equivalent permeability on coarse grid blocks cannot be used directly on the numerical scheme. Usually, the harmonic average of the coarse grid block permeability is used for the transmissibility calculation, but it might cause a loss of accuracy. The purpose of this thesis is to present a new procedure for computing the equivalent transmissibility in the discretized flow equations on Cartesian grids and Corner Point Geometry grids. An application of this technique to a finite volume type numerical scheme is detailed. The principle of this technique is to calculate a permeability term on a shifted block placed between the two adjacent blocks where the transmissibility must be determined. At the field scale, the flow region can be divided into two types : a linear flow pattern with a low pressure gradient far from the wells and a radial flow pattern with a high pressure gradient in the vicinity of the wells. The radial flow region is usually more important for the prediction of production forecast, because it is directly related to the well. This was demonstrated theoretically and numerically for 2-D problem. The transmissibility up-scaling in radial flow pattern consists to determine the transmissibilities in the vicinity of wells and the numerical Productivity Index simultaneously. This new method called `shifted

Geological and Petrophysical Characterization of the Ferron Sandstone for 3-D Simulation of a Fluvial-Deltaic Reservoir

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Chidsey, Jr, Thomas C.

2001-10-31

The objective of the Ferron Sandstone project was to develop a comprehensive, interdisciplinary, quantitative characterization f fluvial-deltaic reservoir to allow realistic interwell and reservoir-scale models to be developed for improved oil-field development in similar reservoirs world-wide. Quantitative geological and petrophysical information on the Cretaceous Ferron Sandstone in east-central Utah was collected. Both new and existing data was integrated into a three-dimensional model of spatial variations in porosity, storativity, and tensorial rock permeability at a scale appropriate for inter-well to regional-scale reservoir simulation. Simulation results could improve reservoir management through proper infill and extension drilling strategies, reduction of economic risks, increased recovery from existing oil fields, and more reliable reserve calculations.

[Coupling SWAT and CE-QUAL-W2 models to simulate water quantity and quality in Shanmei Reservoir watershed].

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Mei-Bing; Chen, Dong-Ping; Chen, Xing-Wei; Chen, Ying

2013-12-01

A coupled watershed-reservoir modeling approach consisting of a watershed distributed model (SWAT) and a two-dimensional laterally averaged model (CE-QUAL-W2) was adopted for simulating the impact of non-point source pollution from upland watershed on water quality of Shanmei Reservoir. Using the daily serial output from Shanmei Reservoir watershed by SWAT as the input to Shanmei Reservoir by CE-QUAL-W2, the coupled modeling was calibrated for runoff and outputs of sediment and pollutant at watershed scale and for elevation, temperature, nitrate, ammonium and total nitrogen in Shanmei Reservoir. The results indicated that the simulated values agreed fairly well with the observed data, although the calculation precision of downstream model would be affected by the accumulative errors generated from the simulation of upland model. The SWAT and CE-QUAL-W2 coupled modeling could be used to assess the hydrodynamic and water quality process in complex watershed comprised of upland watershed and downstream reservoir, and might further provide scientific basis for positioning key pollution source area and controlling the reservoir eutrophication.

Comparison of static and dynamic resilience for a multipurpose reservoir operation

Science.gov (United States)

Simonovic, Slobodan P.; Arunkumar, R.

2016-11-01

Reliability, resilience, and vulnerability are the traditional risk measures used to assess the performance of a reservoir system. Among these measures, resilience is used to assess the ability of a reservoir system to recover from a failure event. However, the time-independent static resilience does not consider the system characteristics, interaction of various individual components and does not provide much insight into reservoir performance from the beginning of the failure event until the full performance recovery. Knowledge of dynamic reservoir behavior under the disturbance offers opportunities for proactive and/or reactive adaptive response that can be selected to maximize reservoir resilience. A novel measure is required to provide insight into the dynamics of reservoir performance based on the reservoir system characteristics and its adaptive capacity. The reservoir system characteristics include, among others, reservoir storage curve, reservoir inflow, reservoir outflow capacity, and reservoir operating rules. The reservoir adaptive capacity can be expressed using various impacts of reservoir performance under the disturbance (like reservoir release for meeting a particular demand, socioeconomic consequences of reservoir performance, or resulting environmental state of the river upstream and downstream from the reservoir). Another way of expressing reservoir adaptive capacity to a disturbing event may include aggregated measures like reservoir robustness, redundancy, resourcefulness, and rapidity. A novel measure that combines reservoir performance and its adaptive capacity is proposed in this paper and named "dynamic resilience." The paper also proposes a generic simulation methodology for quantifying reservoir resilience as a function of time. The proposed resilience measure is applied to a single multipurpose reservoir operation and tested for a set of failure scenarios. The dynamic behavior of reservoir resilience is captured using the system

Reservoir characterization of Pennsylvanian sandstone reservoirs. Final report

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kelkar, M.

1995-02-01

This final report summarizes the progress during the three years of a project on Reservoir Characterization of Pennsylvanian Sandstone Reservoirs. The report is divided into three sections: (i) reservoir description; (ii) scale-up procedures; (iii) outcrop investigation. The first section describes the methods by which a reservoir can be described in three dimensions. The next step in reservoir description is to scale up reservoir properties for flow simulation. The second section addresses the issue of scale-up of reservoir properties once the spatial descriptions of properties are created. The last section describes the investigation of an outcrop.

Comparison of an impec and a semi-implicit formulation for compositional reservoir simulation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

B. R. B. Fernandes

2014-12-01

Full Text Available In compositional reservoir simulation, a set of non-linear partial differential equations must be solved. In this work, two numerical formulations are compared. The first formulation is based on an implicit pressure and explicit composition (IMPEC procedure, and the second formulation uses an implicit pressure and implicit saturation (IMPSAT. The main goal of this work is to compare the formulations in terms of computational times for solving 2D and 3D compositional reservoir simulation case studies. In the comparison, both UDS (Upwind difference scheme and third order TVD schemes were used. The computational results for the aforementioned formulations and the two interpolation functions are presented for several case studies involving homogeneous and heterogeneous reservoirs. Based on our comparison of IMPEC and IMPSAT formulations using several case studies presented in this work, the IMPSAT formulation was faster than the IMPEC formulation.

Static reservoir modeling of the Bahariya reservoirs for the oilfields development in South Umbarka area, Western Desert, Egypt

Science.gov (United States)

Abdel-Fattah, Mohamed I.; Metwalli, Farouk I.; Mesilhi, El Sayed I.

2018-02-01

3D static reservoir modeling of the Bahariya reservoirs using seismic and wells data can be a relevant part of an overall strategy for the oilfields development in South Umbarka area (Western Desert, Egypt). The seismic data is used to build the 3D grid, including fault sticks for the fault modeling, and horizon interpretations and surfaces for horizon modeling. The 3D grid is the digital representation of the structural geology of Bahariya Formation. When we got a reasonably accurate representation, we fill the 3D grid with facies and petrophysical properties to simulate it, to gain a more precise understanding of the reservoir properties behavior. Sequential Indicator Simulation (SIS) and Sequential Gaussian Simulation (SGS) techniques are the stochastic algorithms used to spatially distribute discrete reservoir properties (facies) and continuous reservoir properties (shale volume, porosity, and water saturation) respectively within the created 3D grid throughout property modeling. The structural model of Bahariya Formation exhibits the trapping mechanism which is a fault assisted anticlinal closure trending NW-SE. This major fault breaks the reservoirs into two major fault blocks (North Block and South Block). Petrophysical models classified Lower Bahariya reservoir as a moderate to good reservoir rather than Upper Bahariya reservoir in terms of facies, with good porosity and permeability, low water saturation, and moderate net to gross. The Original Oil In Place (OOIP) values of modeled Bahariya reservoirs show hydrocarbon accumulation in economic quantity, considering the high structural dips at the central part of South Umbarka area. The powerful of 3D static modeling technique has provided a considerable insight into the future prediction of Bahariya reservoirs performance and production behavior.

Simulation of water-energy fluxes through small-scale reservoir systems under limited data availability

Science.gov (United States)

Papoulakos, Konstantinos; Pollakis, Giorgos; Moustakis, Yiannis; Markopoulos, Apostolis; Iliopoulou, Theano; Dimitriadis, Panayiotis; Koutsoyiannis, Demetris; Efstratiadis, Andreas

2017-04-01

Small islands are regarded as promising areas for developing hybrid water-energy systems that combine multiple sources of renewable energy with pumped-storage facilities. Essential element of such systems is the water storage component (reservoir), which implements both flow and energy regulations. Apparently, the representation of the overall water-energy management problem requires the simulation of the operation of the reservoir system, which in turn requires a faithful estimation of water inflows and demands of water and energy. Yet, in small-scale reservoir systems, this task in far from straightforward, since both the availability and accuracy of associated information is generally very poor. For, in contrast to large-scale reservoir systems, for which it is quite easy to find systematic and reliable hydrological data, in the case of small systems such data may be minor or even totally missing. The stochastic approach is the unique means to account for input data uncertainties within the combined water-energy management problem. Using as example the Livadi reservoir, which is the pumped storage component of the small Aegean island of Astypalaia, Greece, we provide a simulation framework, comprising: (a) a stochastic model for generating synthetic rainfall and temperature time series; (b) a stochastic rainfall-runoff model, whose parameters cannot be inferred through calibration and, thus, they are represented as correlated random variables; (c) a stochastic model for estimating water supply and irrigation demands, based on simulated temperature and soil moisture, and (d) a daily operation model of the reservoir system, providing stochastic forecasts of water and energy outflows. Acknowledgement: This research is conducted within the frame of the undergraduate course "Stochastic Methods in Water Resources" of the National Technical University of Athens (NTUA). The School of Civil Engineering of NTUA provided moral support for the participation of the students

Geologic storage of carbon dioxide and enhanced oil recovery. I. Uncertainty quantification employing a streamline based proxy for reservoir flow simulation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kovscek, A.R.; Wang, Y.

2005-01-01

Carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) is already injected into a limited class of reservoirs for oil recovery purposes; however, the engineering design question for simultaneous oil recovery and storage of anthropogenic CO 2 is significantly different from that of oil recovery alone. Currently, the volumes of CO 2 injected solely for oil recovery are minimized due to the purchase cost of CO 2 . If and when CO 2 emissions to the atmosphere are managed, it will be necessary to maximize simultaneously both economic oil recovery and the volumes of CO 2 emplaced in oil reservoirs. This process is coined 'cooptimization'. This paper proposes a work flow for cooptimization of oil recovery and geologic CO 2 storage. An important component of the work flow is the assessment of uncertainty in predictions of performance. Typical methods for quantifying uncertainty employ exhaustive flow simulation of multiple stochastic realizations of the geologic architecture of a reservoir. Such approaches are computationally intensive and thereby time consuming. An analytic streamline based proxy for full reservoir simulation is proposed and tested. Streamline trajectories represent the three-dimensional velocity field during multiphase flow in porous media and so are useful for quantifying the similarity and differences among various reservoir models. The proxy allows rational selection of a representative subset of equi-probable reservoir models that encompass uncertainty with respect to true reservoir geology. The streamline approach is demonstrated to be thorough and rapid

SIMULATION OF SEDIMENT TRANSPORT IN THE JEZIORO KOWALSKIE RESERVOIR LOCATED IN THE GLOWNA RIVER

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Joanna Jaskuła

2015-07-01

Full Text Available The purpose of the presented research is the analysis of bed elevation changes caused by sediment accumulation in the Jezioro Kowalskie reservoir. The Jezioro Kowalskie reservoir is a two stage reservoir constructed in such a way that the upper preliminary zone is separated from the main part of the reservoir. The split of the reservoir parts is done with a small pre-dam, located in Jerzykowo town. The analysis of such a construction impact on changes of bed elevations in the reservoir in different flow conditions is presented. The HEC-RAS 5.0 Beta model is used for simulations. The sediment transport intensity is calculated from England-Hansen and Meyer-Peter and Muller formulae. The results showed the processes of sediment accumulation and slight erosion occuring in the preliminary zone of the reservoir. The choice of the flow intensity does not have a huge importance. Similar results are obtained for low as well as high flows. The results confirm, that two stage construction with separated preliminary zone is effective method preventing from the sedimentation of the reservoir.

Production of Natural Gas and Fluid Flow in Tight Sand Reservoirs

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Maria Cecilia Bravo

2006-06-30

This document reports progress of this research effort in identifying relationships and defining dependencies between macroscopic reservoir parameters strongly affected by microscopic flow dynamics and production well performance in tight gas sand reservoirs. These dependencies are investigated by identifying the main transport mechanisms at the pore scale that should affect fluids flow at the reservoir scale. A critical review of commercial reservoir simulators, used to predict tight sand gas reservoir, revealed that many are poor when used to model fluid flow through tight reservoirs. Conventional simulators ignore altogether or model incorrectly certain phenomena such as, Knudsen diffusion, electro-kinetic effects, ordinary diffusion mechanisms and water vaporization. We studied the effect of Knudsen's number in Klinkenberg's equation and evaluated the effect of different flow regimes on Klinkenberg's parameter b. We developed a model capable of explaining the pressure dependence of this parameter that has been experimentally observed, but not explained in the conventional formalisms. We demonstrated the relevance of this, so far ignored effect, in tight sands reservoir modeling. A 2-D numerical simulator based on equations that capture the above mentioned phenomena was developed. Dynamic implications of new equations are comprehensively discussed in our work and their relative contribution to the flow rate is evaluated. We performed several simulation sensitivity studies that evidenced that, in general terms, our formalism should be implemented in order to get more reliable tight sands gas reservoirs' predictions.

Cengklik Reservoir Performance and Its Role for Drought Mitigation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yovi Hardiyanto

2015-05-01

Full Text Available Water availability problem is encountered by Cengklik Reservoir due to drought disaster in the current year. It causes irrigation water crisis over 850 hectares crop field which of 350 hectares were not cultivated. The risk that must be faced by farmers is decrease in potential productivity, losses about more than 2.5 billion. Therefore, it needs technical solution to reduce this drought disaster risk. To obtain an alternative solution against water availability problem for drought disaster mitigation, this research used optimization of reservoir standard operating simulation. It applies field area of rice or Palawija at the second and/or the third cultivation season as decision variable, maximum productivity value as objective function, irrigation water demand as parameter depending on specified alternative crop pattern and schedule, and several constraints comprising 100% of reservoir reliability, all field is irrigated at the first and second season in which maximum non-irrigated crop field at the third cultivation season are 300 hectares. The tool used to conduct optimization was Microsoft Excel software. The result showed that crop pattern considered as an alternative solution against water availability problem in Cengklik reservoir is paddy-paddy-maize at the early of November II cultivated over 433 hectares and 1524 hectares. Risk reduction reached 9.33% in term of reservoir reliability, 23.61% in term of irrigated area, and 27.29% in term of vulnerability towards water availability crisis.

An international effort to compare gas hydrate reservoir simulators

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wilder, J.W. [Akron Univ., Akron, OH (United States). Dept. of Theoretical and Applied Math; Moridis, G.J. [California Univ., Berkely, CA (United States). Earth Sciences Div., Lawrence Berkely National Lab.; Wilson, S.J. [Ryder Scott Co., Denver, CO (United States); Kurihara, M. [Japan Oil Engineering Co. Ltd., Tokyo (Japan); White, M.D. [Pacific Northwest National Laboratory Hydrology Group, Richland, WA (United States); Masuda, Y. [Tokyo Univ., Tokyo (Japan). Dept. of Geosystem Engineering; Anderson, B.J. [National Energy Technology Lab., Morgantown, WV (United States)]|[West Virginia Univ., Morgantown, WV (United States). Dept. of Chemical Engineering; Collett, T.S. [United States Geological Survey, Denver, CO (United States); Hunter, R.B. [ASRC Energy Services, Anchorage, AK (United States); Narita, H. [National Inst. of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology, MEthane hydrate Research Lab., Sapporo (Japan); Pooladi-Darvish, M. [Fekete Associates Inc., Calgary, AB (Canada); Rose, K.; Boswell, R. [National Energy Technology Lab., Morgantown, WV (United States)

2008-07-01

In this study, 5 different gas hydrate production scenarios were modeled by the CMG STARS, HydateResSim, MH-21 HYDRES, STOMP-HYD and the TOUGH+HYDRATE reservoir simulators for comparative purposes. The 5 problems ranged in complexity from 1 to 3 dimensional with radial symmetry, and in horizontal dimensions of 20 meters to 1 kilometer. The scenarios included (1) a base case with non-isothermal multi-fluid transition to equilibrium, (2) a base case with gas hydrate (closed-domain hydrate dissociation), (3) dissociation in a 1-D open domain, (4) gas hydrate dissociation in a one-dimensional radial domain, similarity solutions, (5) gas hydrate dissociation in a two-dimensional radial domain. The purpose of the study was to compare the world's leading gas hydrate reservoir simulators in an effort to improve the simulation capability of experimental and naturally occurring gas hydrate accumulations. The problem description and simulation results were presented for each scenario. The results of the first scenario indicated very close agreement among the simulators, suggesting that all address the basics of mass and heat transfer, as well as overall process of gas hydrate dissociation. The third scenario produced the initial divergence among the simulators. Other differences were noted in both scenario 4 and 5, resulting in significant corrections to algorithms within several of the simulators. The authors noted that it is unlikely that these improvements would have been identified without this comparative study due to a lack of real world data for validation purposes. It was concluded that the solution for gas hydrate production involves a combination of highly coupled fluid, heat and mass transport equations combined with the potential for formation or disappearance of multiple solid phases in the system. The physical and chemical properties of the rocks containing the gas hydrate depend on the amount of gas hydrate present in the system. Each modeling and

Advanced productivity forecast using petrophysical wireline data calibrated with MDT tests and numerical reservoir simulation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Andre, Carlos de [PETROBRAS, Rio de Janeiro, RJ (Brazil); Canas, Jesus A.; Low, Steven; Barreto, Wesley [Schlumberger, Houston, TX (United States)

2004-07-01

This paper describes an integrated and rigorous approach for viscous and middle oil reservoir productivity evaluation using petrophysical models calibrated with permeability derived from mini tests (Dual Packer) and Vertical Interference Tests (VIT) from open hole wire line testers (MDT SLB TM). It describes the process from Dual Packer Test and VIT pre-job design, evaluation via analytical and inverse simulation modeling, calibration and up scaling of petrophysical data into a numerical model, history matching of Dual Packer Tests and VIT with numerical simulation modeling. Finally, after developing a dynamic calibrated model, we perform productivity forecasts of different well configurations (vertical, horizontal and multilateral wells) for several deep offshore oil reservoirs in order to support well testing activities and future development strategies. The objective was to characterize formation static and dynamic properties early in the field development process to optimize well testing design, extended well test (EWT) and support the development strategies in deep offshore viscous oil reservoirs. This type of oil has limitations to flow naturally to surface and special lifting equipment is required for smooth optimum well testing/production. The integrated analysis gave a good overall picture of the formation, including permeability anisotropy and fluid dynamics. Subsequent analysis of different well configurations and lifting schemes allows maximizing formation productivity. The simulation and calibration results are compared to measured well test data. Results from this work shows that if the various petrophysical and fluid properties sources are integrated properly an accurate well productivity model can be achieved. If done early in the field development program, this time/knowledge gain could reduce the risk and maximize the development profitability of new blocks (value of the information). (author)

Use of TOUGHREACT to Simulate Effects of Fluid Chemistry onInjectivity in Fractured Geothermal Reservoirs with High Ionic StrengthFluids

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Xu, Tianfu; Zhang, Guoxiang; Pruess, Karsten

2005-02-09

Recent studies suggest that mineral dissolution/precipitation and clay swelling effects could have a major impact on the performance of hot dry rock (HDR) and hot fractured rock (HFR) reservoirs. A major concern is achieving and maintaining adequate injectivity, while avoiding the development of preferential short-circuiting flow paths. A Pitzer ionic interaction model has been introduced into the publicly available TOUGHREACT code for solving non-isothermal multi-phase reactive geochemical transport problems under conditions of high ionic strength, expected in typical HDR and HFR systems. To explore chemically-induced effects of fluid circulation in these systems, we examine ways in which the chemical composition of reinjected waters can be modified to improve reservoir performance. We performed a number of coupled thermo-hydrologic-chemical simulations in which the fractured medium was represented by a one-dimensional MINC model (multiple interacting continua). Results obtained with the Pitzer activity coefficient model were compared with those using an extended Debye-Hueckel equation. Our simulations show that non-ideal activity effects can be significant even at modest ionic strength, and can have major impacts on permeability evolution in injection-production systems. Alteration of injection water chemistry, for example by dilution with fresh water, can greatly alter precipitation and dissolution effects, and can offer a powerful tool for operating hot dry rock and hot fractured rock reservoirs in a sustainable manner.

Gas condensate reservoir performance : part 1 : fluid characterization

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Thomas, F.B.; Bennion, D.B. [Hycal Energy Research Laboratories Ltd., Calgary, AB (Canada); Andersen, G. [ChevronTexaco, Calgary, AB (Canada)

2006-07-01

Phase behaviour in gas condensate reservoirs is sensitive to changes in pressure and temperature, which can lead to significant errors in fluid characterization. The challenging task of characterizing in situ fluids in gas condensate reservoirs was discussed with reference to the errors that occur as a result of the complex coupling between phase behavior and geology. This paper presented techniques for reservoir sampling and characterization and proposed methods for minimizing errors. Errors are often made in the classification of dew point systems because engineering criteria does not accurately represent the phase behavior of the reservoir. For example, the fluid of a certain condensate yield may be categorized as a wet gas rather than a retrograde condensate fluid. It was noted that the liquid yield does not dictate whether the fluid is condensate or wet gas, but rather where the reservoir temperature is situated in the pressure temperature phase loop. In order to proceed with a viable field development plan and optimization, the reservoir fluid must be understood. Given that gas productivity decreases with liquid drop out in the near wellbore region, capillary pressure plays a significant role in retrograde reservoirs. It was noted that well understood parameters will lead to a better assessment of the amount of hydrocarbon in place, the rate at which the resource can be produced and optimization strategies as the reservoir matures. It was concluded that multi-rate sampling is the best method to use in sampling fluids since the liquid yield changes as a function of rate. Although bottom-hole sampling in gas condensate reservoirs may be problematic, it should always be performed to address any concerns for liquid-solid separation. Produced fluids typically reveal a specific signature that informs the operator of in situ properties. This paper presented examples that pertain to wet versus retrograde condensate behavior and the presence of an oil zone. The

Simulation of the mulltizones clastic reservoir: A case study of Upper Qishn Clastic Member, Masila Basin-Yemen

Science.gov (United States)

Khamis, Mohamed; Marta, Ebrahim Bin; Al Natifi, Ali; Fattah, Khaled Abdel; Lashin, Aref

2017-06-01

The Upper Qishn Clastic Member is one of the main oil-bearing reservoirs that are located at Masila Basin-Yemen. It produces oil from many zones with different reservoir properties. The aim of this study is to simulate and model the Qishn sandstone reservoir to provide more understanding of its properties. The available, core plugs, petrophysical, PVT, pressure and production datasets, as well as the seismic structural and geologic information, are all integrated and used in the simulation process. Eclipse simulator was used as a powerful tool for reservoir modeling. A simplified approach based on a pseudo steady-state productivity index and a material balance relationship between the aquifer pressure and the cumulative influx, is applied. The petrophysical properties of the Qishn sandstone reservoir are mainly investigated based on the well logging and core plug analyses. Three reservoir zones of good hydrocarbon potentiality are indicated and named from above to below as S1A, S1C and S2. Among of these zones, the S1A zone attains the best petrophysical and reservoir quality properties. It has an average hydrocarbon saturation of more than 65%, high effective porosity up to 20% and good permeability record (66 mD). The reservoir structure is represented by faulted anticline at the middle of the study with a down going decrease in geometry from S1A zone to S2 zone. It is limited by NE-SW and E-W bounding faults, with a weak aquifer connection from the east. The analysis of pressure and PVT data has revealed that the reservoir fluid type is dead oil with very low gas liquid ratio (GLR). The simulation results indicate heterogeneous reservoir associated with weak aquifer, supported by high initial water saturation and high water cut. Initial oil in place is estimated to be around 628 MM BBL, however, the oil recovery during the period of production is very low (<10%) because of the high water cut due to the fractures associated with many faults. Hence, secondary and

Estimating Western U.S. Reservoir Sedimentation

Science.gov (United States)

Bensching, L.; Livneh, B.; Greimann, B. P.

2017-12-01

Reservoir sedimentation is a long-term problem for water management across the Western U.S. Observations of sedimentation are limited to reservoir surveys that are costly and infrequent, with many reservoirs having only two or fewer surveys. This work aims to apply a recently developed ensemble of sediment algorithms to estimate reservoir sedimentation over several western U.S. reservoirs. The sediment algorithms include empirical, conceptual, stochastic, and processes based approaches and are coupled with a hydrologic modeling framework. Preliminary results showed that the more complex and processed based algorithms performed better in predicting high sediment flux values and in a basin transferability experiment. However, more testing and validation is required to confirm sediment model skill. This work is carried out in partnership with the Bureau of Reclamation with the goal of evaluating the viability of reservoir sediment yield prediction across the western U.S. using a multi-algorithm approach. Simulations of streamflow and sediment fluxes are validated against observed discharges, as well as a Reservoir Sedimentation Information database that is being developed by the US Army Corps of Engineers. Specific goals of this research include (i) quantifying whether inter-algorithm differences consistently capture observational variability; (ii) identifying whether certain categories of models consistently produce the best results, (iii) assessing the expected sedimentation life-span of several western U.S. reservoirs through long-term simulations.

Processing of reservoir data for diagenesis simulation; Traitement des donnees de reservoir en vue d`une simulation de la diagenese

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Pelletier, I.

1997-12-18

Diagenetic minerals frequently damage reservoir permeability. A numerical model which couples chemical reactions and transport of dissolved elements can help to predict both location and magnitude of cementations. The present Ph.D. examines how can be applied such a modelling approach to a complex heterogeneous reservoir. Petrographical data from core samples are used as input data, or alternatively as controls for validating the modelling results. The measurements, acquired with dm-to-m spacing are too numerous to be integrated in a reactions-transport code. The usual up-scaling methods, called Homogenization, conserve only the fluid flow properties. A new method, called `Gathering` takes into account material transport balance. It is proposed in the first part of the dissertation. In the second part, an application of Gathering is done simulating illitization in the sub-arkosic sandstones of the Ness formation (Brent Group) in a North Sea field, Dunbar.. As a prerequisite, data accuracy is examined for a set of `routine measurements` (100 points counting on thin section, XR-diffractometry and gas porosity/permeability). (author) 60 refs.

Numerical simulation of groundwater movement and managed aquifer recharge from Sand Hollow Reservoir, Hurricane Bench area, Washington County, Utah

Science.gov (United States)

Marston, Thomas M.; Heilweil, Victor M.

2012-01-01

The Hurricane Bench area of Washington County, Utah, is a 70 square-mile area extending south from the Virgin River and encompassing Sand Hollow basin. Sand Hollow Reservoir, located on Hurricane Bench, was completed in March 2002 and is operated primarily as a managed aquifer recharge project by the Washington County Water Conservancy District. The reservoir is situated on a thick sequence of the Navajo Sandstone and Kayenta Formation. Total recharge to the underlying Navajo aquifer from the reservoir was about 86,000 acre-feet from 2002 to 2009. Natural recharge as infiltration of precipitation was approximately 2,100 acre-feet per year for the same period. Discharge occurs as seepage to the Virgin River, municipal and irrigation well withdrawals, and seepage to drains at the base of reservoir dams. Within the Hurricane Bench area, unconfined groundwater-flow conditions generally exist throughout the Navajo Sandstone. Navajo Sandstone hydraulic-conductivity values from regional aquifer testing range from 0.8 to 32 feet per day. The large variability in hydraulic conductivity is attributed to bedrock fractures that trend north-northeast across the study area.A numerical groundwater-flow model was developed to simulate groundwater movement in the Hurricane Bench area and to simulate the movement of managed aquifer recharge from Sand Hollow Reservoir through the groundwater system. The model was calibrated to combined steady- and transient-state conditions. The steady-state portion of the simulation was developed and calibrated by using hydrologic data that represented average conditions for 1975. The transient-state portion of the simulation was developed and calibrated by using hydrologic data collected from 1976 to 2009. Areally, the model grid was 98 rows by 76 columns with a variable cell size ranging from about 1.5 to 25 acres. Smaller cells were used to represent the reservoir to accurately simulate the reservoir bathymetry and nearby monitoring wells; larger

Implications of changing water cycle for the performance and yield characteristics of the multi-purpose Beas Reservoir in India

Science.gov (United States)

Adeloye, A. J.; Ojha, C. S.; Soundharajan, B.; Remesan, R.

2013-12-01

There is considerable change in both the spatial and temporal patterns of monsoon rainfall in India, with implications for water resources availability and security. 'Mitigating the Impacts of Climate Change on India Agriculture' (MICCI) is one of five on-going scientific efforts being sponsored as part of the UK-NERC/India-MOES Changing Water Cycle (South Asia) initiative to further the understanding of the problem and proffer solutions that are robust and effective. This paper focuses on assessing the implications of projected climate change on the yield and performance characteristics of the Pong Reservoir on the Beas River, Himachal Pradesh, India. The Pong serves both hydropower and irrigation needs and is therefore strategic for the socio-economic well-being of the region as well as sustaining the livelihoods of millions of farmers that rely on it for irrigation. Simulated baseline and climate-change perturbed hydro-climate scenarios developed as part of a companion Work Package of MICCI formed the basis of the analysis. For both of these scenarios, reservoir analyses were carried out using the Sequent Peak Algorithm (SPA) and Pong's existing level of releases to derive rule curves for the reservoir. These rule curves then formed the basis of further reservoir behaviour simulations in WEAP and the resulting performance of the reservoir was summarised in terms of reliability, resilience, vulnerability and sustainability. The whole exercise was implemented within a Monte Carlo framework for the benefit of characterising the variability in the assessments. The results show that the rule curves developed using future hydro-climate are significantly changed from the baseline in that higher storages will be required to be maintained in the Pong in the future to achieve reliable performance. As far as the overall performance of the reservoir is concerned, future reliability (both time-based and volume-based) is not significantly different from the baseline, provided

Development of gas and gas condensate reservoirs

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1995-12-01

In the study of gas reservoir development, the first year topics are restricted on reservoir characterization. There are two types of reservoir characterization. One is the reservoir formation characterization and the other is the reservoir fluid characterization. For the reservoir formation characterization, calculation of conditional simulation was compared with that of unconditional simulation. The results of conditional simulation has higher confidence level than the unconditional simulation because conditional simulation considers the sample location as well as distance correlation. In the reservoir fluid characterization, phase behavior calculations revealed that the component grouping is more important than the increase of number of components. From the liquid volume fraction with pressure drop, the phase behavior of reservoir fluid can be estimated. The calculation results of fluid recombination, constant composition expansion, and constant volume depletion are matched very well with the experimental data. In swelling test of the reservoir fluid with lean gas, the accuracy of dew point pressure forecast depends on the component characterization. (author). 28 figs., 10 tabs.

A history match of the 1993 ESAGD pilot performance in the Peace River reservoir

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ding, M.; Whale, L. [Shell Canada Ltd., Calgary, AB (Canada)

2006-07-01

This paper described a history matching procedure conducted to examine the performance of an enhanced steam assisted gravity drainage (ESAGD) pilot project originally initiated in 1993. The ESAGD process began as a conventional SAGD process, but when the steam chambers were fully developed, a pressure differential between the chambers was added to increase the steam drive component. A numerical planning simulation predicted cumulative average bitumen production rates of between 80 m{sup 3} per day per well pair. However, the actual average day bitumen rate was 22.5 m{sup 3} per day. The oil to steam ratio was 0.1. Final estimated recovery efficiency rates were estimated at 10 per cent. The simulated history match deviated in its predictions after the application of the pressure differential between the 2 well pairs during the ESAGD process. Results from a series of sensitivity studies demonstrated that well performance relied on the presence of high water saturation zones and on the petrophysical properties assigned within the model for horizontal and vertical permeability. The history match demonstrated that the majority of the bitumen produced during the pilot scheme came from the highly permeable bottom zone of the reservoir. It was concluded that steam zones did not rise far above the basal zone, and was limited by the vertical permeability of the reservoir. 6 refs., 2 tabs., 13 figs.

Effects of water-supply reservoirs on streamflow in Massachusetts

Science.gov (United States)

Levin, Sara B.

2016-10-06

State and local water-resource managers need modeling tools to help them manage and protect water-supply resources for both human consumption and ecological needs. The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection, has developed a decision-support tool to estimate the effects of reservoirs on natural streamflow. The Massachusetts Reservoir Simulation Tool is a model that simulates the daily water balance of a reservoir. The reservoir simulation tool provides estimates of daily outflows from reservoirs and compares the frequency, duration, and magnitude of the volume of outflows from reservoirs with estimates of the unaltered streamflow that would occur if no dam were present. This tool will help environmental managers understand the complex interactions and tradeoffs between water withdrawals, reservoir operational practices, and reservoir outflows needed for aquatic habitats.A sensitivity analysis of the daily water balance equation was performed to identify physical and operational features of reservoirs that could have the greatest effect on reservoir outflows. For the purpose of this report, uncontrolled releases of water (spills or spillage) over the reservoir spillway were considered to be a proxy for reservoir outflows directly below the dam. The ratio of average withdrawals to the average inflows had the largest effect on spillage patterns, with the highest withdrawals leading to the lowest spillage. The size of the surface area relative to the drainage area of the reservoir also had an effect on spillage; reservoirs with large surface areas have high evaporation rates during the summer, which can contribute to frequent and long periods without spillage, even in the absence of water withdrawals. Other reservoir characteristics, such as variability of inflows, groundwater interactions, and seasonal demand patterns, had low to moderate effects on the frequency, duration, and magnitude of spillage. The

Application of advanced reservoir characterization, simulation, and production optimization strategies to maximize recovery in slope and basin clastic reservoirs, West Texas (Delaware Basin). Quarterly report, October 1 - December 31, 1996

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Dutton, S.P.

1997-01-01

The objective of this project is to demonstrate that detailed reservoir characterization of slope and basin clastic reservoirs in sandstones of the Delaware Mountain Group in the Delaware Basin of West Texas and New Mexico is a cost effective way to recover a higher percentage of the original oil in place through strategic placement of infill wells and geologically based field development. Project objectives are divided into two major phases. The objectives of the reservoir characterization phase of the project are to provide a detailed understanding of the architecture and heterogeneity of two fields, the Ford Geraldine unit and Ford West field, which produce from the Bell Canyon and Cherry Canyon Formations, respectively, of the Delaware Mountain Group and to compare Bell Canyon and Cherry Canyon reservoirs. Reservoir characterization will utilize 3-D seismic data, high-resolution sequence stratigraphy, subsurface field studies, outcrop characterization, and other techniques. Once the reservoir-characterization study of both fields is completed, a pilot area of approximately 1 mi{sup 2} in one of the fields will be chosen for reservoir simulation. The objectives of the implementation phase of the project are to (1) apply the knowledge gained from reservoir characterization and simulation studies to increase recovery from the pilot area, (2) demonstrate that economically significant unrecovered oil remains in geologically resolvable untapped compartments, and (3) test the accuracy of reservoir characterization and flow simulation as predictive tools in resource preservation of mature fields. A geologically designed, enhanced-recovery program (CO{sub 2} flood, waterflood, or polymer flood) and well-completion program will be developed, and one to three infill wells will be drilled and cored. Technical progress is summarized for: geophysical characterization; reservoir characterization; outcrop characterization; and recovery technology identification and analysis.

Numerical simulation of single-phase and multiphase non-Darcy flowin porous and fractured reservoirs

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wu, Yu-Shu

2000-06-02

A numerical method as well as a theoretical study of non-Darcy fluid flow of through porous and fractured reservoirs is described. The non-Darcy flow is handled in a three-dimensional, multiphase flow reservoir simulator, while the model formulation incorporates the Forchheimer equation for describing single-phase or multiphase non-Darcy flow and displacement. The numerical scheme has been verified by comparing its results against those of analytical methods. Numerical solutions are used to obtain some insight into the physics of non-Darcy flow and displacement in reservoirs. In addition, several type curves are provided for well-test analyses of non-Darcy flow to demonstrate a methodology for modeling this type of flow in porous and fractured rocks, including flow in geothermal reservoirs.

Application of advanced reservoir characterization, simulation and production optimization strategies to maximize recovery in slope and basin clastic reservoirs, West Texas (Delaware Basin). Annual report

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Dutton, S.P.; Asquith, G.B.; Barton, M.D.; Cole, A.G.; Gogas, J.; Malik, M.A.; Clift, S.J.; Guzman, J.I.

1997-11-01

The objective of this project is to demonstrate that detailed reservoir characterization of slope and basin clastic reservoirs in sandstones of the Delaware Mountain Group in the Delaware Basin of West Texas and New Mexico is a cost-effective way to recover a higher percentage of the original oil in place through strategic placement of infill wells and geologically based field development. This project involves reservoir characterization of two Late Permian slope and basin clastic reservoirs in the Delaware Basin, West Texas, followed by a field demonstration in one of the fields. The fields being investigated are Geraldine Ford and Ford West fields in Reeves and Culberson Counties, Texas. Project objectives are divided into two major phases, reservoir characterization and implementation. The objectives of the reservoir characterization phase of the project were to provide a detailed understanding of the architecture and heterogeneity of the two fields, the Ford Geraldine unit and Ford West field. Reservoir characterization utilized 3-D seismic data, high-resolution sequence stratigraphy, subsurface field studies, outcrop characterization, and other techniques. Once reservoir characterized was completed, a pilot area of approximately 1 mi{sup 2} at the northern end of the Ford Geraldine unit was chosen for reservoir simulation. This report summarizes the results of the second year of reservoir characterization.

Computer Modeling of the Displacement Behavior of Carbon Dioxide in Undersaturated Oil Reservoirs

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ju Binshan

2015-11-01

Full Text Available The injection of CO2 into oil reservoirs is performed not only to improve oil recovery but also to store CO2 captured from fuel combustion. The objective of this work is to develop a numerical simulator to predict quantitatively supercritical CO2 flooding behaviors for Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR. A non-isothermal compositional flow mathematical model is developed. The phase transition diagram is designed according to the Minimum Miscibility Pressure (MMP and CO2 maximum solubility in oil phase. The convection and diffusion of CO2 mixtures in multiphase fluids in reservoirs, mass transfer between CO2 and crude and phase partitioning are considered. The governing equations are discretized by applying a fully implicit finite difference technique. Newton-Raphson iterative technique was used to solve the nonlinear equation systems and a simulator was developed. The performances of CO2 immiscible and miscible flooding in oil reservoirs are predicted by the new simulator. The distribution of pressure and temperature, phase saturations, mole fraction of each component in each phase, formation damage caused by asphaltene precipitation and the improved oil recovery are predicted by the simulator. Experimental data validate the developed simulator by comparison with simulation results. The applications of the simulator in prediction of CO2 flooding in oil reservoirs indicate that the simulator is robust for predicting CO2 flooding performance.

Production performance laws of vertical wells by volume fracturing in CBM reservoirs

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Liehui Zhang

2017-05-01

Full Text Available Volume fracturing technology has been widely applied in the development of coalbed methane (CBM reservoirs. As for the stimulated reservoir volume (SRV created by volume fracturing, the seepage laws of fluids are described more accurately and rationally in the rectangular composite model than in the traditional radial composite model. However, the rectangular composite model considering SRV cannot be solved using the analytical or semi-analytical function method, and its solution from the linear flow model has larger errors. In view of this, SRV areas of CBM reservoirs were described by means of dual-medium model in this paper. The complex CBM migration mechanisms were investigated comprehensively, including adsorption, desorption, diffusion and seepage. A well testing model for rectangular composite fracturing wells in CBM reservoirs based on unsteady-state diffusion was built and solved using the boundary element method combined with Laplace transformation, Stehfest numerical inversion and computer programming technology. Thus, production performance laws of CBM reservoirs were clarified. The flow regimes of typical well testing curves were divided and the effects on change laws of production performance from the boundary size of gas reservoirs, permeability of volume fractured areas, adsorption gas content, reservoir permeability and SRV size were analyzed. Eventually, CBM reservoirs after the volume fracturing stimulation were described more accurately and rationally. This study provides a theoretical basis for a better understanding of the CBM migration laws and an approach to evaluating and developing CBM reservoirs efficiently and rationally.

Naturally fractured reservoirs-yet an unsolved mystery

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zahoor, M.K.

2013-01-01

Some of the world's most profitable reservoirs are assumed to be naturally fractured reservoirs (NFR). Effective evaluation, prediction and planning of these reservoirs require an early recognition of the role of natural fractures and then a comprehensive study of factors which affect the flowing performance through these fractures is necessary. As NFRs are the combination of matrix and fractures mediums so their analysis varies from non-fractured reservoirs. Matrix acts as a storage medium while mostly fluid flow takes place from fracture network. Many authors adopted different approaches to understand the flow behavior in such reservoirs. In this paper a broad review about the previous work done in naturally fractured reservoirs area is outlined and a different idea is initiated for the NFR simulation studies. The role of capillary pressure in natural fractures is always been a key factor for accurate recovery estimations. Also recovery through these reservoirs is dependent upon grid block shape while doing NFR simulation. Some authors studied above mentioned factors in combination with other rock properties to understand the flow behavior in such reservoirs but less emphasis was given for checking the effects on recovery estimations by the variations of only fracture capillary pressures and grid block shapes. So there is need to analyze the behavior of NFR for the mentioned conditions. (author)

Simulation of Naturally Fractured Reservoirs. State of the Art Simulation des réservoirs naturellement fracturés. État de l’art

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lemonnier P.

2010-04-01

Full Text Available Naturally fractured reservoirs contain a significant amount of the world oil reserves. The production of this type of reservoirs constitutes a challenge for reservoir engineers. Use of reservoir simulators can help reservoir engineers in the understanding of the main physical mechanisms and in the choice of the best recovery process and its optimization. Significant progress has been made since the first publications on the dual-porosity concept in the sixties. This paper and the preceding one (Part 1 present the current techniques of modeling used in industrial simulators. The optimal way to predict matrix-fracture transfers at the simulator cell scale has no definite answer and various methods are implemented in industrial simulators. This paper focuses on the modeling of physical mechanisms driving flows and interactions/ exchanges within and between fracture and matrix media for a better understanding of proposed flow formula and simulation methods. Typical features of fractured reservoir numerical simulations are also described with an overview of the implementation of geomechanics effects, an application of uncertainty assessment methodology to a fractured gas reservoir and finally a presentation of a history matching methodology for fractured reservoirs. Les réservoirs naturellement fracturés contiennent une partie significative des réserves en huile mondiales. La production de ce type de réservoirs constitue un défi pour les ingénieurs de réservoir. L’utilisation des simulateurs de réservoir peut aider l’ingénieur de réservoir à mieux comprendre les principaux mécanismes physiques, à choisir le procédé de récupération le mieux adapté et à l’optimiser. Des progrès sensibles ont été réalisés depuis les premières publications sur le concept double-milieu dans les années soixante. Cet article et le précédent (Partie 1 présentent les techniques actuelles de modélisation utilisées dans les simulateurs

Modeling Reservoir-River Networks in Support of Optimizing Seasonal-Scale Reservoir Operations

Science.gov (United States)

Villa, D. L.; Lowry, T. S.; Bier, A.; Barco, J.; Sun, A.

2011-12-01

HydroSCOPE (Hydropower Seasonal Concurrent Optimization of Power and the Environment) is a seasonal time-scale tool for scenario analysis and optimization of reservoir-river networks. Developed in MATLAB, HydroSCOPE is an object-oriented model that simulates basin-scale dynamics with an objective of optimizing reservoir operations to maximize revenue from power generation, reliability in the water supply, environmental performance, and flood control. HydroSCOPE is part of a larger toolset that is being developed through a Department of Energy multi-laboratory project. This project's goal is to provide conventional hydropower decision makers with better information to execute their day-ahead and seasonal operations and planning activities by integrating water balance and operational dynamics across a wide range of spatial and temporal scales. This presentation details the modeling approach and functionality of HydroSCOPE. HydroSCOPE consists of a river-reservoir network model and an optimization routine. The river-reservoir network model simulates the heat and water balance of river-reservoir networks for time-scales up to one year. The optimization routine software, DAKOTA (Design Analysis Kit for Optimization and Terascale Applications - dakota.sandia.gov), is seamlessly linked to the network model and is used to optimize daily volumetric releases from the reservoirs to best meet a set of user-defined constraints, such as maximizing revenue while minimizing environmental violations. The network model uses 1-D approximations for both the reservoirs and river reaches and is able to account for surface and sediment heat exchange as well as ice dynamics for both models. The reservoir model also accounts for inflow, density, and withdrawal zone mixing, and diffusive heat exchange. Routing for the river reaches is accomplished using a modified Muskingum-Cunge approach that automatically calculates the internal timestep and sub-reach lengths to match the conditions of

EOS simulation and GRNN modeling of the constant volume depletion behavior of gas condensate reservoirs

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Elsharkawy, A.M.; Foda, S.G. [Kuwait University, Safat (Kuwait). Petroleum Engineering Dept.

1998-03-01

Currently, two approaches are being used to predict the changes in retrograde gas condensate composition and estimate the pressure depletion behavior of gas condensate reservoirs. The first approach uses the equation of states whereas the second uses empirical correlations. Equations of states (EOS) are poor predictive tools for complex hydrocarbon systems. The EOS needs adjustment against phase behavior data of reservoir fluid of known composition. The empirical correlation does not involve numerous numerical computations but their accuracy is limited. This study presents two general regression neural network (GRNN) models. The first model, GRNNM1, is developed to predict dew point pressure and gas compressibility at dew point using initial composition of numerous samples while the second model, GRNNM2, is developed to predict the changes in well stream effluent composition at any stages of pressure depletion. GRNNM2 can also be used to determine the initial reservoir fluid composition using dew point pressure, gas compressibility at dew point, and reservoir temperature. These models are based on analysis of 142 sample of laboratory studies of constant volume depletion (CVD) for gas condensate systems forming a total of 1082 depletion stages. The database represents a wide range of gas condensate systems obtained worldwide. The performance of the GRNN models has been compared to simulation results of the equation of state. The study shows that the proposed general regression neural network models are accurate, valid, and reliable. These models can be used to forecast CVD data needed for many reservoir engineering calculations in case laboratory data is unavailable. The GRNN models save computer time involved in EOS calculations. The study also show that once these models are properly trained they can be used to cut expenses of frequent sampling and laborious experimental CVD tests required for gas condensate reservoirs. 55 refs., 13 figs., 6 tabs.

Impact of real-time measurements for data assimilation in reservoir simulation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Schulze-Riegert, R; Krosche, M [Scandpower Petroleum Technology GmbH, Hamburg (Germany); Pajonk, O [TU Braunschweig (Germany). Inst. fuer Wissenschaftliches Rechnen; Myrland, T [Morges Teknisk-Naturvitenskapelige Univ. (NTNU), Trondheim (Germany)

2008-10-23

This paper gives an overview on the conceptual background of data assimilation techniques. The framework of sequential data assimilation as described for the ensemble Kalman filter implementation allows a continuous integration of new measurement data. The initial diversity of ensemble members will be critical for the assimilation process and the ability to successfully assimilate measurement data. At the same time the initial ensemble will impact the propagation of uncertainties with crucial consequences for production forecasts. Data assimilation techniques have complimentary features compared to other optimization techniques built on selection or regression schemes. Specifically, EnKF is applicable to real field cases and defines an important perspective for facilitating continuous reservoir simulation model updates in a reservoir life cycle. (orig.)

Solar-generated steam for oil recovery: Reservoir simulation, economic analysis, and life cycle assessment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sandler, Joel; Fowler, Garrett; Cheng, Kris; Kovscek, Anthony R.

2014-01-01

Highlights: • Integrated assessment of solar thermal enhanced oil recovery (TEOR). • Analyses of reservoir performance, economics, and life cycle factors. • High solar fraction scenarios show economic viability for TEOR. • Continuous variable-rate steam injection meets the benchmarks set by conventional steam flood. - Abstract: The viability of solar thermal steam generation for thermal enhanced oil recovery (TEOR) in heavy-oil sands was evaluated using San Joaquin Valley, CA data. The effectiveness of solar TEOR was quantified through reservoir simulation, economic analysis, and life-cycle assessment. Reservoir simulations with continuous but variable rate steam injection were compared with a base-case Tulare Sand steamflood project. For equivalent average injection rates, comparable breakthrough times and recovery factors of 65% of the original oil in place were predicted, in agreement with simulations in the literature. Daily cyclic fluctuations in steam injection rate do not greatly impact recovery. Oil production rates do, however, show seasonal variation. Economic viability was established using historical prices and injection/production volumes from the Kern River oil field. For comparison, this model assumes that present day steam generation technologies were implemented at TEOR startup in 1980. All natural gas cogeneration and 100% solar fraction scenarios had the largest and nearly equal net present values (NPV) of $12.54 B and $12.55 B, respectively. Solar fraction refers to the steam provided by solar steam generation. Given its large capital cost, the 100% solar case shows the greatest sensitivity to discount rate and no sensitivity to natural gas price. Because there are very little emissions associated with day-to-day operations from the solar thermal system, life-cycle emissions are significantly lower than conventional systems even when the embodied energy of the structure is considered. We estimate that less than 1 g of CO 2 /MJ of refined

Performance modeling of an integral, self-regulating cesium reservoir for the ATI-TFE

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Thayer, K.L.; Ramalingam, M.L.; Young, T.J.

1993-01-01

This work covers the performance modeling of an integral metal-matrix cesium-graphite reservoir for operation in the Advanced Thermionic Initiative-Thermionic Fuel Element (ATI-TFE) converter configuration. The objectives of this task were to incorporate an intercalated cesium-graphite reservoir for the 3C 24 Cs→2C 36 Cs+Cs (g) two phase equilibrium reaction into the emitter lead region of the ATI-TFE. A semi two-dimensional, cylindrical TFE computer model was used to obtain thermal and electrical converter output characteristics for various reservoir locations. The results of this study are distributions for the interelectrode voltage, output current density, and output power density as a function of axial position along the TFE emitter. This analysis was accomplished by identifying an optimum cesium pressure for three representative pins in the ATI ''driverless'' reactor core and determining the corresponding position of the graphite reservoir in the ATI-TFE lead region. The position for placement of the graphite reservoir was determined by performing a first-order heat transfer analysis of the TFE lead region to determine its temperature distribution. The results of this analysis indicate that for the graphite reservoirs investigated the 3C 24 Cs→2C 36 Cs+Cs (g) equilibrium reaction reservoir is ideal for placement in the TFE emitter lead region. This reservoir can be directly coupled to the emitter, through conduction, to provide the desired cesium pressure for optimum performance. The cesium pressure corresponding to the optimum converter output performance was found to be 2.18 torr for the ATI core least power TFE, 2.92 torr for the average power TFE, and 4.93 torr for the maximum power TFE

Reservoir Models for Gas Hydrate Numerical Simulation

Science.gov (United States)

Boswell, R.

2016-12-01

Scientific and industrial drilling programs have now providing detailed information on gas hydrate systems that will increasingly be the subject of field experiments. The need to carefully plan these programs requires reliable prediction of reservoir response to hydrate dissociation. Currently, a major emphasis in gas hydrate modeling is the integration of thermodynamic/hydrologic phenomena with geomechanical response for both reservoir and bounding strata. However, also critical to the ultimate success of these efforts is the appropriate development of input geologic models, including several emerging issues, including (1) reservoir heterogeneity, (2) understanding of the initial petrophysical characteristics of the system (reservoirs and seals), the dynamic evolution of those characteristics during active dissociation, and the interdependency of petrophysical parameters and (3) the nature of reservoir boundaries. Heterogeneity is ubiquitous aspect of every natural reservoir, and appropriate characterization is vital. However, heterogeneity is not random. Vertical variation can be evaluated with core and well log data; however, core data often are challenged by incomplete recovery. Well logs also provide interpretation challenges, particularly where reservoirs are thinly-bedded due to limitation in vertical resolution. This imprecision will extend to any petrophysical measurements that are derived from evaluation of log data. Extrapolation of log data laterally is also complex, and should be supported by geologic mapping. Key petrophysical parameters include porosity, permeability and it many aspects, and water saturation. Field data collected to date suggest that the degree of hydrate saturation is strongly controlled by/dependant upon reservoir quality and that the ratio of free to bound water in the remaining pore space is likely also controlled by reservoir quality. Further, those parameters will also evolve during dissociation, and not necessary in a simple

Application of integrated reservoir management and reservoir characterization to optimize infill drilling. Quarterly progress report, June 13, 1995--September 12, 1995

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Pande, P.K.

1995-09-12

At this stage of the reservoir characterization research, the main emphasis is on the geostatistics and reservoir simulation. Progress is reported on geological analysis, reservoir simulation, and reservoir management.

Investigating the expected long-term production performance of shale reservoirs

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Vassilellis, G.D.; Li, C.; Seager, R.J.H. [Gaffney, Cline and Associates, Houston, TX (United States); Moos, D. [Geomechanics International, Houston, TX (United States)

2010-07-01

Although there is global interest in developing shale plays, the traditional volumetric and material balance approaches that are used for petroleum asset evaluation do not address the special attributes of such formations. The performance of a particular deposit is currently determined by analyzing historical records statistically in developed areas and applying the derived type curves in new areas by assuming performance similarity. The assumption of similarity is challenged by the wealth of parameters influencing performance, which tend to differ, introducing considerable uncertainties into predictions. Historical records support only the early production history, while late performance is extrapolated without many reference points to match. This paper presented an investigation of the applicability of traditional and non-traditional empirical, analytical and numerical methods that are used to predict shale well performance. The purpose of the study was to rationalize the link between natural/stimulated rock description with oil and gas recovery mechanisms in a manner that is practical at different scales of resolution and covers early and late times. The paper discussed the use of special features such as flow through fracture networks, gas desorption and geomechanical effects that are incorporated in numerical simulation in a way that relates to the measurable petrophysical and geophysical input. The paper described the shale engineering concept and provided a description of the model. The Eagle Ford shale was presented as a case study. It was concluded that a reservoir simulation model with pseudo-lateral connections could describe the flow behaviour of a typical shale well, and could match shale gas well performance even if limited information was available. 20 refs., 9 figs.

Stochastic nonlinear time series forecasting using time-delay reservoir computers: performance and universality.

Science.gov (United States)

Grigoryeva, Lyudmila; Henriques, Julie; Larger, Laurent; Ortega, Juan-Pablo

2014-07-01

Reservoir computing is a recently introduced machine learning paradigm that has already shown excellent performances in the processing of empirical data. We study a particular kind of reservoir computers called time-delay reservoirs that are constructed out of the sampling of the solution of a time-delay differential equation and show their good performance in the forecasting of the conditional covariances associated to multivariate discrete-time nonlinear stochastic processes of VEC-GARCH type as well as in the prediction of factual daily market realized volatilities computed with intraday quotes, using as training input daily log-return series of moderate size. We tackle some problems associated to the lack of task-universality for individually operating reservoirs and propose a solution based on the use of parallel arrays of time-delay reservoirs. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Geothermal Reservoir Technology Research Program: Abstracts of selected research projects

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Reed, M.J. (ed.)

1993-03-01

Research projects are described in the following areas: geothermal exploration, mapping reservoir properties and reservoir monitoring, and well testing, simulation, and predicting reservoir performance. The objectives, technical approach, and project status of each project are presented. The background, research results, and future plans for each project are discussed. The names, addresses, and telephone and telefax numbers are given for the DOE program manager and the principal investigators. (MHR)

Inflow forecasting using Artificial Neural Networks for reservoir operation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

C. Chiamsathit

2016-05-01

Full Text Available In this study, multi-layer perceptron (MLP artificial neural networks have been applied to forecast one-month-ahead inflow for the Ubonratana reservoir, Thailand. To assess how well the forecast inflows have performed in the operation of the reservoir, simulations were carried out guided by the systems rule curves. As basis of comparison, four inflow situations were considered: (1 inflow known and assumed to be the historic (Type A; (2 inflow known and assumed to be the forecast (Type F; (3 inflow known and assumed to be the historic mean for month (Type M; and (4 inflow is unknown with release decision only conditioned on the starting reservoir storage (Type N. Reservoir performance was summarised in terms of reliability, resilience, vulnerability and sustainability. It was found that Type F inflow situation produced the best performance while Type N was the worst performing. This clearly demonstrates the importance of good inflow information for effective reservoir operation.

Eos modeling and reservoir simulation study of bakken gas injection improved oil recovery in the elm coulee field, Montana

Science.gov (United States)

Pu, Wanli

The Bakken Formation in the Williston Basin is one of the most productive liquid-rich unconventional plays. The Bakken Formation is divided into three members, and the Middle Bakken Member is the primary target for horizontal wellbore landing and hydraulic fracturing because of its better rock properties. Even with this new technology, the primary recovery factor is believed to be only around 10%. This study is to evaluate various gas injection EOR methods to try to improve on that low recovery factor of 10%. In this study, the Elm Coulee Oil Field in the Williston Basin was selected as the area of interest. Static reservoir models featuring the rock property heterogeneity of the Middle Bakken Member were built, and fluid property models were built based on Bakken reservoir fluid sample PVT data. By employing both compositional model simulation and Todd-Longstaff solvent model simulation methods, miscible gas injections were simulated and the simulations speculated that oil recovery increased by 10% to 20% of OOIP in 30 years. The compositional simulations yielded lower oil recovery compared to the solvent model simulations. Compared to the homogeneous model, the reservoir model featuring rock property heterogeneity in the vertical direction resulted in slightly better oil recovery, but with earlier CO2 break-through and larger CO2 production, suggesting that rock property heterogeneity is an important property for modeling because it has a big effect on the simulation results. Long hydraulic fractures shortened CO2 break-through time greatly and increased CO 2 production. Water-alternating-gas injection schemes and injection-alternating-shut-in schemes can provide more options for gas injection EOR projects, especially for gas production management. Compared to CO2 injection, separator gas injection yielded slightly better oil recovery, meaning separator gas could be a good candidate for gas injection EOR; lean gas generated the worst results. Reservoir

Multi-data reservoir history matching for enhanced reservoir forecasting and uncertainty quantification

KAUST Repository

Katterbauer, Klemens; Arango, Santiago; Sun, Shuyu; Hoteit, Ibrahim

2015-01-01

Reservoir simulations and history matching are critical for fine-tuning reservoir production strategies, improving understanding of the subsurface formation, and forecasting remaining reserves. Production data have long been incorporated

Numerical simulation of gas hydrate exploitation from subsea reservoirs in the Black Sea

Science.gov (United States)

Janicki, Georg; Schlüter, Stefan; Hennig, Torsten; Deerberg, Görge

2017-04-01

Natural gas (methane) is the most environmental friendly source of fossil energy. When coal is replace by natural gas in power production the emission of carbon dioxide is reduced by 50 %. The vast amount of methane assumed in gas hydrate deposits can help to overcome a shortage of fossil energy resources in the future. To increase their potential for energy applications new technological approaches are being discussed and developed worldwide. Besides technical challenges that have to be overcome climate and safety issues have to be considered before a commercial exploitation of such unconventional reservoirs. The potential of producing natural gas from subsea gas hydrate deposits by various means (e. g. depressurization and/or carbon dioxide injection) is numerically studied in the frame of the German research project »SUGAR - Submarine Gas Hydrate Reservoirs«. In order to simulate the exploitation of hydrate-bearing sediments in the subsea, an in-house simulation model HyReS which is implemented in the general-purpose software COMSOL Multiphysics is used. This tool turned out to be especially suited for the flexible implementation of non-standard correlations concerning heat transfer, fluid flow, hydrate kinetics, and other relevant model data. Partially based on the simulation results, the development of a technical concept and its evaluation are the subject of ongoing investigations, whereby geological and ecological criteria are to be considered. The results illustrate the processes and effects occurring during the gas production from a subsea gas hydrate deposit by depressurization. The simulation results from a case study for a deposit located in the Black Sea reveal that the production of natural gas by simple depressurization is possible but with quite low rates. It can be shown that the hydrate decomposition and thus the gas production strongly depend on the geophysical properties of the reservoir, the mass and heat transport within the reservoir, and

Analysis of real-time reservoir monitoring : reservoirs, strategies, & modeling.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mani, Seethambal S.; van Bloemen Waanders, Bart Gustaaf; Cooper, Scott Patrick; Jakaboski, Blake Elaine; Normann, Randy Allen; Jennings, Jim (University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX); Gilbert, Bob (University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX); Lake, Larry W. (University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX); Weiss, Chester Joseph; Lorenz, John Clay; Elbring, Gregory Jay; Wheeler, Mary Fanett (University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX); Thomas, Sunil G. (University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX); Rightley, Michael J.; Rodriguez, Adolfo (University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX); Klie, Hector (University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX); Banchs, Rafael (University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX); Nunez, Emilio J. (University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX); Jablonowski, Chris (University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX)

2006-11-01

The project objective was to detail better ways to assess and exploit intelligent oil and gas field information through improved modeling, sensor technology, and process control to increase ultimate recovery of domestic hydrocarbons. To meet this objective we investigated the use of permanent downhole sensors systems (Smart Wells) whose data is fed real-time into computational reservoir models that are integrated with optimized production control systems. The project utilized a three-pronged approach (1) a value of information analysis to address the economic advantages, (2) reservoir simulation modeling and control optimization to prove the capability, and (3) evaluation of new generation sensor packaging to survive the borehole environment for long periods of time. The Value of Information (VOI) decision tree method was developed and used to assess the economic advantage of using the proposed technology; the VOI demonstrated the increased subsurface resolution through additional sensor data. Our findings show that the VOI studies are a practical means of ascertaining the value associated with a technology, in this case application of sensors to production. The procedure acknowledges the uncertainty in predictions but nevertheless assigns monetary value to the predictions. The best aspect of the procedure is that it builds consensus within interdisciplinary teams The reservoir simulation and modeling aspect of the project was developed to show the capability of exploiting sensor information both for reservoir characterization and to optimize control of the production system. Our findings indicate history matching is improved as more information is added to the objective function, clearly indicating that sensor information can help in reducing the uncertainty associated with reservoir characterization. Additional findings and approaches used are described in detail within the report. The next generation sensors aspect of the project evaluated sensors and packaging

Assessing Performance of Multipurpose Reservoir System Using Two-Point Linear Hedging Rule

Science.gov (United States)

Sasireka, K.; Neelakantan, T. R.

2017-07-01

Reservoir operation is the one of the important filed of water resource management. Innovative techniques in water resource management are focussed at optimizing the available water and in decreasing the environmental impact of water utilization on the natural environment. In the operation of multi reservoir system, efficient regulation of the release to satisfy the demand for various purpose like domestic, irrigation and hydropower can lead to increase the benefit from the reservoir as well as significantly reduces the damage due to floods. Hedging rule is one of the emerging techniques in reservoir operation, which reduce the severity of drought by accepting number of smaller shortages. The key objective of this paper is to maximize the minimum power production and improve the reliability of water supply for municipal and irrigation purpose by using hedging rule. In this paper, Type II two-point linear hedging rule is attempted to improve the operation of Bargi reservoir in the Narmada basin in India. The results obtained from simulation of hedging rule is compared with results from Standard Operating Policy, the result shows that the application of hedging rule significantly improved the reliability of water supply and reliability of irrigation release and firm power production.

Fractured Reservoir Simulation: a Challenging and Rewarding Issue Simulation des réservoirs fracturés : un défi et un enjeu

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bourbiaux B.

2010-03-01

Full Text Available The recent years have seen a growing awareness of the role played by fractures in petroleum reservoirs production and recovery. Hence, much effort was devoted to the diagnosis of fracture presence and impact on production. However, turning that diagnosis into field development decisions goes through reservoir simulation. This paper addresses some of the specificities of fractured reservoirs that make that their simulation is both challenging and rewarding. Indeed, the integration of fractures into a flow simulation model is not straightforward because of the existing gap between the geological fault/fracture network and the fingerprint of that network on often-complex recovery mechanisms. Considering that fractures may impede or enhance production, fractured reservoir simulation may be seen as a technical challenge with potentially-high reward. This paper underlines that specific framework as an introduction to two technical articles dedicated to dual-porosity reservoir simulation. Although it constitutes another major aspect of any fractured reservoir study, the geological characterization of fractures is not discussed herein, but only evoked because of more and more integration of static and dynamic aspects. Au cours des années récentes, la prise de conscience du rôle des fractures sur la production et la récupération des champs est devenue de plus en plus forte au sein de la communauté pétrolière. Aussi beaucoup d’efforts ont-ils été consacrés à la détection des fractures et à l’analyse de leur impact sur la production. Toutefois, la prise en considération de ces observations dans les choix de développement des champs passe par la simulation de réservoir. Cet article traite des spécificités propres aux réservoirs fracturés et qui font de leur simulation à la fois un défi et un enjeu. En effet, l’intégration des fractures dans un modèle de simulation des écoulements n’est pas immédiate en raison du difficile

Preconditioning methods to improve SAGD performance in heavy oil and bitumen reservoirs with variable oil phase viscosity

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gates, I.D. [Gushor Inc., Calgary, AB (Canada)]|[Calgary Univ., AB (Canada). Dept. of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering; Larter, S.R.; Adams, J.J.; Snowdon, L.; Jiang, C. [Gushor Inc., Calgary, AB (Canada)]|[Calgary Univ., Calgary, AB (Canada). Dept. of Geoscience

2008-10-15

This study investigated preconditioning techniques for altering reservoir fluid properties prior to steam assisted gravity drainage (SAGD) recovery processes. Viscosity-reducing agents were distributed in mobile reservoir water. Simulations were conducted to demonstrate the method's ability to modify oil viscosity prior to steam injection. The study simulated the action of water soluble organic solvents that preferentially partitioned in the oil phase. The solvent was injected with water into the reservoir in a slow waterflood that did not displace oil from the near wellbore region. A reservoir simulation model was used to investigate the technique. Shu's correlation was used to establish a viscosity correlation for the bitumen and solvent mixtures. Solvent injection was modelled by converting the oil phase viscosity through time. Over the first 2 years, oil rates of the preconditioned case were double that of the non-preconditioned case study. However, after 11 years, the preconditioned case's rates declined below rates observed in the non-preconditioned case. The model demonstrated that oil viscosity distributions were significantly altered using the preconditioners. The majority of the most viscous oil surrounding the production well was significantly reduced. It was concluded that accelerated steam chamber growth provided faster access to lower viscosity materials at the top of the reservoir. 12 refs., 9 figs.

Modelling of fractured reservoirs. Case of multi-scale media; Modelisation des reservoirs fractures. Cas des milieux multi-echelles

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Henn, N.

2000-12-13

Some of the most productive oil and gas reservoirs are found in formations crossed by multi-scale fractures/faults. Among them, conductive faults may closely control reservoir performance. However, their modelling encounters numerical and physical difficulties linked with (a) the necessity to keep an explicit representation of faults through small-size grid blocks, (b) the modelling of multiphase flow exchanges between the fault and the neighbouring medium. In this thesis, we propose a physically-representative and numerically efficient modelling approach in order to incorporate sub-vertical conductive faults in single and dual-porosity simulators. To validate our approach and demonstrate its efficiency, simulation results of multiphase displacements in representative field sector models are presented. (author)

A combination of streamtube and geostatical simulation methodologies for the study of large oil reservoirs

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Chakravarty, A.; Emanuel, A.S.; Bernath, J.A. [Chevron Petroleum Technology Company, LaHabra, CA (United States)

1997-08-01

The application of streamtube models for reservoir simulation has an extensive history in the oil industry. Although these models are strictly applicable only to fields under voidage balance, they have proved to be useful in a large number of fields provided that there is no solution gas evolution and production. These models combine the benefit of very fast computational time with the practical ability to model a large reservoir over the course of its history. These models do not, however, directly incorporate the detailed geological information that recent experience has taught is important. This paper presents a technique for mapping the saturation information contained in a history matched streamtube model onto a detailed geostatistically derived finite difference grid. With this technique, the saturation information in a streamtube model, data that is actually statistical in nature, can be identified with actual physical locations in a field and a picture of the remaining oil saturation can be determined. Alternatively, the streamtube model can be used to simulate the early development history of a field and the saturation data then used to initialize detailed late time finite difference models. The proposed method is presented through an example application to the Ninian reservoir. This reservoir, located in the North Sea (UK), is a heterogeneous sandstone characterized by a line drive waterflood, with about 160 wells, and a 16 year history. The reservoir was satisfactorily history matched and mapped for remaining oil saturation. A comparison to 3-D seismic survey and recently drilled wells have provided preliminary verification.

Application of Advanced Reservoir Characterization, Simulation, and Production Optimization Strategies to Maximize Recovery in Slope and Basin Clastic Reservoirs, West Texas (Delaware Basin)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dutton, Shirley

1999-01-01

The objective of this Class 3 project was demonstrate that detailed reservoir characterization of slope and basin clastic reservoirs in sandstones of the Delaware Mountain Group in the Delaware Basin of West Texas and New Mexico is a cost effective way to recover a higher percentage of the original oil in place through strategic placement of infill wells and geologically based field development. Project objectives are divided into two main phases. The original objectives of the reservoir-characterization phase of the project were (1) to provide a detailed understanding of the architecture and heterogeneity of two representative fields of the Delaware Mountain Group, Geraldine Ford and Ford West, which produce from the Bell Canyon and Cherry Canyon Formations, respectively, (2) to chose a demonstration area in one of the fields, and (3) to simulate a CO 2 flood in the demonstration area

Multi-scale approach in numerical reservoir simulation; Uma abordagem multiescala na simulacao numerica de reservatorios

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Guedes, Solange da Silva

1998-07-01

Advances in petroleum reservoir descriptions have provided an amount of data that can not be handled directly during numerical simulations. This detailed geological information must be incorporated into a coarser model during multiphase fluid flow simulations by means of some upscaling technique. the most used approach is the pseudo relative permeabilities and the more widely used is the Kyte and Berry method (1975). In this work, it is proposed a multi-scale computational model for multiphase flow that implicitly treats the upscaling without using pseudo functions. By solving a sequence of local problems on subdomains of the refined scale it is possible to achieve results with a coarser grid without expensive computations of a fine grid model. The main advantage of this new procedure is to treat the upscaling step implicitly in the solution process, overcoming some practical difficulties related the use of traditional pseudo functions. results of bidimensional two phase flow simulations considering homogeneous porous media are presented. Some examples compare the results of this approach and the commercial upscaling program PSEUDO, a module of the reservoir simulation software ECLIPSE. (author)

Simulation of Reservoir Sediment Flushing of the Three Gorges Reservoir Using an Artificial Neural Network

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Xueying Li

2016-05-01

Full Text Available Reservoir sedimentation and its effect on the environment are the most serious world-wide problems in water resources development and utilization today. As one of the largest water conservancy projects, the Three Gorges Reservoir (TGR has been controversial since its demonstration period, and sedimentation is the major concern. Due to the complex physical mechanisms of water and sediment transport, this study adopts the Error Back Propagation Training Artificial Neural Network (BP-ANN to analyze the relationship between the sediment flushing efficiency of the TGR and its influencing factors. The factors are determined by the analysis on 1D unsteady flow and sediment mathematical model, mainly including reservoir inflow, incoming sediment concentration, reservoir water level, and reservoir release. Considering the distinguishing features of reservoir sediment delivery in different seasons, the monthly average data from 2003, when the TGR was put into operation, to 2011 are used to train, validate, and test the BP-ANN model. The results indicate that, although the sample space is quite limited, the whole sediment delivery process can be schematized by the established BP-ANN model, which can be used to help sediment flushing and thus decrease the reservoir sedimentation.

Preliminary Three-Dimensional Simulation of Sediment and Cesium Transport in the Ogi Dam Reservoir using FLESCOT – Task 6, Subtask 2

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Onishi, Yasuo; Kurikami, Hiroshi; Yokuda, Satoru T.

2014-03-28

After the accident at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant in March 2011, the Japan Atomic Energy Agency and the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory initiated a collaborative project on environmental restoration. In October 2013, the collaborative team started a task of three-dimensional modeling of sediment and cesium transport in the Fukushima environment using the FLESCOT (Flow, Energy, Salinity, Sediment Contaminant Transport) code. As the first trial, we applied it to the Ogi Dam Reservoir that is one of the reservoirs in the Japan Atomic Energy Agency’s (JAEA’s) investigation project. Three simulation cases under the following different temperature conditions were studied: • incoming rivers and the Ogi Dam Reservoir have the same water temperature • incoming rivers have lower water temperature than that of the reservoir • incoming rivers have higher water temperature than that of the reservoir. The preliminary simulations suggest that seasonal temperature changes influence the sediment and cesium transport. The preliminary results showed the following: • Suspended sand, and cesium adsorbed by sand, coming into the reservoirs from upstream rivers is deposited near the reservoir entrance. • Suspended silt, and cesium adsorbed by silt, is deposited farther in the reservoir. • Suspended clay, and cesium adsorbed by clay, travels the farthest into the reservoir. With sufficient time, the dissolved cesium reaches the downstream end of the reservoir. This preliminary modeling also suggests the possibility of a suitable dam operation to control the cesium migration farther downstream from the dam. JAEA has been sampling in the Ogi Dam Reservoir, but these data were not yet available for the current model calibration and validation for this reservoir. Nonetheless these preliminary FLESCOT modeling results were qualitatively valid and confirmed the applicability of the FLESCOT code to the Ogi Dam Reservoir, and in general to other reservoirs in

The Performance of Surfactant-Polymer Flooding in Horizontal Wells Consisting of Multilayers in a Reservoir System

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Si Le Van

2016-03-01

simulation is carried out in a quarter five-spot pattern reservoir with the support of the Computer Modeling Group (CMG simulator. Understanding the predominant EOR performance of SP flooding in horizontal wells will help to select the best plan to obtain the highest oil recovery when considering economic issues.

Molecular Simulation towards Efficient and Representative Subsurface Reservoirs Modeling

KAUST Repository

Kadoura, Ahmad

2016-09-01

This dissertation focuses on the application of Monte Carlo (MC) molecular simulation and Molecular Dynamics (MD) in modeling thermodynamics and flow of subsurface reservoir fluids. At first, MC molecular simulation is proposed as a promising method to replace correlations and equations of state in subsurface flow simulators. In order to accelerate MC simulations, a set of early rejection schemes (conservative, hybrid, and non-conservative) in addition to extrapolation methods through reweighting and reconstruction of pre-generated MC Markov chains were developed. Furthermore, an extensive study was conducted to investigate sorption and transport processes of methane, carbon dioxide, water, and their mixtures in the inorganic part of shale using both MC and MD simulations. These simulations covered a wide range of thermodynamic conditions, pore sizes, and fluid compositions shedding light on several interesting findings. For example, the possibility to have more carbon dioxide adsorbed with more preadsorbed water concentrations at relatively large basal spaces. The dissertation is divided into four chapters. The first chapter corresponds to the introductory part where a brief background about molecular simulation and motivations are given. The second chapter is devoted to discuss the theoretical aspects and methodology of the proposed MC speeding up techniques in addition to the corresponding results leading to the successful multi-scale simulation of the compressible single-phase flow scenario. In chapter 3, the results regarding our extensive study on shale gas at laboratory conditions are reported. At the fourth and last chapter, we end the dissertation with few concluding remarks highlighting the key findings and summarizing the future directions.

Review on applications of artificial intelligence methods for dam and reservoir-hydro-environment models.

Science.gov (United States)

Allawi, Mohammed Falah; Jaafar, Othman; Mohamad Hamzah, Firdaus; Abdullah, Sharifah Mastura Syed; El-Shafie, Ahmed

2018-05-01

Efficacious operation for dam and reservoir system could guarantee not only a defenselessness policy against natural hazard but also identify rule to meet the water demand. Successful operation of dam and reservoir systems to ensure optimal use of water resources could be unattainable without accurate and reliable simulation models. According to the highly stochastic nature of hydrologic parameters, developing accurate predictive model that efficiently mimic such a complex pattern is an increasing domain of research. During the last two decades, artificial intelligence (AI) techniques have been significantly utilized for attaining a robust modeling to handle different stochastic hydrological parameters. AI techniques have also shown considerable progress in finding optimal rules for reservoir operation. This review research explores the history of developing AI in reservoir inflow forecasting and prediction of evaporation from a reservoir as the major components of the reservoir simulation. In addition, critical assessment of the advantages and disadvantages of integrated AI simulation methods with optimization methods has been reported. Future research on the potential of utilizing new innovative methods based AI techniques for reservoir simulation and optimization models have also been discussed. Finally, proposal for the new mathematical procedure to accomplish the realistic evaluation of the whole optimization model performance (reliability, resilience, and vulnerability indices) has been recommended.

Applicability of WRF-Lake System in Studying Reservoir-Induced Impacts on Local Climate: Case Study of Two Reservoirs with Contrasting Characteristics

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, F.; Zhu, D.; Ni, G.; Sun, T.

2017-12-01

Large reservoirs play a key role in regional hydrological cycles as well as in modulating the local climate. The emerging large reservoirs in concomitant with rapid hydropower exploitation in southwestern China warrant better understanding of their impacts on local and regional climates. One of the crucial pathways through which reservoirs impact the climate is lake-atmospheric interaction. Although such interactions have been widely studied with numeric weather prediction (NWP) models, an outstanding limitation across various NWPs resides on the poor thermodynamic representation of lakes. The recent version of Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) system has been equipped with a one-dimensional lake model to better represent the thermodynamics of large water body and has been shown to enhance the its predication skill in the lake-atmospheric interaction. In this study, we further explore the applicability of the WRF-Lake system in two reservoirs with contrasting characteristics: Miyun Reservoir with an average depth of 30 meters in North China Plain, and Nuozhadu Reservoir with an average depth of 200 meters in the Tibetan Plateau Region. Driven by the high spatiotemporal resolution meteorological forcing data, the WRF-Lake system is used to simulate the water temperature and surface energy budgets of the two reservoirs after the evaluation against temperature observations. The simulated results show the WRF-Lake model can well predict the vertical profile of water temperature in Miyun Reservoir, but underestimates deep water temperature and overestimates surface temperature in the deeper Nuozhadu Reservoir. In addition, sensitivity analysis indicates the poor performance of the WRF-Lake system in Nuozhadu Reservoir could be attributed to the weak vertical mixing in the model, which can be improved by tuning the eddy diffusion coefficient ke . Keywords: reservoir-induced climatic impact; lake-atmospheric interaction; WRF-Lake system; hydropower exploitation

Refined reservoir description to maximize oil recovery

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Flewitt, W.E.

1975-01-01

To assure maximized oil recovery from older pools, reservoir description has been advanced by fully integrating original open-hole logs and the recently introduced interpretive techniques made available through cased-hole wireline saturation logs. A refined reservoir description utilizing normalized original wireline porosity logs has been completed in the Judy Creek Beaverhill Lake ''A'' Pool, a reefal carbonate pool with current potential productivity of 100,000 BOPD and 188 active wells. Continuous porosity was documented within a reef rim and cap while discontinuous porous lenses characterized an interior lagoon. With the use of pulsed neutron logs and production data a separate water front and pressure response was recognized within discrete environmental units. The refined reservoir description aided in reservoir simulation model studies and quantifying pool performance. A pattern water flood has now replaced the original peripheral bottom water drive to maximize oil recovery

The geological model calibration - Learnings from integration of reservoir geology and field performance - Example from the upper carboniferous reservoirs of the Southern North Sea

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Moscariello, A.; Hoof, T.B. van; Kunakbayeva, G.; Veen, J.H. ten; Belt, F. van den; Twerda, A.; Peters, L.; Davis, P.; Williams, H.

2013-01-01

The Geological Model Calibration - Learnings from Integration of Reservoir Geology and Field Performance: example from the Upper Carboniferous Reservoirs of the Southern North Sea. Copyright © (2012) by the European Association of Geoscientists & Engineers All rights reserved.

Simulation of Sediment and Cesium Transport in the Ukedo River and the Ogi Dam Reservoir during a Rainfall Event using the TODAM Code

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Onishi, Yasuo; Yokuda, Satoru T.; Kurikami, Hiroshi

2014-03-28

The accident at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant in March 2011 caused widespread environmental contamination. Although decontamination activities have been performed in residential areas of the Fukushima area, decontamination of forests, rivers, and reservoirs is still controversial because of the economical, ecological, and technical difficulties. Thus, an evaluation of contaminant transport in such an environment is important for safety assessment and for implementation of possible countermeasures to reduce radiation exposure to the public. The investigation revealed that heavy rainfall events play a significant role in transporting radioactive cesium deposited on the land surface, via soil erosion and sediment transport in rivers. Therefore, we simulated the sediment and cesium transport in the Ukedo River and its tributaries in Fukushima Prefecture, including the Ogaki Dam Reservoir, and the Ogi Dam Reservoir of the Oginosawa River in Fukushima Prefecture during and after a heavy rainfall event by using the TODAM (Time-dependent, One-dimensional Degradation And Migration) code. The main outcomes are the following: • Suspended sand is mostly deposited on the river bottom. Suspended silt and clay, on the other hand, are hardly deposited in the Ukedo River and its tributaries except in the Ogaki Dam Reservoir in the Ukedo River even in low river discharge conditions. • Cesium migrates mainly during high river discharge periods during heavy rainfall events. Silt and clay play more important roles in cesium transport to the sea than sand does. • The simulation results explain variations in the field data on cesium distributions in the river. Additional field data currently being collected and further modeling with these data may shed more light on the cesium distribution variations. • Effects of 40-hour heavy rainfall events on clay and cesium transport continue for more than a month. This is because these reservoirs slow down the storm-induced high

Coupling of a reservoir model and of a poro-mechanical model. Application to the study of the compaction of petroleum reservoirs and of the associated subsidence; Couplage d'un modele de gisement et d'un modele mecanique. Application a l'etude de la compaction des reservoirs petroliers et de la subsidence associee

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bevillon, D.

2000-11-30

The aim of this study is to provide a better description of the rock contribution to fluid flows in petroleum reservoirs. The production of oil/gas in soft highly compacting reservoirs induces important reduction of the pore volume, which increases oil productivity. This compaction leads to undesirable effects such as surface subsidence or damage of well equipment. Analysis of compaction and subsidence can be performed using either engineering reservoir models or coupled poro-mechanical models. Poro-mechanical model offers a rigorous mechanical framework, but does not permit a complete description of the fluids. The reservoir model gives a good description of the fluid phases, but the description of the mechanic phenomenon is then simplified. To satisfy the set of equations (mechanical equilibrium and diffusivity equations), two simulators can be used together sequentially. Each of the two simulators solves its own system independently, and information passed both directions between simulators. This technique is usually referred to the partially coupled scheme. In this study, reservoir and hydro-mechanical simulations show that reservoir theory is not a rigorous framework to represent the evolution of the high porous rocks strains. Then, we introduce a partially coupled scheme that is shown to be consistent and unconditionally stable, which permits to describe correctly poro-mechanical theory in reservoir models. (author)

Prediction of the thermohydraulic performance of porous-media reservoirs for compressed-air energy storage

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wiles, L.E.; McCann, R.A.

1981-09-01

The numerical modeling capability that has been developed at the Pacific Northwest Laboratory (PNL) for the prediction of the thermohydraulic performance of porous media reservoirs for compressed air energy storage (CAES) is described. The capability of the numerical models was demonstrated by application to a variety of parametric analyses and the support analyses for the CAES porous media field demonstration program. The demonstration site analyses include calculations for the displacement of aquifer water to develop the air storage zone, the potential for water coning, thermal development in the reservoir, and the dehydration of the near-wellbore region. Unique features of the demonstration site reservoir that affect the thermohydraulic performance are identified and contrasted against the predicted performance for conditions that would be considered more typical of a commercial CAES site.

Integrated Reflection Seismic Monitoring and Reservoir Modeling for Geologic CO2 Sequestration

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

John Rogers

2011-12-31

The US DOE/NETL CCS MVA program funded a project with Fusion Petroleum Technologies Inc. (now SIGMA) to model the proof of concept of using sparse seismic data in the monitoring of CO{sub 2} injected into saline aquifers. The goal of the project was to develop and demonstrate an active source reflection seismic imaging strategy based on deployment of spatially sparse surface seismic arrays. The primary objective was to test the feasibility of sparse seismic array systems to monitor the CO{sub 2} plume migration injected into deep saline aquifers. The USDOE/RMOTC Teapot Dome (Wyoming) 3D seismic and reservoir data targeting the Crow Mountain formation was used as a realistic proxy to evaluate the feasibility of the proposed methodology. Though the RMOTC field has been well studied, the Crow Mountain as a saline aquifer has not been studied previously as a CO{sub 2} sequestration (storage) candidate reservoir. A full reprocessing of the seismic data from field tapes that included prestack time migration (PSTM) followed by prestack depth migration (PSDM) was performed. A baseline reservoir model was generated from the new imaging results that characterized the faults and horizon surfaces of the Crow Mountain reservoir. The 3D interpretation was integrated with the petrophysical data from available wells and incorporated into a geocellular model. The reservoir structure used in the geocellular model was developed using advanced inversion technologies including Fusion's ThinMAN{trademark} broadband spectral inversion. Seal failure risk was assessed using Fusion's proprietary GEOPRESS{trademark} pore pressure and fracture pressure prediction technology. CO{sub 2} injection was simulated into the Crow Mountain with a commercial reservoir simulator. Approximately 1.2MM tons of CO{sub 2} was simulated to be injected into the Crow Mountain reservoir over 30 years and subsequently let 'soak' in the reservoir for 970 years. The relatively small plume

Simulation of land use change in the three gorges reservoir area based on CART-CA

Science.gov (United States)

Yuan, Min

2018-05-01

This study proposes a new method to simulate spatiotemporal complex multiple land uses by using classification and regression tree algorithm (CART) based CA model. In this model, we use classification and regression tree algorithm to calculate land class conversion probability, and combine neighborhood factor, random factor to extract cellular transformation rules. The overall Kappa coefficient is 0.8014 and the overall accuracy is 0.8821 in the land dynamic simulation results of the three gorges reservoir area from 2000 to 2010, and the simulation results are satisfactory.

Multilevel techniques lead to accurate numerical upscaling and scalable robust solvers for reservoir simulation

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Christensen, Max la Cour; Villa, Umberto; Vassilevski, Panayot

2015-01-01

approach is well suited for the solution of large problems coming from finite element discretizations of systems of partial differential equations. The AMGe technique from 10,9 allows for the construction of operator-dependent coarse (upscaled) models and guarantees approximation properties of the coarse...... implementation of the reservoir simulator is demonstrated....

Multi-criteria objective based climate change impact assessment for multi-purpose multi-reservoir systems

Science.gov (United States)

Müller, Ruben; Schütze, Niels

2014-05-01

Water resources systems with reservoirs are expected to be sensitive to climate change. Assessment studies that analyze the impact of climate change on the performance of reservoirs can be divided in two groups: (1) Studies that simulate the operation under projected inflows with the current set of operational rules. Due to non adapted operational rules the future performance of these reservoirs can be underestimated and the impact overestimated. (2) Studies that optimize the operational rules for best adaption of the system to the projected conditions before the assessment of the impact. The latter allows for estimating more realistically future performance and adaption strategies based on new operation rules are available if required. Multi-purpose reservoirs serve various, often conflicting functions. If all functions cannot be served simultaneously at a maximum level, an effective compromise between multiple objectives of the reservoir operation has to be provided. Yet under climate change the historically preferenced compromise may no longer be the most suitable compromise in the future. Therefore a multi-objective based climate change impact assessment approach for multi-purpose multi-reservoir systems is proposed in the study. Projected inflows are provided in a first step using a physically based rainfall-runoff model. In a second step, a time series model is applied to generate long-term inflow time series. Finally, the long-term inflow series are used as driving variables for a simulation-based multi-objective optimization of the reservoir system in order to derive optimal operation rules. As a result, the adapted Pareto-optimal set of diverse best compromise solutions can be presented to the decision maker in order to assist him in assessing climate change adaption measures with respect to the future performance of the multi-purpose reservoir system. The approach is tested on a multi-purpose multi-reservoir system in a mountainous catchment in Germany. A

Reservoir simulation with the cubic plus (cross-) association equation of state for water, CO2, hydrocarbons, and tracers

Science.gov (United States)

Moortgat, Joachim

2018-04-01

This work presents an efficient reservoir simulation framework for multicomponent, multiphase, compressible flow, based on the cubic-plus-association (CPA) equation of state (EOS). CPA is an accurate EOS for mixtures that contain non-polar hydrocarbons, self-associating polar water, and cross-associating molecules like methane, ethane, unsaturated hydrocarbons, CO2, and H2S. While CPA is accurate, its mathematical formulation is highly non-linear, resulting in excessive computational costs that have made the EOS unfeasible for large scale reservoir simulations. This work presents algorithms that overcome these bottlenecks and achieve an efficiency comparable to the much simpler cubic EOS approach. The main applications that require such accurate phase behavior modeling are 1) the study of methane leakage from high-pressure production wells and its potential impact on groundwater resources, 2) modeling of geological CO2 sequestration in brine aquifers when one is interested in more than the CO2 and H2O components, e.g. methane, other light hydrocarbons, and various tracers, and 3) enhanced oil recovery by CO2 injection in reservoirs that have previously been waterflooded or contain connate water. We present numerical examples of all those scenarios, extensive validation of the CPA EOS with experimental data, and analyses of the efficiency of our proposed numerical schemes. The accuracy, efficiency, and robustness of the presented phase split computations pave the way to more widespread adoption of CPA in reservoir simulators.

Numerical simulation of Class 3 hydrate reservoirs exploiting using horizontal well by depressurization and thermal co-stimulation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yang, Shengwen; Lang, Xuemei; Wang, Yanhong; Wen, Yonggang; Fan, Shuanshi

2014-01-01

Highlights: • Depressurization and thermal co-stimulation using horizontal well were proposed. • 3D stimulation showed that gas release rate was 3 × 10 5 m 3 per day within 450 days. • 2D stimulation showed that Class 3 hydrates could be dissociated within 8500 days. • 2D Simulation showed that heat flow was 1620 W lasting 1500 days, and decreased fast. • 1.1× 10 5 kg water was collected within 2000 days and then no more water was produced. - Abstract: Class 3 hydrate reservoirs exploiting using horizontal well by depressurization and thermal co-stimulation was simulated using the HydarteResSim code. Results showed that more than 20% of hydrates in the reservoirs had been dissociated within 450 days at the well temperature of 42 °C and well pressure of 0.1P 0 , 0.2P 0 (P 0 is the initial pressure of the reservoirs, simplifying 42 °C and 0.1P 0 , 42 °C and 0.2P 0 ). While the production behavior of 42 °C and 0.5P 0 , 42 °C and 0.8P 0 were not so exciting. In order to understand the production character of the well in long term, the cross section of 1 m length reservoirs was simulated. Simulation results showed that 4.5 × 10 5 m 3 gas would be collected within 4500 days and 1.1 × 10 6 kg water could be produced within 1500 days in the well at 42 °C and 0.1P 0 . 3.5 × 10 5 m 3 gas would be collected within 8500 days and 1.1 × 10 6 kg water could be produced within 1500 days in the well at 42 °C and 0.2P 0 . The heat flow was 1620 W at the beginning and then decreased rapidly in the two cases. For reservoirs of 1495.2 m in length, about 6.7 × 10 8 m 3 and 5.3 × 10 8 m 3 gas would be collected in the well corresponding to conditions of 42 °C and 0.1P 0 , and 42 °C and 0.2P 0

A scalable fully implicit framework for reservoir simulation on parallel computers

KAUST Repository

Yang, Haijian

2017-11-10

The modeling of multiphase fluid flow in porous medium is of interest in the field of reservoir simulation. The promising numerical methods in the literature are mostly based on the explicit or semi-implicit approach, which both have certain stability restrictions on the time step size. In this work, we introduce and study a scalable fully implicit solver for the simulation of two-phase flow in a porous medium with capillarity, gravity and compressibility, which is free from the limitations of the conventional methods. In the fully implicit framework, a mixed finite element method is applied to discretize the model equations for the spatial terms, and the implicit Backward Euler scheme with adaptive time stepping is used for the temporal integration. The resultant nonlinear system arising at each time step is solved in a monolithic way by using a Newton–Krylov type method. The corresponding linear system from the Newton iteration is large sparse, nonsymmetric and ill-conditioned, consequently posing a significant challenge to the fully implicit solver. To address this issue, the family of additive Schwarz preconditioners is taken into account to accelerate the convergence of the linear system, and thereby improves the robustness of the outer Newton method. Several test cases in one, two and three dimensions are used to validate the correctness of the scheme and examine the performance of the newly developed algorithm on parallel computers.

A scalable fully implicit framework for reservoir simulation on parallel computers

KAUST Repository

Yang, Haijian; Sun, Shuyu; Li, Yiteng; Yang, Chao

2017-01-01

The modeling of multiphase fluid flow in porous medium is of interest in the field of reservoir simulation. The promising numerical methods in the literature are mostly based on the explicit or semi-implicit approach, which both have certain stability restrictions on the time step size. In this work, we introduce and study a scalable fully implicit solver for the simulation of two-phase flow in a porous medium with capillarity, gravity and compressibility, which is free from the limitations of the conventional methods. In the fully implicit framework, a mixed finite element method is applied to discretize the model equations for the spatial terms, and the implicit Backward Euler scheme with adaptive time stepping is used for the temporal integration. The resultant nonlinear system arising at each time step is solved in a monolithic way by using a Newton–Krylov type method. The corresponding linear system from the Newton iteration is large sparse, nonsymmetric and ill-conditioned, consequently posing a significant challenge to the fully implicit solver. To address this issue, the family of additive Schwarz preconditioners is taken into account to accelerate the convergence of the linear system, and thereby improves the robustness of the outer Newton method. Several test cases in one, two and three dimensions are used to validate the correctness of the scheme and examine the performance of the newly developed algorithm on parallel computers.

Explicit Singly Diagonally Implicit Runge-Kutta Methods and Adaptive Stepsize Control for Reservoir Simulation

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Völcker, Carsten; Jørgensen, John Bagterp; Thomsen, Per Grove

2010-01-01

The implicit Euler method, normally refered to as the fully implicit (FIM) method, and the implicit pressure explicit saturation (IMPES) method are the traditional choices for temporal discretization in reservoir simulation. The FIM method offers unconditionally stability in the sense of discrete......-Kutta methods, ESDIRK, Newton-Raphson, convergence control, error control, stepsize selection....

An overview of iterative coupling between geomechanical deformation and reservoir flow

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tran, D.; Nghiem, L.; Buchanan, L.

2005-01-01

The coupling of a reservoir simulator to a geomechanics module has been widely applied in the petroleum industry. In a traditional reservoir simulator, subsidence can be estimated by a relatively simple formula. In a coupled simulator, flow is strongly affected by stresses and strains through porosity. Stress-dependence is ignored completely in conventional simulators, and solutions obtained from them cannot give accurate results if a stress sensitive reservoir is under consideration. In addition, thermal stresses cannot be accounted for. An iterative coupling method was presented. The basic equations for fluid flow in a porous medium consist of the equation of mass conservation, the equation of energy conservation, Darcy's law and equations of state depicting fluid characteristics. A continuum approach was used to develop the conservative equations. Material was assumed to be homogenous, isotropic and symmetric. Three test examples were used to illustrate the validity of geomechanics in reservoir simulation. The first example illustrated the difference in heave when a linear thermo-elastic constitutive model and a thermo-elastoplastic model were used. In the second example, a plastic cap model and a no-cap model were used to illustrate differences in porosity calculations. The 2 examples demonstrated that displacements and porosity calculations depend on the stress response and on the constitutive law of a material. In the third example a pseudo dilation-recompaction model showed a displacement calculation that was comparable with calculations obtained with 2-way coupling. The example illustrated the application of one-way coupling in scenarios where rigorous geomechanics calculations of subsidence are performed without the constraint of feeding back the information to a reservoir simulator. 22 refs., 13 figs

How well will the Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) mission observe global reservoirs?

Science.gov (United States)

Solander, Kurt C.; Reager, John T.; Famiglietti, James S.

2016-03-01

Accurate observations of global reservoir storage are critical to understand the availability of managed water resources. By enabling estimates of surface water area and height for reservoir sizes exceeding 250 m2 at a maximum repeat orbit of up to 21 days, the NASA Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) satellite mission (anticipated launch date 2020) is expected to greatly improve upon existing reservoir monitoring capabilities. It is thus essential that spatial and temporal measurement uncertainty for water bodies is known a priori to maximize the utility of SWOT observations as the data are acquired. In this study, we evaluate SWOT reservoir observations using a three-pronged approach that assesses temporal aliasing, errors due to specific reservoir spatial properties, and SWOT performance over actual reservoirs using a combination of in situ and simulated reservoir observations from the SWOTsim instrument simulator. Results indicate temporal errors to be less than 5% for the smallest reservoir sizes (100 km2). Surface area and height errors were found to be minimal (area SWOT, this study will be have important implications for future applications of SWOT reservoir measurements in global monitoring systems and models.

Optimal Operation of Hydropower Reservoirs under Climate Change: The Case of Tekeze Reservoir, Eastern Nile

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Fikru Fentaw Abera

2018-03-01

Full Text Available Optimal operation of reservoirs is very essential for water resource planning and management, but it is very challenging and complicated when dealing with climate change impacts. The objective of this paper was to assess existing and future hydropower operation at the Tekeze reservoir in the face of climate change. In this study, a calibrated and validated Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT was used to model runoff inflow into the Tekeze hydropower reservoir under present and future climate scenarios. Inflow to the reservoir was simulated using hydro-climatic data from an ensemble of downscaled climate data based on the Coordinated Regional climate Downscaling Experiment over African domain (CORDEX-Africa with Coupled Intercomparison Project Phase 5 (CMIP5 simulations under Representative Concentration Pathway (RCP4.5 and RCP8.5 climate scenarios. Observed and projected inflows to Tekeze hydropower reservoir were used as input to the US Army Corps of Engineer’s Reservoir Evaluation System Perspective Reservoir Model (HEC-ResPRM, a reservoir operation model, to optimize hydropower reservoir release, storage and pool level. Results indicated that climate change has a clear impact on reservoir inflow and showed increase in annual and monthly inflow into the reservoir except in dry months from May to June under RCP4.5 and RCP8.5 climate scenarios. HEC-ResPRM optimal operation results showed an increase in Tekeze reservoir power storage potential up to 25% and 30% under RCP4.5 and RCP8.5 climate scenarios, respectively. This implies that Tekeze hydropower production will be affected by climate change. This analysis can be used by water resources planners and mangers to develop reservoir operation techniques considering climate change impact to increase power production.

Improving reservoir history matching of EM heated heavy oil reservoirs via cross-well seismic tomography

KAUST Repository

Katterbauer, Klemens

2014-01-01

Enhanced recovery methods have become significant in the industry\\'s drive to increase recovery rates from oil and gas reservoirs. For heavy oil reservoirs, the immobility of the oil at reservoir temperatures, caused by its high viscosity, limits the recovery rates and strains the economic viability of these fields. While thermal recovery methods, such as steam injection or THAI, have extensively been applied in the field, their success has so far been limited due to prohibitive heat losses and the difficulty in controlling the combustion process. Electromagnetic (EM) heating via high-frequency EM radiation has attracted attention due to its wide applicability in different environments, its efficiency, and the improved controllability of the heating process. While becoming a promising technology for heavy oil recovery, its effect on overall reservoir production and fluid displacements are poorly understood. Reservoir history matching has become a vital tool for the oil & gas industry to increase recovery rates. Limited research has been undertaken so far to capture the nonlinear reservoir dynamics and significantly varying flow rates for thermally heated heavy oil reservoir that may notably change production rates and render conventional history matching frameworks more challenging. We present a new history matching framework for EM heated heavy oil reservoirs incorporating cross-well seismic imaging. Interfacing an EM heating solver to a reservoir simulator via Andrade’s equation, we couple the system to an ensemble Kalman filter based history matching framework incorporating a cross-well seismic survey module. With increasing power levels and heating applied to the heavy oil reservoirs, reservoir dynamics change considerably and may lead to widely differing production forecasts and increased uncertainty. We have shown that the incorporation of seismic observations into the EnKF framework can significantly enhance reservoir simulations, decrease forecasting

Reservoir Operating Rule Optimization for California's Sacramento Valley

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Timothy Nelson

2016-03-01

Full Text Available doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.15447/sfews.2016v14iss1art6Reservoir operating rules for water resource systems are typically developed by combining intuition, professional discussion, and simulation modeling. This paper describes a joint optimization–simulation approach to develop preliminary economically-based operating rules for major reservoirs in California’s Sacramento Valley, based on optimized results from CALVIN, a hydro-economic optimization model. We infer strategic operating rules from the optimization model results, including storage allocation rules to balance storage among multiple reservoirs, and reservoir release rules to determine monthly release for individual reservoirs. Results show the potential utility of considering previous year type on water availability and various system and sub-system storage conditions, in addition to normal consideration of local reservoir storage, season, and current inflows. We create a simple simulation to further refine and test the derived operating rules. Optimization model results show particular insights for balancing the allocation of water storage among Shasta, Trinity, and Oroville reservoirs over drawdown and refill seasons, as well as some insights for release rules at major reservoirs in the Sacramento Valley. We also discuss the applicability and limitations of developing reservoir operation rules from optimization model results.

Fully implicit two-phase reservoir simulation with the additive schwarz preconditioned inexact newton method

KAUST Repository

Liu, Lulu

2013-01-01

The fully implicit approach is attractive in reservoir simulation for reasons of numerical stability and the avoidance of splitting errors when solving multiphase flow problems, but a large nonlinear system must be solved at each time step, so efficient and robust numerical methods are required to treat the nonlinearity. The Additive Schwarz Preconditioned Inexact Newton (ASPIN) framework, as an option for the outermost solver, successfully handles strong nonlinearities in computational fluid dynamics, but is barely explored for the highly nonlinear models of complex multiphase flow with capillarity, heterogeneity, and complex geometry. In this paper, the fully implicit ASPIN method is demonstrated for a finite volume discretization based on incompressible two-phase reservoir simulators in the presence of capillary forces and gravity. Numerical experiments show that the number of global nonlinear iterations is not only scalable with respect to the number of processors, but also significantly reduced compared with the standard inexact Newton method with a backtracking technique. Moreover, the ASPIN method, in contrast with the IMPES method, saves overall execution time because of the savings in timestep size.

3-D CFD simulations of hydrodynamics in the Sulejow dam reservoir

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ziemińska-Stolarska Aleksandra

2015-12-01

Full Text Available This paper reports the processes by which a single-phase 3-D CFD model of hydrodynamics in a 17-km-long dam reservoir was developed, verified and tested. A simplified VOF model of flow was elaborated to determine the effect of wind on hydrodynamics in the lake. A hexahedral mesh with over 17 million elements and a k-ω SST turbulence model were defined for single-phase simulations in steady-state conditions. The model was verified on the basis of the extensive flow measurements (StreamPro ADCP, USA. Excellent agreement (average error of less than 10% between computed and measured velocity profiles was found. The simulation results proved a strong effect of wind on hydrodynamics in the lake, especially on the development of the water circulation pattern in the lacustrine zone.

High-performance modeling of CO2 sequestration by coupling reservoir simulation and molecular dynamics

KAUST Repository

Bao, Kai; Yan, Mi; Lu, Ligang; Allen, Rebecca; Salam, Amgad; Jordan, Kirk E.; Sun, Shuyu

2013-01-01

multicomponent compositional flow simulation to handle more complicated physical process in the future. Accuracy and scalability analysis are performed on an IBM BlueGene/P and on an IBM BlueGene/Q, the latest IBM supercomputer. Results show good accuracy of our

Application of Integrated Reservoir Management and Reservoir Characterization to Optimize Infill Drilling

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

P. K. Pande

1998-10-29

Initial drilling of wells on a uniform spacing, without regard to reservoir performance and characterization, must become a process of the past. Such efforts do not optimize reservoir development as they fail to account for the complex nature of reservoir heterogeneities present in many low permeability reservoirs, and carbonate reservoirs in particular. These reservoirs are typically characterized by: o Large, discontinuous pay intervals o Vertical and lateral changes in reservoir properties o Low reservoir energy o High residual oil saturation o Low recovery efficiency

Geothermal reservoir assessment manual; 1984-1992 nendo chinetsu choryusou hyoka shuhou manual

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1993-02-01

A geothermal reservoir assessment manual was prepared for the promotion of the development of geothermal power generation, based on the results of the 'geothermal reservoir assessment technique development project' implemented during the fiscal 1984-1992 period and on the results of surveys conducted in Japan and abroad. Of the geothermal systems generally classified into the steam dominant type and the hot water dominant type, encounters with the steam dominant type are but seldom reported. This manual therefore covers the hot water dominant type only. In addition to the explanation of the basic concept and the outline of geothermal reservoirs, the manual carries data necessary for reservoir assessment; geological and geophysical data analyses; geochemistry in reservoir assessment; data of underground logging and of fuming; conceptual models; simulators and models for reservoir simulation; natural-state simulation, history-matching simulation, and reservoir behavior predicting simulation; case history (modeling of a geothermal reservoir prior to exploitation), references, and so forth. (NEDO)

Geothermal reservoir assessment manual; 1984-1992 nendo chinetsu choryusou hyoka shuhou manual

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1993-02-01

A geothermal reservoir assessment manual was prepared for the promotion of the development of geothermal power generation, based on the results of the 'geothermal reservoir assessment technique development project' implemented during the fiscal 1984-1992 period and on the results of surveys conducted in Japan and abroad. Of the geothermal systems generally classified into the steam dominant type and the hot water dominant type, encounters with the steam dominant type are but seldom reported. This manual therefore covers the hot water dominant type only. In addition to the explanation of the basic concept and the outline of geothermal reservoirs, the manual carries data necessary for reservoir assessment; geological and geophysical data analyses; geochemistry in reservoir assessment; data of underground logging and of fuming; conceptual models; simulators and models for reservoir simulation; natural-state simulation, history-matching simulation, and reservoir behavior predicting simulation; case history (modeling of a geothermal reservoir prior to exploitation), references, and so forth. (NEDO)

Tracing fluid flow in geothermal reservoirs

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Rose, P.E.; Adams, M.C. [Univ. of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT (United States)

1997-12-31

A family of fluorescent compounds, the polycyclic aromatic sulfonates, were evaluated for application in intermediate- and high-temperature geothermal reservoirs. Whereas the naphthalene sulfonates were found to be very thermally stable and reasonably detectable, the amino-substituted naphthalene sulfonates were found to be somewhat less thermally stable, but much more detectable. A tracer test was conducted at the Dixie Valley, Nevada, geothermal reservoir using one of the substituted naphthalene sulfonates, amino G, and fluorescein. Four of 9 production wells showed tracer breakthrough during the first 200 days of the test. Reconstructed tracer return curves are presented that correct for the thermal decay of tracer assuming an average reservoir temperature of 227{degrees}C. In order to examine the feasibility of using numerical simulation to model tracer flow, we developed simple, two-dimensional models of the geothermal reservoir using the numerical simulation programs TETRAD and TOUGH2. By fitting model outputs to measured return curves, we show that numerical reservoir simulations can be calibrated with the tracer data. Both models predict the same order of elution, approximate tracer concentrations, and return curve shapes. Using these results, we propose a method for using numerical models to design a tracer test.

Development of Future Rule Curves for Multipurpose Reservoir Operation Using Conditional Genetic and Tabu Search Algorithms

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Anongrit Kangrang

2018-01-01

Full Text Available Optimal rule curves are necessary guidelines in the reservoir operation that have been used to assess performance of any reservoir to satisfy water supply, irrigation, industrial, hydropower, and environmental conservation requirements. This study applied the conditional genetic algorithm (CGA and the conditional tabu search algorithm (CTSA technique to connect with the reservoir simulation model in order to search optimal reservoir rule curves. The Ubolrat Reservoir located in the northeast region of Thailand was an illustrative application including historic monthly inflow, future inflow generated by the SWAT hydrological model using 50-year future climate data from the PRECIS regional climate model in case of B2 emission scenario by IPCC SRES, water demand, hydrologic data, and physical reservoir data. The future and synthetic inflow data of reservoirs were used to simulate reservoir system for evaluating water situation. The situations of water shortage and excess water were shown in terms of frequency magnitude and duration. The results have shown that the optimal rule curves from CGA and CTSA connected with the simulation model can mitigate drought and flood situations than the existing rule curves. The optimal future rule curves were more suitable for future situations than the other rule curves.

Numerical simulation of the environmental impact of hydraulic fracturing of tight/shale gas reservoirs on near-surface groundwater: Background, base cases, shallow reservoirs, short-term gas, and water transport

Science.gov (United States)

Reagan, Matthew T; Moridis, George J; Keen, Noel D; Johnson, Jeffrey N

2015-01-01

Hydrocarbon production from unconventional resources and the use of reservoir stimulation techniques, such as hydraulic fracturing, has grown explosively over the last decade. However, concerns have arisen that reservoir stimulation creates significant environmental threats through the creation of permeable pathways connecting the stimulated reservoir with shallower freshwater aquifers, thus resulting in the contamination of potable groundwater by escaping hydrocarbons or other reservoir fluids. This study investigates, by numerical simulation, gas and water transport between a shallow tight-gas reservoir and a shallower overlying freshwater aquifer following hydraulic fracturing operations, if such a connecting pathway has been created. We focus on two general failure scenarios: (1) communication between the reservoir and aquifer via a connecting fracture or fault and (2) communication via a deteriorated, preexisting nearby well. We conclude that the key factors driving short-term transport of gas include high permeability for the connecting pathway and the overall volume of the connecting feature. Production from the reservoir is likely to mitigate release through reduction of available free gas and lowering of reservoir pressure, and not producing may increase the potential for release. We also find that hydrostatic tight-gas reservoirs are unlikely to act as a continuing source of migrating gas, as gas contained within the newly formed hydraulic fracture is the primary source for potential contamination. Such incidents of gas escape are likely to be limited in duration and scope for hydrostatic reservoirs. Reliable field and laboratory data must be acquired to constrain the factors and determine the likelihood of these outcomes. Key Points: Short-term leakage fractured reservoirs requires high-permeability pathways Production strategy affects the likelihood and magnitude of gas release Gas release is likely short-term, without additional driving forces PMID

Numerical Simulations of Spread Characteristics of Toxic Cyanide in the Danjiangkou Reservoir in China under the Effects of Dam Cooperation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Libin Chen

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Many accidents of releasing toxic pollutants into surface water happen each year in the world. It is believed that dam cooperation can affect flow field in reservoir and then can be applied to avoiding and reducing spread speed of toxic pollutants to drinking water intake mouth. However, few studies investigated the effects of dam cooperation on the spread characteristics of toxic pollutants in reservoir, especially the source reservoir for water diversion with more than one dam. The Danjiangkou Reservoir is the source reservoir of the China’ South-to-North Water Diversion Middle Route Project. The human activities are active within this reservoir basin and cyanide-releasing accident once happened in upstream inflow. In order to simulate the spread characteristics of cyanide in the reservoir in the condition of dam cooperation, a three-dimensional water quality model based on the Environmental Fluid Dynamics Code (EFDC has been built and put into practice. The results indicated that cooperation of two dams of the Danjiangkou Reservoir could be applied to avoiding and reducing the spread speed of toxic cyanide in the reservoir directing to the water intake mouth for water diversions.

Predicting the life-cycle performance of an EGS by numerical simulation

Science.gov (United States)

Blöcher, G.; Zimmermann, G.; Moeck, I.; Brandt, W.; Huenges, E.

2009-04-01

Enhanced geothermal systems (EGS) are engineered reservoirs that have been created to extract economical amounts of heat from low permeability and/or porosity geothermal resources. Reservoir engineering requires a comprehensive data base of reservoir parameters to perform reservoir simulations and it implies reservoir characterisation, production enhancement through stimulation techniques and assurance of the resource-sustainability. This study addresses the hydro-thermal (HT) conditions of the geothermal research doublet E GrSk03/90 and Gt GrSk04/05 at the drill site Gross Schoenebeck (north of Berlin, Germany). The first well Gross Schoenebeck E GrSk3/90 was tested to investigate scenarios of enhancing productivity of thermal fluid recovery from the underground. In order to complete the doublet system a second well Gt GrSk4/05 with a true vertical depth of -4198 m has been finished in 2007, followed by three stimulation treatments to enhance productivity. In order to increase the apparent thickness of the reservoir horizon, the new well is inclined in the reservoir section by 48° and was drilled in the direction of the minimum horizontal stress (Sh=288° azimuth) for optimum hydraulic fracture alignment in relation to the stimulated pre-existing well EGrSk3/90. Hence the orientation of the fractures will be 18° azimuth in the direction of the maximum horizontal stress. The reservoir is located at 4100-4300 m depth within the Lower Permian of the North East German Basin. According to the continental geothermal gradient, the reservoir temperature increases from 138°C to 147°C from top to bottom. In order to get evidence of the hydraulic-thermal (HT) behaviour of the geothermal reservoir during the time of geothermal power production a 3D model was developed. This model includes coupling of various petrophysical parameters: specifically, temperature dependent heat conductivity and heat capacity are considered. The porosity and hydraulic conductivity of the rock

EMSE: Synergizing EM and seismic data attributes for enhanced forecasts of reservoirs

KAUST Repository

Katterbauer, Klemens

2014-10-01

New developments of electromagnetic and seismic techniques have recently revolutionized the oil and gas industry. Time-lapse seismic data is providing engineers with tools to more accurately track the dynamics of multi-phase reservoir fluid flows. With the challenges faced in distinguishing between hydrocarbons and water via seismic methods, the industry has been looking at electromagnetic techniques in order to exploit the strong contrast in conductivity between hydrocarbons and water. Incorporating this information into reservoir simulation is expected to considerably enhance the forecasting of the reservoir, hence optimizing production and reducing costs. Conventional approaches typically invert the seismic and electromagnetic data in order to transform them into production parameters, before incorporating them as constraints in the history matching process and reservoir simulations. This makes automatization difficult and computationally expensive due to the necessity of manual processing, besides the potential artifacts. Here we introduce a new approach to incorporate seismic and electromagnetic data attributes directly into the history matching process. To avoid solving inverse problems and exploit information in the dynamics of the flow, we exploit petrophysical transformations to simultaneously incorporate time lapse seismic and electromagnetic data attributes using different ensemble Kalman-based history matching techniques. Our simulation results show enhanced predictability of the critical reservoir parameters and reduce uncertainties in model simulations, outperforming with only production data or the inclusion of either seismic or electromagnetic data. A statistical test is performed to confirm the significance of the results. © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Tailored ramp-loading via shock release of stepped-density reservoirs

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Prisbrey, Shon T.; Park, Hye-Sook; Remington, Bruce A.; Cavallo, Robert; May, Mark; Pollaine, Stephen M.; Rudd, Robert; Maddox, Brian; Comley, Andrew; Fried, Larry; Blobaum, Kerri; Wallace, Russ; Wilson, Mike; Swift, David; Satcher, Joe; Kalantar, Dan; Perry, Ted; Giraldez, Emilio; Farrell, Michael; Nikroo, Abbas

2012-01-01

The concept of a gradient piston drive has been extended from that of a single component reservoir, such as a high explosive, to that of a multi-component reservoir that utilizes low density foams and large shocks to achieve high pressures (∼3.5 mbar) and controlled pressure vs. time profiles on a driven sample. Simulated and experimental drives shaped through the use of multiple component (including carbonized resorcinol formaldehyde and SiO 2 foam) reservoirs are compared. Individual density layers in a multiple component reservoir are shown to correlate with velocity features in the measured drive which enables the ability to tune a pressure drive by adjusting the components of the reservoir. Pre-shot simulations are shown to be in rough agreement with the data, but post-shot simulations involving the use of simulated plasma drives were needed to achieve an exact match. Results from a multiple component reservoir shot (∼3.5 mbar) at the National Ignition Facility are shown.

System Identification Based Proxy Model of a Reservoir under Water Injection

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Berihun M. Negash

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Simulation of numerical reservoir models with thousands and millions of grid blocks may consume a significant amount of time and effort, even when high performance processors are used. In cases where the simulation runs are required for sensitivity analysis, dynamic control, and optimization, the act needs to be repeated several times by continuously changing parameters. This makes it even more time-consuming. Currently, proxy models that are based on response surface are being used to lessen the time required for running simulations during sensitivity analysis and optimization. Proxy models are lighter mathematical models that run faster and perform in place of heavier models that require large computations. Nevertheless, to acquire data for modeling and validation and develop the proxy model itself, hundreds of simulation runs are required. In this paper, a system identification based proxy model that requires only a single simulation run and a properly designed excitation signal was proposed and evaluated using a benchmark case study. The results show that, with proper design of excitation signal and proper selection of model structure, system identification based proxy models are found to be practical and efficient alternatives for mimicking the performance of numerical reservoir models. The resulting proxy models have potential applications for dynamic well control and optimization.

Using reservoir engineering data to solve geological ambiguities : a case study of one of the Iranian carbonate reservoirs

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kord, S. [National Iranian South Oil Co. (Iran, Islamic Republic of)

2006-07-01

A fractured carbonate reservoir in southwest Iran was studied with reference to reserve estimation, risk analysis, material balance and recovery factor. The 40 km long and 4 km wide reservoir consists of 2 parts with crest depths of 3780 and 3749 mss respectively. The eastern part is smaller and more productive than the western part which has high water saturation and absolutely no production. Economic production from the reservoir began in 1977. By 2004, the cumulative production had reached 12.064 MMSTB. Of the 6 wells drilled, only 2 wells in the eastern part are productive. This study addressed the main uncertainty of whether the 2 parts of the reservoir are sealed or not. The reservoir is under-saturated but the current pressure is near saturation pressure. The reservoir is divided into the following 4 zones: zones 1 and 2 are productive and consist mainly of carbonate rocks; zone 3 has thin beds of sand and shale; and, zone 4 consists of layers of carbonate, shale, marn, and dolomite. Although there are no faults, mud loss suggests that the reservoir has hairline fractures. Oil in place and reserves were estimated for both parts based on calculated reservoir engineering parameters. Material balance calculations were then performed to analyze and simulate the reservoir. The communication between the 2 parts of the reservoir were examined according to core analysis, rock type, fluid characterization, pressure analysis, water-oil contacts, production history and petrophysical evaluations. The porosity was found to be the same in both parts, but the water saturation and net to gross ratios were different between the eastern and western parts. The petrophysical evaluation revealed that there is no communication between the two parts of the reservoir. 4 refs., 2 figs., 2 appendices.

EXPLOITATION AND OPTIMIZATION OF RESERVOIR PERFORMANCE IN HUNTON FORMATION, OKLAHOMA

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mohan Kelkar

2005-02-01

Hunton formation in Oklahoma has displayed some unique production characteristics. These include high initial water-oil and gas-oil ratios, decline in those ratios over time and temporary increase in gas-oil ratio during pressure build up. The formation also displays highly complex geology, but surprising hydrodynamic continuity. This report addresses three key issues related specifically to West Carney Hunton field and, in general, to any other Hunton formation exhibiting similar behavior: (1) What is the primary mechanism by which oil and gas is produced from the field? (2) How can the knowledge gained from studying the existing fields can be extended to other fields which have the potential to produce? (3) What can be done to improve the performance of this reservoir? We have developed a comprehensive model to explain the behavior of the reservoir. By using available production, geological, core and log data, we are able to develop a reservoir model which explains the production behavior in the reservoir. Using easily available information, such as log data, we have established the parameters needed for a field to be economically successful. We provide guidelines in terms of what to look for in a new field and how to develop it. Finally, through laboratory experiments, we show that surfactants can be used to improve the hydrocarbons recovery from the field. In addition, injection of CO{sub 2} or natural gas also will help us recover additional oil from the field.

Development of Reservoir Characterization Techniques and Production Models for Exploiting Naturally Fractured Reservoirs

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wiggins, Michael L.; Brown, Raymon L.; Civan, Frauk; Hughes, Richard G.

2001-08-15

Research continues on characterizing and modeling the behavior of naturally fractured reservoir systems. Work has progressed on developing techniques for estimating fracture properties from seismic and well log data, developing naturally fractured wellbore models, and developing a model to characterize the transfer of fluid from the matrix to the fracture system for use in the naturally fractured reservoir simulator.

Tenth workshop on geothermal reservoir engineering: proceedings

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

1985-01-22

The workshop contains presentations in the following areas: (1) reservoir engineering research; (2) field development; (3) vapor-dominated systems; (4) the Geysers thermal area; (5) well test analysis; (6) production engineering; (7) reservoir evaluation; (8) geochemistry and injection; (9) numerical simulation; and (10) reservoir physics. (ACR)

Erosion index formulation with respect to reservoir life in the upper Citarum watershed

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bakhtiar

2018-01-01

Full Text Available This study aimed to formulate erosion index in the upper Citarum watershed with respect to the Saguling reservoir life. Soil and Water Assessment Tool model was incorporated to simulate hydrological processes in the catchment. From the calibration and validation results, the model is considerably of good performance. The simulated sediment inflow at Nanjung outlet was then extrapolated to determine the sediment inflow into the reservoir. The study revealed that the average value of sediment inflow into the reservoir is 29.24 tonnes/ha/year just below the tolerable erosion limit of 30 tonnes/ha/year assumed by Hammer (1981. It was also found that the relationship between sediment yield and sediment inflow is non linear. Erosion index is formulated as the ratio between the mean annual sediment yield generated in the watershed and the mean annual sediment yield that leads dead storage to be full in the designated life of the reservoir. Erosion index equals to 1.0 indicates that the dead storage will be full in the designated life of the reservoir. A classification of erosion index can be subsequently be made based on erosion index and reservoir life relationship.

Experimental demonstration of reservoir computing on a silicon photonics chip

Science.gov (United States)

Vandoorne, Kristof; Mechet, Pauline; van Vaerenbergh, Thomas; Fiers, Martin; Morthier, Geert; Verstraeten, David; Schrauwen, Benjamin; Dambre, Joni; Bienstman, Peter

2014-03-01

In today’s age, companies employ machine learning to extract information from large quantities of data. One of those techniques, reservoir computing (RC), is a decade old and has achieved state-of-the-art performance for processing sequential data. Dedicated hardware realizations of RC could enable speed gains and power savings. Here we propose the first integrated passive silicon photonics reservoir. We demonstrate experimentally and through simulations that, thanks to the RC paradigm, this generic chip can be used to perform arbitrary Boolean logic operations with memory as well as 5-bit header recognition up to 12.5 Gbit s-1, without power consumption in the reservoir. It can also perform isolated spoken digit recognition. Our realization exploits optical phase for computing. It is scalable to larger networks and much higher bitrates, up to speeds >100 Gbit s-1. These results pave the way for the application of integrated photonic RC for a wide range of applications.

Towards an optimal integrated reservoir system management for the Awash River Basin, Ethiopia

Science.gov (United States)

Müller, Ruben; Gebretsadik, Henok Y.; Schütze, Niels

2016-05-01

Recently, the Kessem-Tendaho project is completed to bring about socioeconomic development and growth in the Awash River Basin, Ethiopia. To support reservoir Koka, two new reservoirs where built together with extensive infrastructure for new irrigation projects. For best possible socioeconomic benefits under conflicting management goals, like energy production at three hydropower stations and basin wide water supply at various sites, an integrated reservoir system management is required. To satisfy the multi-purpose nature of the reservoir system, multi-objective parameterization-simulation-optimization model is applied. Different Pareto-optimal trade-off solutions between water supply and hydro-power generation are provided for two scenarios (i) recent conditions and (ii) future planned increases for Tendaho and Upper Awash Irrigation projects. Reservoir performance is further assessed under (i) rule curves with a high degree of freedom - this allows for best performance, but may result in rules curves to variable for real word operation and (ii) smooth rule curves, obtained by artificial neuronal networks. The results show no performance penalty for smooth rule curves under future conditions but a notable penalty under recent conditions.

Multi-time scale Climate Informed Stochastic Hybrid Simulation-Optimization Model (McISH model) for Multi-Purpose Reservoir System

Science.gov (United States)

Lu, M.; Lall, U.

2013-12-01

In order to mitigate the impacts of climate change, proactive management strategies to operate reservoirs and dams are needed. A multi-time scale climate informed stochastic model is developed to optimize the operations for a multi-purpose single reservoir by simulating decadal, interannual, seasonal and sub-seasonal variability. We apply the model to a setting motivated by the largest multi-purpose dam in N. India, the Bhakhra reservoir on the Sutlej River, a tributary of the Indus. This leads to a focus on timing and amplitude of the flows for the monsoon and snowmelt periods. The flow simulations are constrained by multiple sources of historical data and GCM future projections, that are being developed through a NSF funded project titled 'Decadal Prediction and Stochastic Simulation of Hydroclimate Over Monsoon Asia'. The model presented is a multilevel, nonlinear programming model that aims to optimize the reservoir operating policy on a decadal horizon and the operation strategy on an updated annual basis. The model is hierarchical, in terms of having a structure that two optimization models designated for different time scales are nested as a matryoshka doll. The two optimization models have similar mathematical formulations with some modifications to meet the constraints within that time frame. The first level of the model is designated to provide optimization solution for policy makers to determine contracted annual releases to different uses with a prescribed reliability; the second level is a within-the-period (e.g., year) operation optimization scheme that allocates the contracted annual releases on a subperiod (e.g. monthly) basis, with additional benefit for extra release and penalty for failure. The model maximizes the net benefit of irrigation, hydropower generation and flood control in each of the periods. The model design thus facilitates the consistent application of weather and climate forecasts to improve operations of reservoir systems. The

Variability of wet troposphere delays over inland reservoirs as simulated by a high-resolution regional climate model

Science.gov (United States)

Clark, E.; Lettenmaier, D. P.

2014-12-01

Satellite radar altimetry is widely used for measuring global sea level variations and, increasingly, water height variations of inland water bodies. Existing satellite radar altimeters measure water surfaces directly below the spacecraft (approximately at nadir). Over the ocean, most of these satellites use radiometry to measure the delay of radar signals caused by water vapor in the atmosphere (also known as the wet troposphere delay (WTD)). However, radiometry can only be used to estimate this delay over the largest inland water bodies, such as the Great Lakes, due to spatial resolution issues. As a result, atmospheric models are typically used to simulate and correct for the WTD at the time of observations. The resolutions of these models are quite coarse, at best about 5000 km2 at 30˚N. The upcoming NASA- and CNES-led Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) mission, on the other hand, will use interferometric synthetic aperture radar (InSAR) techniques to measure a 120-km-wide swath of the Earth's surface. SWOT is expected to make useful measurements of water surface elevation and extent (and storage change) for inland water bodies at spatial scales as small as 250 m, which is much smaller than current altimetry targets and several orders of magnitude smaller than the models used for wet troposphere corrections. Here, we calculate WTD from very high-resolution (4/3-km to 4-km) simulations of the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) regional climate model, and use the results to evaluate spatial variations in WTD. We focus on six U.S. reservoirs: Lake Elwell (MT), Lake Pend Oreille (ID), Upper Klamath Lake (OR), Elephant Butte (NM), Ray Hubbard (TX), and Sam Rayburn (TX). The reservoirs vary in climate, shape, use, and size. Because evaporation from open water impacts local water vapor content, we compare time series of WTD over land and water in the vicinity of each reservoir. To account for resolution effects, we examine the difference in WRF-simulated

Towards pattern generation and chaotic series prediction with photonic reservoir computers

Science.gov (United States)

Antonik, Piotr; Hermans, Michiel; Duport, François; Haelterman, Marc; Massar, Serge

2016-03-01

Reservoir Computing is a bio-inspired computing paradigm for processing time dependent signals that is particularly well suited for analog implementations. Our team has demonstrated several photonic reservoir computers with performance comparable to digital algorithms on a series of benchmark tasks such as channel equalisation and speech recognition. Recently, we showed that our opto-electronic reservoir computer could be trained online with a simple gradient descent algorithm programmed on an FPGA chip. This setup makes it in principle possible to feed the output signal back into the reservoir, and thus highly enrich the dynamics of the system. This will allow to tackle complex prediction tasks in hardware, such as pattern generation and chaotic and financial series prediction, which have so far only been studied in digital implementations. Here we report simulation results of our opto-electronic setup with an FPGA chip and output feedback applied to pattern generation and Mackey-Glass chaotic series prediction. The simulations take into account the major aspects of our experimental setup. We find that pattern generation can be easily implemented on the current setup with very good results. The Mackey-Glass series prediction task is more complex and requires a large reservoir and more elaborate training algorithm. With these adjustments promising result are obtained, and we now know what improvements are needed to match previously reported numerical results. These simulation results will serve as basis of comparison for experiments we will carry out in the coming months.

Performance analysis for an irreversible variable temperature heat reservoir closed intercooled regenerated Brayton cycle

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang Wenhua; Chen Lingen; Sun Fengrui; Wu Chih

2003-01-01

In this paper, the theory of finite time thermodynamics is used in the performance analysis of an irreversible closed intercooled regenerated Brayton cycle coupled to variable temperature heat reservoirs. The analytical formulae for dimensionless power and efficiency, as functions of the total pressure ratio, the intercooling pressure ratio, the component (regenerator, intercooler, hot and cold side heat exchangers) effectivenesses, the compressor and turbine efficiencies and the thermal capacity rates of the working fluid and the heat reservoirs, the pressure recovery coefficients, the heat reservoir inlet temperature ratio, and the cooling fluid in the intercooler and the cold side heat reservoir inlet temperature ratio, are derived. The intercooling pressure ratio is optimized for optimal power and optimal efficiency, respectively. The effects of component (regenerator, intercooler and hot and cold side heat exchangers) effectivenesses, the compressor and turbine efficiencies, the pressure recovery coefficients, the heat reservoir inlet temperature ratio and the cooling fluid in the intercooler and the cold side heat reservoir inlet temperature ratio on optimal power and its corresponding intercooling pressure ratio, as well as optimal efficiency and its corresponding intercooling pressure ratio are analyzed by detailed numerical examples. When the heat transfers between the working fluid and the heat reservoirs are executed ideally, the pressure drop losses are small enough to be neglected and the thermal capacity rates of the heat reservoirs are infinite, the results of this paper replicate those obtained in recent literature

The Potential of a Surfactant/Polymer Flood in a Middle Eastern Reservoir

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Meshal Algharaib

2012-01-01

Full Text Available An integrated full-field reservoir simulation study has been performed to determine the reservoir management and production strategies in a mature sandstone reservoir. The reservoir is a candidate for an enhanced oil recovery process or otherwise subject to abandonment. Based on its charateristics, the reservoir was found to be most suited for a surfactant/polymer (SP flood. The study started with a large data gathering and the building of a full-field three-dimensional geological model. Subsequently, a full field simulation model was built and used to history match the water flood. The history match of the water flood emphasizes the areas with remaining high oil saturations, establishes the initial condition of the reservoir for an SP flood, and generates a forecast of reserves for continued water flood operations. A sector model was constructed from the full field model and then used to study different design parameters to maximize the project profitability from the SP flood. An economic model, based on the estimated recovery, residual oil in-place, oil price, and operating costs, has been implemented in order to optimize the project profitability. The study resulted in the selection of surfactant and polymer concentrations and slug size that yielded the best economic returns when applied in this reservoir. The study shows that, in today’s oil prices, surfactant/polymer flood when applied in this reservoir has increased the ultimate oil recovery and provide a significant financial returns.

Multi-data reservoir history matching for enhanced reservoir forecasting and uncertainty quantification

KAUST Repository

Katterbauer, Klemens

2015-04-01

Reservoir simulations and history matching are critical for fine-tuning reservoir production strategies, improving understanding of the subsurface formation, and forecasting remaining reserves. Production data have long been incorporated for adjusting reservoir parameters. However, the sparse spatial sampling of this data set has posed a significant challenge for efficiently reducing uncertainty of reservoir parameters. Seismic, electromagnetic, gravity and InSAR techniques have found widespread applications in enhancing exploration for oil and gas and monitoring reservoirs. These data have however been interpreted and analyzed mostly separately, rarely exploiting the synergy effects that could result from combining them. We present a multi-data ensemble Kalman filter-based history matching framework for the simultaneous incorporation of various reservoir data such as seismic, electromagnetics, gravimetry and InSAR for best possible characterization of the reservoir formation. We apply an ensemble-based sensitivity method to evaluate the impact of each observation on the estimated reservoir parameters. Numerical experiments for different test cases demonstrate considerable matching enhancements when integrating all data sets in the history matching process. Results from the sensitivity analysis further suggest that electromagnetic data exhibit the strongest impact on the matching enhancements due to their strong differentiation between water fronts and hydrocarbons in the test cases.

Numerical simulation of electricity generation potential from fractured granite reservoir through vertical wells at Yangbajing geothermal field

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zeng, Yu-chao; Zhan, Jie-min; Wu, Neng-you; Luo, Ying-ying; Cai, Wen-hao

2016-01-01

Yangbajing geothermal field is the first high-temperature hydrothermal convective geothermal system in China. Research and development of the deep fractured granite reservoir is of great importance for capacity expanding and sustaining of the ground power plant. The geological exploration found that there is a fractured granite heat reservoir at depth of 950–1350 m in well ZK4001 in the north of the geothermal field, with an average temperature of 248 °C and a pressure of 8.01–11.57 MPa. In this work, electricity generation potential and its dependent factors from this fractured granite reservoir by water circulating through vertical wells are numerically investigated. The results indicate that the vertical well system attains an electric power of 16.8–14.7 MW, a reservoir impedance of 0.29–0.46 MPa/(kg/s) and an energy efficiency of about 29.6–12.8 during an exploiting period of 50 years under reference conditions, showing good heat production performance. The main parameters affecting the electric power are water production rate and injection temperature. The main parameters affecting reservoir impedance are reservoir permeability, injection temperature and water production rate. The main parameters affecting the energy efficiency are reservoir permeability, injection temperature and water production rate. Higher reservoir permeability or more reasonable injection temperature or water production rate within certain ranges will be favorable for improving the electricity generation performance. - Highlights: • We established a numerical model of vertical well heat mining system. • Desirable electricity production performance can be obtained under suitable conditions. • The system attains an electric power of 16.8–14.7 MW with an efficiency of about 29.6–12.8. • Electric power mainly depends on water production rate and injection temperature. • Higher permeability within a certain range is favorable for electricity generation.

Simulation study to determine the feasibility of injecting hydrogen sulfide, carbon dioxide and nitrogen gas injection to improve gas and oil recovery oil-rim reservoir

Science.gov (United States)

Eid, Mohamed El Gohary

This study is combining two important and complicated processes; Enhanced Oil Recovery, EOR, from the oil rim and Enhanced Gas Recovery, EGR from the gas cap using nonhydrocarbon injection gases. EOR is proven technology that is continuously evolving to meet increased demand and oil production and desire to augment oil reserves. On the other hand, the rapid growth of the industrial and urban development has generated an unprecedented power demand, particularly during summer months. The required gas supplies to meet this demand are being stretched. To free up gas supply, alternative injectants to hydrocarbon gas are being reviewed to support reservoir pressure and maximize oil and gas recovery in oil rim reservoirs. In this study, a multi layered heterogeneous gas reservoir with an oil rim was selected to identify the most optimized development plan for maximum oil and gas recovery. The integrated reservoir characterization model and the pertinent transformed reservoir simulation history matched model were quality assured and quality checked. The development scheme is identified, in which the pattern and completion of the wells are optimized to best adapt to the heterogeneity of the reservoir. Lateral and maximum block contact holes will be investigated. The non-hydrocarbon gases considered for this study are hydrogen sulphide, carbon dioxide and nitrogen, utilized to investigate miscible and immiscible EOR processes. In November 2010, re-vaporization study, was completed successfully, the first in the UAE, with an ultimate objective is to examine the gas and condensate production in gas reservoir using non hydrocarbon gases. Field development options and proces schemes as well as reservoir management and long term business plans including phases of implementation will be identified and assured. The development option that maximizes the ultimate recovery factor will be evaluated and selected. The study achieved satisfactory results in integrating gas and oil

Characterization of floodflows along the Arkansas River without regulation by Pueblo Reservoir, Portland to John Martin Reservoir, Southeastern Colorado

Science.gov (United States)

Little, John R.; Bauer, Daniel P.

1981-01-01

The need for a method for estimating flow characteristics of flood hydrographs between Portland, Colo., and John Martin Reservoir has been promoted with the construction of the Pueble Reservoir. To meet this need a procedure was developed for predicting floodflow peaks, traveltimes, and volumes at any point along the Arkansas River between Portland and John Martin Reservoir without considering the existing Pueble Reservoir detention effects. A streamflow-routing model was calibrated initially and then typical flood simulations were made for the 164.8-mile study reach. Simulations were completed for varying magnitudes of floods and antecedent streamflow conditions. Multiple regression techniques were then used with simulation results as input to provide predictive relationships for food peak, volume, and traveltime. Management practices that may be used to benefit water users in the area include providing methods for the distribution and allotment of the flood waters upstream of Portland to different downstream water users according to Colorado water law and also under the Arkansas River Compact. (USGS)

The egg model - a geological ensemble for reservoir simulation

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Jansen, J.D.; Fonseca, R.M.; Kahrobaei, S.; Siraj, M.M.; Essen, van G.M.; Hof, Van den P.M.J.

2014-01-01

The ‘Egg Model’ is a synthetic reservoir model consisting of an ensemble of 101 relatively small three-dimensional realizations of a channelized oil reservoir produced under water flooding conditions with eight water injectors and four oil producers. It has been used in numerous publications to

Improved Efficiency of Miscible CO2 Floods and Enhanced Prospects for CO2 Flooding Heterogeneous Reservoirs

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Grigg, Reid B.

1999-01-01

Continued testing the horizontal-well capabilities of MASTER, the DOE's pseudomiscible reservoir simulator, by running simulation tests with several combinations of horizontal and vertical wells and various alternative reservoir descriptions. These sensitivity tests were compared and validated using simulation results from a commercial simulator. This sensitivity study was used in conjunction with our numerical tests on the comparison of foam injection processes and horizontal well injection processes. In addition, a preprocessor used to set up the input file to MASTER and a postprocessor for plotting the well performance were completed. Tests were progressed and the official version of MASTER will be released in the next few months

Multigrid Methods for Fully Implicit Oil Reservoir Simulation

Science.gov (United States)

Molenaar, J.

1996-01-01

In this paper we consider the simultaneous flow of oil and water in reservoir rock. This displacement process is modeled by two basic equations: the material balance or continuity equations and the equation of motion (Darcy's law). For the numerical solution of this system of nonlinear partial differential equations there are two approaches: the fully implicit or simultaneous solution method and the sequential solution method. In the sequential solution method the system of partial differential equations is manipulated to give an elliptic pressure equation and a hyperbolic (or parabolic) saturation equation. In the IMPES approach the pressure equation is first solved, using values for the saturation from the previous time level. Next the saturations are updated by some explicit time stepping method; this implies that the method is only conditionally stable. For the numerical solution of the linear, elliptic pressure equation multigrid methods have become an accepted technique. On the other hand, the fully implicit method is unconditionally stable, but it has the disadvantage that in every time step a large system of nonlinear algebraic equations has to be solved. The most time-consuming part of any fully implicit reservoir simulator is the solution of this large system of equations. Usually this is done by Newton's method. The resulting systems of linear equations are then either solved by a direct method or by some conjugate gradient type method. In this paper we consider the possibility of applying multigrid methods for the iterative solution of the systems of nonlinear equations. There are two ways of using multigrid for this job: either we use a nonlinear multigrid method or we use a linear multigrid method to deal with the linear systems that arise in Newton's method. So far only a few authors have reported on the use of multigrid methods for fully implicit simulations. Two-level FAS algorithm is presented for the black-oil equations, and linear multigrid for

The Effect of Model Grid Resolution on the Distributed Hydrologic Simulations for Forecasting Stream Flows and Reservoir Storage

Science.gov (United States)

Turnbull, S. J.

2017-12-01

Within the US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), reservoirs are typically operated according to a rule curve that specifies target water levels based on the time of year. The rule curve is intended to maximize flood protection by specifying releases of water before the dominant rainfall period for a region. While some operating allowances are permissible, generally the rule curve elevations must be maintained. While this operational approach provides for the required flood control purpose, it may not result in optimal reservoir operations for multi-use impoundments. In the Russian River Valley of California a multi-agency research effort called Forecast-Informed Reservoir Operations (FIRO) is assessing the application of forecast weather and streamflow predictions to potentially enhance the operation of reservoirs in the watershed. The focus of the study has been on Lake Mendocino, a USACE project important for flood control, water supply, power generation and ecological flows. As part of this effort the Engineer Research and Development Center is assessing the ability of utilizing the physics based, distributed watershed model Gridded Surface Subsurface Hydrologic Analysis (GSSHA) model to simulate stream flows, reservoir stages, and discharges while being driven by weather forecast products. A key question in this application is the effect of watershed model resolution on forecasted stream flows. To help resolve this question, GSSHA models of multiple grid resolutions, 30, 50, and 270m, were developed for the upper Russian River, which includes Lake Mendocino. The models were derived from common inputs: DEM, soils, land use, stream network, reservoir characteristics, and specified inflows and discharges. All the models were calibrated in both event and continuous simulation mode using measured precipitation gages and then driven with the West-WRF atmospheric model in prediction mode to assess the ability of the model to function in short term, less than one week

An ultrasonic analysis of the comparative efficiency of various cardiotomy reservoirs and micropore blood filters.

Science.gov (United States)

Pearson, D T; Watson, B G; Waterhouse, P S

1978-01-01

The ability of 12 commercially available cardiotomy reservoirs to remove bubbles from aspirated blood was investigated by means of a simulated cardiopulmonary bypass circuit and an ultrasonic microbubble detector. Performance varied considerably. The number of gaseous microemboli remaining after passage of blood through the reservoir was reduced by (a) holding the blood in the reservoir, (b) reducing the volume of air mixed with the aspirated blood, and (c) using a reservoir that did not induce turbulence and that contained integral micropore filtration material. Further micropore filtration of the blood after passage through the cardiotomy reservoir was beneficial, and significantly more bubbles were extracted when the microfilter was sited below the reservoir than when it was placed in the arterial line. PMID:684672

A Time Domain Update Method for Reservoir History Matching of Electromagnetic Data

KAUST Repository

Katterbauer, Klemens

2014-03-25

The oil & gas industry has been the backbone of the world\\'s economy in the last century and will continue to be in the decades to come. With increasing demand and conventional reservoirs depleting, new oil industry projects have become more complex and expensive, operating in areas that were previously considered impossible and uneconomical. Therefore, good reservoir management is key for the economical success of complex projects requiring the incorporation of reliable uncertainty estimates for reliable production forecasts and optimizing reservoir exploitation. Reservoir history matching has played here a key role incorporating production, seismic, electromagnetic and logging data for forecasting the development of reservoirs and its depletion. With the advances in the last decade, electromagnetic techniques, such as crosswell electromagnetic tomography, have enabled engineers to more precisely map the reservoirs and understand their evolution. Incorporating the large amount of data efficiently and reducing uncertainty in the forecasts has been one of the key challenges for reservoir management. Computing the conductivity distribution for the field for adjusting parameters in the forecasting process via solving the inverse problem has been a challenge, due to the strong ill-posedness of the inversion problem and the extensive manual calibration required, making it impossible to be included into an efficient reservoir history matching forecasting algorithm. In the presented research, we have developed a novel Finite Difference Time Domain (FDTD) based method for incorporating electromagnetic data directly into the reservoir simulator. Based on an extended Archie relationship, EM simulations are performed for both forecasted and Porosity-Saturation retrieved conductivity parameters being incorporated directly into an update step for the reservoir parameters. This novel direct update method has significant advantages such as that it overcomes the expensive and ill

Mixed Finite Element Simulation with Stability Analysis for Gas Transport in Low-Permeability Reservoirs

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mohamed F. El-Amin

2018-01-01

Full Text Available Natural gas exists in considerable quantities in tight reservoirs. Tight formations are rocks with very tiny or poorly connected pors that make flow through them very difficult, i.e., the permeability is very low. The mixed finite element method (MFEM, which is locally conservative, is suitable to simulate the flow in porous media. This paper is devoted to developing a mixed finite element (MFE technique to simulate the gas transport in low permeability reservoirs. The mathematical model, which describes gas transport in low permeability formations, contains slippage effect, as well as adsorption and diffusion mechanisms. The apparent permeability is employed to represent the slippage effect in low-permeability formations. The gas adsorption on the pore surface has been described by Langmuir isotherm model, while the Peng-Robinson equation of state is used in the thermodynamic calculations. Important compatibility conditions must hold to guarantee the stability of the mixed method by adding additional constraints to the numerical discretization. The stability conditions of the MFE scheme has been provided. A theorem and three lemmas on the stability analysis of the mixed finite element method (MFEM have been established and proven. A semi-implicit scheme is developed to solve the governing equations. Numerical experiments are carried out under various values of the physical parameters.

Data Integration for the Generation of High Resolution Reservoir Models

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Albert Reynolds; Dean Oliver; Gaoming Li; Yong Zhao; Chaohui Che; Kai Zhang; Yannong Dong; Chinedu Abgalaka; Mei Han

2009-01-07

The goal of this three-year project was to develop a theoretical basis and practical technology for the integration of geologic, production and time-lapse seismic data in a way that makes best use of the information for reservoir description and reservoir performance predictions. The methodology and practical tools for data integration that were developed in this research project have been incorporated into computational algorithms that are feasible for large scale reservoir simulation models. As the integration of production and seismic data require calibrating geological/geostatistical models to these data sets, the main computational tool is an automatic history matching algorithm. The following specific goals were accomplished during this research. (1) We developed algorithms for calibrating the location of the boundaries of geologic facies and the distribution of rock properties so that production and time-lapse seismic data are honored. (2) We developed and implemented specific procedures for conditioning reservoir models to time-lapse seismic data. (3) We developed and implemented algorithms for the characterization of measurement errors which are needed to determine the relative weights of data when conditioning reservoir models to production and time-lapse seismic data by automatic history matching. (4) We developed and implemented algorithms for the adjustment of relative permeability curves during the history matching process. (5) We developed algorithms for production optimization which accounts for geological uncertainty within the context of closed-loop reservoir management. (6) To ensure the research results will lead to practical public tools for independent oil companies, as part of the project we built a graphical user interface for the reservoir simulator and history matching software using Visual Basic.

Towards an optimal integrated reservoir system management for the Awash River Basin, Ethiopia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

R. Müller

2016-05-01

Full Text Available Recently, the Kessem–Tendaho project is completed to bring about socioeconomic development and growth in the Awash River Basin, Ethiopia. To support reservoir Koka, two new reservoirs where built together with extensive infrastructure for new irrigation projects. For best possible socioeconomic benefits under conflicting management goals, like energy production at three hydropower stations and basin wide water supply at various sites, an integrated reservoir system management is required. To satisfy the multi-purpose nature of the reservoir system, multi-objective parameterization-simulation-optimization model is applied. Different Pareto-optimal trade-off solutions between water supply and hydro-power generation are provided for two scenarios (i recent conditions and (ii future planned increases for Tendaho and Upper Awash Irrigation projects. Reservoir performance is further assessed under (i rule curves with a high degree of freedom – this allows for best performance, but may result in rules curves to variable for real word operation and (ii smooth rule curves, obtained by artificial neuronal networks. The results show no performance penalty for smooth rule curves under future conditions but a notable penalty under recent conditions.

Structural characterization and numerical simulations of flow properties of standard and reservoir carbonate rocks using micro-tomography

Science.gov (United States)

Islam, Amina; Chevalier, Sylvie; Sassi, Mohamed

2018-04-01

With advances in imaging techniques and computational power, Digital Rock Physics (DRP) is becoming an increasingly popular tool to characterize reservoir samples and determine their internal structure and flow properties. In this work, we present the details for imaging, segmentation, as well as numerical simulation of single-phase flow through a standard homogenous Silurian dolomite core plug sample as well as a heterogeneous sample from a carbonate reservoir. We develop a procedure that integrates experimental results into the segmentation step to calibrate the porosity. We also look into using two different numerical tools for the simulation; namely Avizo Fire Xlab Hydro that solves the Stokes' equations via the finite volume method and Palabos that solves the same equations using the Lattice Boltzmann Method. Representative Elementary Volume (REV) and isotropy studies are conducted on the two samples and we show how DRP can be a useful tool to characterize rock properties that are time consuming and costly to obtain experimentally.

Experiments and Simulations of Fluid Flow in Heterogeneous Reservoir Models - Emphasis on Impacts from Crossbeds and Fractures

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Boerresen, Knut Arne

1996-12-31

Hydrocarbon recovery from subsurface reservoirs has become increasingly dependent on advanced recovery techniques that require improved understanding of the physics of fluid flow within and across geological units including small-scale heterogeneities and fractures. In this thesis, impacts from heterogeneities on local fluid flow are studied experimentally by means of imaging techniques to visualize fluid flow in two dimensions during flooding of larger reservoir models. Part 1 reflects the multi-disciplinary collaboration, by briefly introducing the relevant geology, the literature on experiments on fluid flow in bedded structures, and outlining the applied numerical simulator and imaging techniques applied to visualize fluid flow. The second part contains a synopsis of displacement experiments in naturally laminated sandstones and in crossbed laboratory models, and of the impact from incipient shear fractures on oil recovery. The detailed results obtained from the experiments and simulations are described in six papers, all included. 215 refs., 108 figs., 16 tabs.

Experiments and Simulations of Fluid Flow in Heterogeneous Reservoir Models - Emphasis on Impacts from Crossbeds and Fractures

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Boerresen, Knut Arne

1997-12-31

Hydrocarbon recovery from subsurface reservoirs has become increasingly dependent on advanced recovery techniques that require improved understanding of the physics of fluid flow within and across geological units including small-scale heterogeneities and fractures. In this thesis, impacts from heterogeneities on local fluid flow are studied experimentally by means of imaging techniques to visualize fluid flow in two dimensions during flooding of larger reservoir models. Part 1 reflects the multi-disciplinary collaboration, by briefly introducing the relevant geology, the literature on experiments on fluid flow in bedded structures, and outlining the applied numerical simulator and imaging techniques applied to visualize fluid flow. The second part contains a synopsis of displacement experiments in naturally laminated sandstones and in crossbed laboratory models, and of the impact from incipient shear fractures on oil recovery. The detailed results obtained from the experiments and simulations are described in six papers, all included. 215 refs., 108 figs., 16 tabs.

All-optical reservoir computing.

Science.gov (United States)

Duport, François; Schneider, Bendix; Smerieri, Anteo; Haelterman, Marc; Massar, Serge

2012-09-24

Reservoir Computing is a novel computing paradigm that uses a nonlinear recurrent dynamical system to carry out information processing. Recent electronic and optoelectronic Reservoir Computers based on an architecture with a single nonlinear node and a delay loop have shown performance on standardized tasks comparable to state-of-the-art digital implementations. Here we report an all-optical implementation of a Reservoir Computer, made of off-the-shelf components for optical telecommunications. It uses the saturation of a semiconductor optical amplifier as nonlinearity. The present work shows that, within the Reservoir Computing paradigm, all-optical computing with state-of-the-art performance is possible.

Numerical simulation of pore size dependent anhydrite precipitation in geothermal reservoirs

Science.gov (United States)

Mürmann, Mario; Kühn, Michael; Pape, Hansgeorg; Clauser, Christoph

2013-04-01

Porosity and permeability of reservoirs are key parameters for an economical use of hot water from geothermal installations and can be significantly reduced by precipitation of minerals, such as anhydrite. The borehole Allermöhe 1 near Hamburg (Germany) represents a failed attempt of geothermal heat mining due to anhydrite precipitation (Baermann et al. 2000). For a risk assessment of future boreholes it is essential to understand how and when anhydrite cementation occurred under reservoir conditions. From core samples of the Allermöhe borehole it was determined that anhydrite precipitation took place in regions of relatively high porosity while regions of low porosity remained uncemented (Wagner et al. 2005). These findings correspond to the fact that e.g. halite precipitation in porous media is found only in relatively large pores (Putnis and Mauthe 2001). This study and others underline that pore size controls crystallization and that it is therefore necessary to establish a relation between pore size and nucleation. The work presented here is based on investigations of Emmanuel and Berkowitz (2007) who present such a relation by applying a thermodynamic approach. However this approach cannot explain the heterogeneous precipitation observed in the Allermöhe core samples. We chose an advanced approach by considering electric system properties resulting in another relation between pore size and crystallization. It is well known that a high fluid supersaturation can be maintained in porous rocks (Putnis and Mauthe 2001). This clearly indicates that a supersaturation threshold exists exceeding thermodynamic equilibrium considerably. In order to quantify spatially heterogeneous anhydrite cementation a theoretical approach was chosen which considered the electric interaction between surface charges of the matrix and calcium and sulphate ions in the fluid. This approach was implemented into the numerical code SHEMAT (Clauser 2003) and used to simulate anhydrite

Rock music : a living legend of simulation modelling solves a reservoir problem by playing a different tune

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Cope, G.

2008-07-15

Tight sand gas plays are low permeability reservoirs that have contributed an output of 5.7 trillion cubic feet of natural gas per year in the United States alone. Anadarko Petroleum Corporation has significant production from thousands of wells in Texas, Colorado, Wyoming and Utah. Hydraulic fracturing is the key to successful tight sand production. Production engineers use modelling software to calculate a well stimulation program in which large volumes of water are forced under high pressure in the reservoir, fracturing the rock and creating high permeability conduits for the natural gas to escape. Reservoir engineering researchers at the University of Calgary, led by world expert Tony Settari, have improved traditional software modelling of petroleum reservoirs by combining fracture analysis with geomechanical processes. This expertise has been a valuable asset to Anadarko, as the dynamic aspect can have a significant effect on the reservoir as it is being drilled. The challenges facing reservoir simulation is the high computing time needed for analyzing fluid production based on permeability, porosity, gas and fluid properties along with geomechanical analysis. Another challenge has been acquiring high quality field data. Using Anadarko's field data, the University of Calgary researchers found that water fracturing creates vertical primary fractures, and in some cases secondary fractures which enhance permeability. However, secondary fracturing is not permanent in all wells. The newly coupled geomechanical model makes it possible to model fracture growth more accurately. The Society of Petroleum Engineers recently awarded Settari with an award for distinguished achievement in improving the technique and practice of finding and producing petroleum. 1 fig.

Fast Multiscale Reservoir Simulations using POD-DEIM Model Reduction

KAUST Repository

Ghasemi, Mohammadreza

2015-02-23

In this paper, we present a global-local model reduction for fast multiscale reservoir simulations in highly heterogeneous porous media with applications to optimization and history matching. Our proposed approach identifies a low dimensional structure of the solution space. We introduce an auxiliary variable (the velocity field) in our model reduction that allows achieving a high degree of model reduction. The latter is due to the fact that the velocity field is conservative for any low-order reduced model in our framework. Because a typical global model reduction based on POD is a Galerkin finite element method, and thus it can not guarantee local mass conservation. This can be observed in numerical simulations that use finite volume based approaches. Discrete Empirical Interpolation Method (DEIM) is used to approximate the nonlinear functions of fine-grid functions in Newton iterations. This approach allows achieving the computational cost that is independent of the fine grid dimension. POD snapshots are inexpensively computed using local model reduction techniques based on Generalized Multiscale Finite Element Method (GMsFEM) which provides (1) a hierarchical approximation of snapshot vectors (2) adaptive computations by using coarse grids (3) inexpensive global POD operations in a small dimensional spaces on a coarse grid. By balancing the errors of the global and local reduced-order models, our new methodology can provide an error bound in simulations. Our numerical results, utilizing a two-phase immiscible flow, show a substantial speed-up and we compare our results to the standard POD-DEIM in finite volume setup.

Optimizing Reservoir Operation to Adapt to the Climate Change

Science.gov (United States)

Madadgar, S.; Jung, I.; Moradkhani, H.

2010-12-01

Climate change and upcoming variation in flood timing necessitates the adaptation of current rule curves developed for operation of water reservoirs as to reduce the potential damage from either flood or draught events. This study attempts to optimize the current rule curves of Cougar Dam on McKenzie River in Oregon addressing some possible climate conditions in 21th century. The objective is to minimize the failure of operation to meet either designated demands or flood limit at a downstream checkpoint. A simulation/optimization model including the standard operation policy and a global optimization method, tunes the current rule curve upon 8 GCMs and 2 greenhouse gases emission scenarios. The Precipitation Runoff Modeling System (PRMS) is used as the hydrology model to project the streamflow for the period of 2000-2100 using downscaled precipitation and temperature forcing from 8 GCMs and two emission scenarios. An ensemble of rule curves, each associated with an individual scenario, is obtained by optimizing the reservoir operation. The simulation of reservoir operation, for all the scenarios and the expected value of the ensemble, is conducted and performance assessment using statistical indices including reliability, resilience, vulnerability and sustainability is made.

Investigation on the effect of the reservoir variables and operational parameters on SAGD performance

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hashemi Kiasari, H.; Naderifar, A. [AmirKabir University of Technology, Tehran (Iran, Islamic Republic of). Petroleum Engineering Dept.; Sedaee Sola, B. [University of Tehran (Iran, Islamic Republic of). Faculty of Engineering. Inst. of Petroleum Engineering], e-mail: sedaeesola@yahoo.com

2010-04-15

Steam injection is the most important thermal enhanced oil recovery method. One typical procedure is Steam- Assisted Gravity Drainage (SAGD), which is a promising recovery process to produce heavy oil and bitumen. The method ensures a stable displacement of steam at economical rates by using gravity as the driving force and a pair of horizontal wells for injection/production. There are numerous studies done on SAGD in conventional reservoirs, but the majority of them focus on the investigation of the process in microscopic scale. In this study, we investigate the SAGD process with a preheating period, using steam circulation in well pair on a field scale. The synthetic homogenous model was constructed by CMG and simulated using the STARS module. The effects of operational parameters, such as preheating period, vertical well spacing, well pair length, steam quality and production pressure, and reservoir variables, such as rock porosity and permeability, vertical-to-horizontal permeability ratio, thermal conductivity of the formation and rock heat capacity, on the SAGD performance were investigated. The results show that the preheating period affects mainly the initial stages of production. Due to preheating, the well pair communication with the higher vertical distances is also established; therefore, there was no considerable difference between oil productions in various well spacing cases. As steam quality increases, the oil production in later production times also increases. At shorter well pair, more steam can be injected per unit length of well, but, on the other hand, the production well recovers less heated oil area; therefore the well pair length should be optimized in all cases. By decreasing the production well bottom-hole pressure, more heated oil in near well region is produced; therefore, the injected steam raises more in the depleted area. The results of the simulations show that very low permeability leads to a fully unsuccessful SAGD process. In the

Physical simulation of gas reservoir formation in the Liwan 3-1 deep-water gas field in the Baiyun sag, Pearl River Mouth Basin

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gang Gao

2015-01-01

Full Text Available To figure out the process and controlling factors of gas reservoir formation in deep-waters, based on an analysis of geological features, source of natural gas and process of reservoir formation in the Liwan 3-1 gas field, physical simulation experiment of the gas reservoir formation process has been performed, consequently, pattern and features of gas reservoir formation in the Baiyun sag has been found out. The results of the experiment show that: ① the formation of the Liwan 3-1 faulted anticline gas field is closely related to the longstanding active large faults, where natural gas is composed of a high proportion of hydrocarbons, a small amount of non-hydrocarbons, and the wet gas generated during highly mature stage shows obvious vertical migration signs; ② liquid hydrocarbons associated with natural gas there are derived from source rock of the Enping & Zhuhai Formation, whereas natural gas comes mainly from source rock of the Enping Formation, and source rock of the Wenchang Formation made a little contribution during the early Eocene period as well; ③ although there was gas migration and accumulation, yet most of the natural gas mainly scattered and dispersed due to the stronger activity of faults in the early period; later as fault activity gradually weakened, gas started to accumulate into reservoirs in the Baiyun sag; ④ there is stronger vertical migration of oil and gas than lateral migration, and the places where fault links effective source rocks with reservoirs are most likely for gas accumulation; ⑤ effective temporal-spatial coupling of source-fault-reservoir in late stage is the key to gas reservoir formation in the Baiyun sag; ⑥ the nearer the distance from a trap to a large-scale fault and hydrocarbon source kitchen, the more likely gas may accumulate in the trap in late stage, therefore gas accumulation efficiency is much lower for the traps which are far away from large-scale faults and hydrocarbon source

Experiments with Interaction between the National Water Model and the Reservoir System Simulation Model: A Case Study of Russian River Basin

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, J.; Johnson, L.; Cifelli, R.; Chandra, C. V.; Gochis, D.; McCreight, J. L.; Yates, D. N.; Read, L.; Flowers, T.; Cosgrove, B.

2017-12-01

NOAA National Water Center (NWC) in partnership with the National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP), the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) and other academic partners have produced operational hydrologic predictions for the nation using a new National Water Model (NWM) that is based on the community WRF-Hydro modeling system since the summer of 2016 (Gochis et al., 2015). The NWM produces a variety of hydrologic analysis and prediction products, including gridded fields of soil moisture, snowpack, shallow groundwater levels, inundated area depths, evapotranspiration as well as estimates of river flow and velocity for approximately 2.7 million river reaches. Also included in the NWM are representations for more than 1,200 reservoirs which are linked into the national channel network defined by the USGS NHDPlusv2.0 hydrography dataset. Despite the unprecedented spatial and temporal coverage of the NWM, many known deficiencies exist, including the representation of lakes and reservoirs. This study addresses the implementation of a reservoir assimilation scheme through coupling of a reservoir simulation model to represent the influence of managed flows. We examine the use of the reservoir operations to dynamically update lake/reservoir storage volume states, characterize flow characteristics of river reaches flowing into and out of lakes and reservoirs, and incorporate enhanced reservoir operating rules for the reservoir model options within the NWM. Model experiments focus on a pilot reservoir domain-Lake Mendocino, CA, and its contributing watershed, the East Fork Russian River. This reservoir is modeled using United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) HEC-ResSim developed for application to examine forecast informed reservoir operations (FIRO) in the Russian River basin.

Understanding gas production mechanism and effectiveness of well stimulation in the Haynesville shale through reservoir simulation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Fan, L.; Thompson, J.W.; Robinson, J.R. [Schlumberger, Houston, TX (United States)

2010-07-01

The Haynesville Shale Basin is one of the large and most active shale gas plays in the United States, with 185 horizontal rigs currently in place. The Haynesville Shale is a very tight source rock and resource play. The gas resources are being converted into gas reserves with horizontal wells and hydraulic fracture treatments. A complex fracture network created during well stimulation is the main factor in generating superior early well performance in the area. The key to making better wells in all the gas shale plays is to understand how to create more surface area during hydraulic stimulation jobs and preserve the surface area for as long as possible. This paper presented a unique workflow and methodology that has enabled analysis of production data using reservoir simulation to explain the shale gas production mechanism and the effectiveness of stimulation treatments along laterals. Since 2008, this methodology has been used to analyze production data from more than 30 horizontal wells in the Haynesville Shale. Factors and parameters relating to short and long term well performance were investigated, including pore pressure, rock matrix quality, natural fractures, hydraulic fractures, and complex fracture networks. Operators can use the simulation results to determine where and how to spend resources to produce better wells and to reduce the uncertainties of developing these properties. 19 refs., 1 tab., 17 figs.

Geologic CO2 Sequestration: Predicting and Confirming Performance in Oil Reservoirs and Saline Aquifers

Science.gov (United States)

Johnson, J. W.; Nitao, J. J.; Newmark, R. L.; Kirkendall, B. A.; Nimz, G. J.; Knauss, K. G.; Ziagos, J. P.

2002-05-01

Reducing anthropogenic CO2 emissions ranks high among the grand scientific challenges of this century. In the near-term, significant reductions can only be achieved through innovative sequestration strategies that prevent atmospheric release of large-scale CO2 waste streams. Among such strategies, injection into confined geologic formations represents arguably the most promising alternative; and among potential geologic storage sites, oil reservoirs and saline aquifers represent the most attractive targets. Oil reservoirs offer a unique "win-win" approach because CO2 flooding is an effective technique of enhanced oil recovery (EOR), while saline aquifers offer immense storage capacity and widespread distribution. Although CO2-flood EOR has been widely used in the Permian Basin and elsewhere since the 1980s, the oil industry has just recently become concerned with the significant fraction of injected CO2 that eludes recycling and is therefore sequestered. This "lost" CO2 now has potential economic value in the growing emissions credit market; hence, the industry's emerging interest in recasting CO2 floods as co-optimized EOR/sequestration projects. The world's first saline aquifer storage project was also catalyzed in part by economics: Norway's newly imposed atmospheric emissions tax, which spurred development of Statoil's unique North Sea Sleipner facility in 1996. Successful implementation of geologic sequestration projects hinges on development of advanced predictive models and a diverse set of remote sensing, in situ sampling, and experimental techniques. The models are needed to design and forecast long-term sequestration performance; the monitoring techniques are required to confirm and refine model predictions and to ensure compliance with environmental regulations. We have developed a unique reactive transport modeling capability for predicting sequestration performance in saline aquifers, and used it to simulate CO2 injection at Sleipner; we are now

Study of gas production from shale reservoirs with multi-stage hydraulic fracturing horizontal well considering multiple transport mechanisms

Science.gov (United States)

Wei, Mingzhen; Liu, Hong

2018-01-01

Development of unconventional shale gas reservoirs (SGRs) has been boosted by the advancements in two key technologies: horizontal drilling and multi-stage hydraulic fracturing. A large number of multi-stage fractured horizontal wells (MsFHW) have been drilled to enhance reservoir production performance. Gas flow in SGRs is a multi-mechanism process, including: desorption, diffusion, and non-Darcy flow. The productivity of the SGRs with MsFHW is influenced by both reservoir conditions and hydraulic fracture properties. However, rare simulation work has been conducted for multi-stage hydraulic fractured SGRs. Most of them use well testing methods, which have too many unrealistic simplifications and assumptions. Also, no systematical work has been conducted considering all reasonable transport mechanisms. And there are very few works on sensitivity studies of uncertain parameters using real parameter ranges. Hence, a detailed and systematic study of reservoir simulation with MsFHW is still necessary. In this paper, a dual porosity model was constructed to estimate the effect of parameters on shale gas production with MsFHW. The simulation model was verified with the available field data from the Barnett Shale. The following mechanisms have been considered in this model: viscous flow, slip flow, Knudsen diffusion, and gas desorption. Langmuir isotherm was used to simulate the gas desorption process. Sensitivity analysis on SGRs’ production performance with MsFHW has been conducted. Parameters influencing shale gas production were classified into two categories: reservoir parameters including matrix permeability, matrix porosity; and hydraulic fracture parameters including hydraulic fracture spacing, and fracture half-length. Typical ranges of matrix parameters have been reviewed. Sensitivity analysis have been conducted to analyze the effect of the above factors on the production performance of SGRs. Through comparison, it can be found that hydraulic fracture

Producing Light Oil from a Frozen Reservoir: Reservoir and Fluid Characterization of Umiat Field, National Petroleum Reserve, Alaska

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hanks, Catherine

2012-12-31

then compared to theoretical Umiat composition derived using the Pedersen method with original Umiat fluid properties published in the original reports. This comparison allowed estimation of the ‘lost’ light hydrocarbon fractions. An Umiat 'dead' oil sample then could be physically created by adding the lost light ends to the weatherized Umiat dead oil sample. This recreated sample was recombined with solution gas to create a 'pseudo-live' Umiat oil sample which was then used for experimental PVT and phase behavior studies to determine fluid properties over the range of reservoir pressures and temperatures. The phase behavior of the ‘pseudo-live’ oil was also simulated using the Peng- Robinson equations of state (EOS). The EOS model was tuned with measured experimental data to accurately simulate the differential liberation tests in order to obtain the necessary data for reservoir simulation studies, including bubble point pressure and oil viscosity. The bubble point pressure of the reconstructed Umiat oil is 345 psi, suggesting that maintenance of reservoir pressures above that pressure will be important for the any proposed production technique. A major part of predicting how the Umiat reservoir will perform is determining the relative permeability of oil in the presence of ice. Early in the project, UAF work on samples of the Umiat reservoir indicated that there is a significant reduction in the relatively permeability of oil in the presence of ice. However, it was not clear as to why this reduction occurred or where the ice resided. To explore this further, additional experimental and theoretical work was conducted. Core flood experiments were performed on two clean Berea sandstone cores under permafrost conditions to determine the relative permeability to oil (kro) over a temperature range of 23ºC to - 10ºC and for a range of connate water salinities. Both cores showed maximum reduction in relative permeability to oil when saturated

APPLICATION OF RESERVOIR CHARACTERIZATION AND ADVANCED TECHNOLOGY TO IMPROVE RECOVERY AND ECONOMICS IN A LOWER QUALITY SHALLOW SHELF SAN ANDRES RESERVOIR

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Tom Beebe

2003-05-05

The OXY-operated Class 2 Project at West Welch is designed to demonstrate how the use of advanced technology can improve the economics of miscible CO{sub 2} injection projects in lower quality Shallow Shelf Carbonate reservoirs. The research and design phase (Budget Period 1) primarily involved advanced reservoir characterization. The current demonstration phase (Budget Period 2) is the implementation of the reservoir management plan for an optimum miscible CO{sub 2} flood design based on the reservoir characterization. Although Budget Period 1 for the Project officially ended 12/31/96, reservoir characterization and simulation work continued during the Budget Period 2. During the seventh annual reporting period (8/3/00-8/2/01) covered by this report, work continued on interpretation of the interwell seismic data to create porosity and permeability profiles which were distributed into the reservoir geostatistically. The initial interwell seismic CO{sub 2} monitor survey was conducted and the acquired data processed and interpretation started. Only limited well work and facility construction were conducted in the project area. The CO{sub 2} injection initiated in October 1997 was continued, although the operator had to modify the operating plan in response to low injection rates, well performance and changes in CO{sub 2} supply. CO{sub 2} injection was focused in a smaller area to increase the reservoir processing rate. By the end of the reporting period three producers had shown sustained oil rate increases and six wells had experienced gas (CO{sub 2}) breakthrough.

An element-based finite-volume method approach for naturally fractured compositional reservoir simulation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Marcondes, Francisco [Federal University of Ceara, Fortaleza (Brazil). Dept. of Metallurgical Engineering and Material Science], e-mail: marcondes@ufc.br; Varavei, Abdoljalil; Sepehrnoori, Kamy [The University of Texas at Austin (United States). Petroleum and Geosystems Engineering Dept.], e-mails: varavei@mail.utexas.edu, kamys@mail.utexas.edu

2010-07-01

An element-based finite-volume approach in conjunction with unstructured grids for naturally fractured compositional reservoir simulation is presented. In this approach, both the discrete fracture and the matrix mass balances are taken into account without any additional models to couple the matrix and discrete fractures. The mesh, for two dimensional domains, can be built of triangles, quadrilaterals, or a mix of these elements. However, due to the available mesh generator to handle both matrix and discrete fractures, only results using triangular elements will be presented. The discrete fractures are located along the edges of each element. To obtain the approximated matrix equation, each element is divided into three sub-elements and then the mass balance equations for each component are integrated along each interface of the sub-elements. The finite-volume conservation equations are assembled from the contribution of all the elements that share a vertex, creating a cell vertex approach. The discrete fracture equations are discretized only along the edges of each element and then summed up with the matrix equations in order to obtain a conservative equation for both matrix and discrete fractures. In order to mimic real field simulations, the capillary pressure is included in both matrix and discrete fracture media. In the implemented model, the saturation field in the matrix and discrete fractures can be different, but the potential of each phase in the matrix and discrete fracture interface needs to be the same. The results for several naturally fractured reservoirs are presented to demonstrate the applicability of the method. (author)

INVESTIGATION OF EFFICIENCY IMPROVEMENTS DURING CO2 INJECTION IN HYDRAULICALLY AND NATURALLY FRACTURED RESERVOIRS

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

David S. Schechter

2005-04-27

This report describes the work performed during the fourth year of the project, ''Investigating of Efficiency Improvements during CO{sub 2} Injection in Hydraulically and Naturally Fractured Reservoirs.'' The objective of this project is to perform unique laboratory experiments with artificially fractured cores (AFCs) and X-ray CT scanner to examine the physical mechanisms of bypassing in hydraulically fractured reservoirs (HFR) and naturally fractured reservoirs (NFR) that eventually result in more efficient CO{sub 2} flooding in heterogeneous or fracture-dominated reservoirs. In Chapter 1, we worked with DOE-RMOTC to investigate fracture properties in the Tensleep Formation at Teapot Dome Naval Reserve as part of their CO{sub 2} sequestration project. In Chapter 2, we continue our investigation to determine the primary oil recovery mechanism in a short vertically fractured core. Finally in Chapter 3, we report our numerical modeling efforts to develop compositional simulator with irregular grid blocks.

Study of the impact of the uncertainties in petroleum reservoir behavior; Estudo do impacto de incertezas no desempenho de reservatorios de petroleo

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Loschiavo, Roberto [PETROBRAS S.A., SE/AL (Brazil). Exploracao e Producao]. E-mail: rloschiavo@ep-seal.petrobras.com.br; Schiozer, Denis J. [Universidade Estadual de Campinas, SP (Brazil). Centro de Estudo do Petroleo (CEPETRO)]. E-mail: denis@cepetro.unicamp.br; Steagall, Daniel Escobar [Universidade Estadual de Campinas, SP (Brazil). Faculdade de Engenharia Mecanica]. E-mail: steagall@dep.fem.unicamp.br

2000-07-01

Economic evaluation of a project as well as facilities design for oil exploitation is, in general, based on production forecasts. Since production forecast depends on several parameters that are not completely known, one should take a probabilistic approach for reservoir modeling and numerical flow simulation. With this research we propose a procedure to estimate probabilistic production forecasts profiles based on the decision tree technique. The most influencing parameters of a reservoir model are identified and combined to generate a number of realizations of the reservoirs. The combination of each branch of the decision tree defines the probability associated to each reservoir model. A computer program was developed to automatically generate the reservoir models, submit them to the numerical simulator, and process the results. Parallel computing was used to improve the performance of the procedure. (author)

Report (summarized) for fiscal 2000 on survey for demonstration of geothermal exploration technologies. Development of exploration method using reservoir bed fluctuation (Theme 5-1. Reservoir fluctuation forecasting technology); 2000 nendo chinetsu tansa gijutsu to kensho chosa hokokusho (yoyaku). Choryuso hendo tansaho kaihatsu - 5-1 (choryuso hendo yosoku gijutsu)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2001-03-01

With an objective of developing a method effective to evaluate reservoir beds in the initial stage of development, to maintain output stability of power plants after having started the operation and to extract reservoirs existing in the vicinity of areas that have already been developed, R and D has been performed in relation with a reservoir simulator on post processors for gravity, SP, and resistivity, and on reservoir modeling. This paper summarizes the achievements in fiscal 2000. In developing the resistivity post processor, a prototype was completed. In developing the resistivity post processor for MT/CSAMT method, an analysis code was structured, and an input/output format was discussed. In developing the seismic wave post processor, a seismic wave characteristics fluctuation model was formulated. Regarding the input/output aiding GUI tools, a conceptual design was made. In developing the reservoir modeling technology, production forecasting simulation using a porous model and an MINC model was performed for the Sumikawa area. Based on the result thereof, forecast calculation was carried out on gravity change, resistivity change and natural potential change. (NEDO)

Reservoir characterization using production data and time-lapse seismic data

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Dadashpour, Mohsen

2009-12-15

The most commonly encountered, and probably the most challenging task in reservoir engineering, is to describe the reservoir accurately and efficiently. An accurate description of a reservoir is crucial to the management of production and efficiency of oil recovery. Reservoir modeling is an important step in a reservoir's future performance, which is in direct proportion to reservoir management, risk analysis and making key economic decisions. The purpose of reservoir modeling is to not only build a model that is consistent with currently available data, but to build one that gives a good prediction of its future behavior. Updating a reservoir model to behave as closely as possible to the real reservoir is called history matching, and the estimation of reservoir properties using this method is known as parameter estimation problem, which is an inversion process. Parameter estimation is a time consuming and non-unique problem with a large solution space. Saturation and pressure changes, and porosity and permeability distributions are the most common parameters to estimate in the oil industry. These parameters must be specified in every node within a petroleum reservoir simulator. These parameters will be adjusted until the model prediction data match the observation data to a sufficient degree. The solution space reduction in this project is done by adding time-lapse seismic data as a new set of dynamic data to the traditional production histories. Time-lapse (or 4D) seismic consists of two or more 3D seismic surveys shot at different calendar times. Time-lapse seismic surveys produce images at different times in a reservoir's history. The seismic response of a reservoir may change due to changes in pressure, fluid saturation and temperature. These changes in seismic images due to a variation in saturation and pressure can be used as additional observation data. Time-lapse seismic data are dynamical measurements which have a high resolution in the

An Embedded 3D Fracture Modeling Approach for Simulating Fracture-Dominated Fluid Flow and Heat Transfer in Geothermal Reservoirs

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Johnston, Henry [National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Wang, Cong [Colorado School of Mines; Winterfeld, Philip [Colorado School of Mines; Wu, Yu-Shu [Colorado School of Mines

2018-02-14

An efficient modeling approach is described for incorporating arbitrary 3D, discrete fractures, such as hydraulic fractures or faults, into modeling fracture-dominated fluid flow and heat transfer in fractured geothermal reservoirs. This technique allows 3D discrete fractures to be discretized independently from surrounding rock volume and inserted explicitly into a primary fracture/matrix grid, generated without including 3D discrete fractures in prior. An effective computational algorithm is developed to discretize these 3D discrete fractures and construct local connections between 3D fractures and fracture/matrix grid blocks of representing the surrounding rock volume. The constructed gridding information on 3D fractures is then added to the primary grid. This embedded fracture modeling approach can be directly implemented into a developed geothermal reservoir simulator via the integral finite difference (IFD) method or with TOUGH2 technology This embedded fracture modeling approach is very promising and computationally efficient to handle realistic 3D discrete fractures with complicated geometries, connections, and spatial distributions. Compared with other fracture modeling approaches, it avoids cumbersome 3D unstructured, local refining procedures, and increases computational efficiency by simplifying Jacobian matrix size and sparsity, while keeps sufficient accuracy. Several numeral simulations are present to demonstrate the utility and robustness of the proposed technique. Our numerical experiments show that this approach captures all the key patterns about fluid flow and heat transfer dominated by fractures in these cases. Thus, this approach is readily available to simulation of fractured geothermal reservoirs with both artificial and natural fractures.

Optimizing withdrawal from drinking water reservoirs to reduce downstream temperature pollution and reservoir hypoxia.

Science.gov (United States)

Weber, M; Rinke, K; Hipsey, M R; Boehrer, B

2017-07-15

Sustainable management of drinking water reservoirs requires balancing the demands of water supply whilst minimizing environmental impact. This study numerically simulates the effect of an improved withdrawal scheme designed to alleviate the temperature pollution downstream of a reservoir. The aim was to identify an optimal withdrawal strategy such that water of a desirable discharge temperature can be supplied downstream without leading to unacceptably low oxygen concentrations within the reservoir. First, we calibrated a one-dimensional numerical model for hydrodynamics and oxygen dynamics (GLM-AED2), verifying that the model reproduced water temperatures and hypolimnetic dissolved oxygen concentrations accurately over a 5 year period. Second, the model was extended to include an adaptive withdrawal functionality, allowing for a prescribed withdrawal temperature to be found, with the potential constraint of hypolimnetic oxygen concentration. Scenario simulations on epi-/metalimnetic withdrawal demonstrate that the model is able to autonomously determine the best withdrawal height depending on the thermal structure and the hypolimnetic oxygen concentration thereby optimizing the ability to supply a desirable discharge temperature to the downstream river during summer. This new withdrawal strategy also increased the hypolimnetic raw water volume to be used for drinking water supply, but reduced the dissolved oxygen concentrations in the deep and cold water layers (hypolimnion). Implications of the results for reservoir management are discussed and the numerical model is provided for operators as a simple and efficient tool for optimizing the withdrawal strategy within different reservoir contexts. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Application of Reservoir Characterization and Advanced Technology to Improve Recovery and Economics in a Lower Quality Shallow Shelf Carbonate Reservoir

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Taylor, Archie R.

1996-01-01

The Class 2 Project at West Welch was designed to demonstrate the use of advanced technologies to enhance the economics of improved oil recovery (IOR) projects in lower quality Shallow Shelf Carbonate (SSC) reservoirs, resulting in recovery of additional oil that would otherwise be left in the reservoir at project abandonment. Accurate reservoir description is critical to the effective evaluation and efficient design of IOR projects in the heterogeneous SSC reservoirs. Therefore, the majority of Budget Period 1 was devoted to reservoir characterization. Technologies being demonstrated include: (1) Advanced petrophysics; (2) Three dimensional (3-D) seismic; (3) Cross-well bore tomography; (4) Advanced reservoir simulation; (5) Carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) stimulation treatments; (6) Hydraulic fracturing design and monitoring; and (7) Mobility control agents

Determination of turnover and cushion gas volume of a prospected gas storage reservoir under uncertainty

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gubik, A. [RAG-AG Wien (Austria); Baffoe, J.; Schulze-Riegert, R. [SPT Group GmbH, Hamburg (Germany)

2013-08-01

Gas storages define a key contribution for building a reliable gas supply chain from production to consumers. In a competitive gas market with short reaction times to seasonal and other gas injection and extraction requirements, gas storages also receive a strong focus on availability and precise prediction estimates for future operation scenarios. Reservoir management workflows are increasingly built on reservoir simulation support for optimizing production schemes and estimating the impact of subsurface uncertainties on field development scenarios. Simulation models for gas storages are calibrated to geological data and accurate reproduction of historical production data are defined as a prerequisite for reliable production and performance forecasts. The underlying model validation process is called history matching, which potentially generates alternative simulation models due to prevailing geological uncertainties. In the past, a single basecase reference model was used to predict production capacities of a gas storage. The working gas volume was precisely defined over a contracted plateau delivery and the required cushion gas volume maintains the reservoir pressure during the operation. Cushion and working gas Volume are strongly dependent on reservoir parameters. In this work an existing depleted gas reservoir and the operation target as a gas storage is described. Key input data to the reservoir model description and simulation is reviewed including production history and geological uncertainties based on large well spacing, limited core and well data and a limited seismic resolution. Target delivery scenarios of the prospected gas storage are evaluated under uncertainty. As one key objective, optimal working gas and cushion gas volumes are described in a probabilistic context reflecting geological uncertainties. Several work steps are defined and included in an integrated workflow design. Equiprobable geological models are generated and evaluated based on

Developing reservoir monthly inflow forecasts using artificial intelligence and climate phenomenon information

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, Tiantian; Asanjan, Ata Akbari; Welles, Edwin; Gao, Xiaogang; Sorooshian, Soroosh; Liu, Xiaomang

2017-04-01

Reservoirs are fundamental human-built infrastructures that collect, store, and deliver fresh surface water in a timely manner for many purposes. Efficient reservoir operation requires policy makers and operators to understand how reservoir inflows are changing under different hydrological and climatic conditions to enable forecast-informed operations. Over the last decade, the uses of Artificial Intelligence and Data Mining [AI & DM] techniques in assisting reservoir streamflow subseasonal to seasonal forecasts have been increasing. In this study, Random Forest [RF), Artificial Neural Network (ANN), and Support Vector Regression (SVR) are employed and compared with respect to their capabilities for predicting 1 month-ahead reservoir inflows for two headwater reservoirs in USA and China. Both current and lagged hydrological information and 17 known climate phenomenon indices, i.e., PDO and ENSO, etc., are selected as predictors for simulating reservoir inflows. Results show (1) three methods are capable of providing monthly reservoir inflows with satisfactory statistics; (2) the results obtained by Random Forest have the best statistical performances compared with the other two methods; (3) another advantage of Random Forest algorithm is its capability of interpreting raw model inputs; (4) climate phenomenon indices are useful in assisting monthly or seasonal forecasts of reservoir inflow; and (5) different climate conditions are autocorrelated with up to several months, and the climatic information and their lags are cross correlated with local hydrological conditions in our case studies.

Fiscal 1992 report on geothermal development promotion survey (Development of geothermal reservoir assessment technique); 1989 nendo chinetsu kaihatsu sokushin chosa (Chinetsu choryusou hyoka shuho kaihatsu hokokusho)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1994-03-01

Efforts were exerted in fiscal 1984-1992 to develop techniques for appropriately assessing a geothermal reservoir for its productivity for duly predicting the optimum scale of power generation to be provided thereby. In the development of simulators, geothermal reservoir simulators (SING-1, -2, -3) and a geothermal well 2-phase flow simulator (WENG) were developed. As for the treatment of fractures in a reservoir and of substances soluble in the hot water, the methods for dealing with them were improved and augmented. In a model field study in a Hokkaido forest, reservoir pressure continuous observation and monitoring, temperature logging and pressure logging for existing wells, and geothermal fluid chemical analysis were performed for reservoir analysis, in which both natural state simulation and history mapping excellently reproduced the temperature and pressure distributions. The temperature and pressure distributions in a natural state simulation, out of the results of an analysis of the Oguni district model field, Kumamoto Prefecture, agreed not only with those in the natural state but also with the pressure transition data in the observation well. (NEDO)

Productivity Analysis of Volume Fractured Vertical Well Model in Tight Oil Reservoirs

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jiahang Wang

2017-01-01

Full Text Available This paper presents a semianalytical model to simulate the productivity of a volume fractured vertical well in tight oil reservoirs. In the proposed model, the reservoir is a composite system which contains two regions. The inner region is described as formation with finite conductivity hydraulic fracture network and the flow in fracture is assumed to be linear, while the outer region is simulated by the classical Warren-Root model where radial flow is applied. The transient rate is calculated, and flow patterns and characteristic flowing periods caused by volume fractured vertical well are analyzed. Combining the calculated results with actual production data at the decline stage shows a good fitting performance. Finally, the effects of some sensitive parameters on the type curves are also analyzed extensively. The results demonstrate that the effect of fracture length is more obvious than that of fracture conductivity on improving production in tight oil reservoirs. When the length and conductivity of main fracture are constant, the contribution of stimulated reservoir volume (SRV to the cumulative oil production is not obvious. When the SRV is constant, the length of fracture should also be increased so as to improve the fracture penetration and well production.

CO2 storage in depleted gas reservoirs: A study on the effect of residual gas saturation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Arshad Raza

2018-03-01

Full Text Available Depleted gas reservoirs are recognized as the most promising candidate for carbon dioxide storage. Primary gas production followed by injection of carbon dioxide after depletion is the strategy adopted for secondary gas recovery and storage practices. This strategy, however, depends on the injection strategy, reservoir characteristics and operational parameters. There have been many studies to-date discussing critical factors influencing the storage performance in depleted gas reservoirs while little attention was given to the effect of residual gas. In this paper, an attempt was made to highlight the importance of residual gas on the capacity, injectivity, reservoir pressurization, and trapping mechanisms of storage sites through the use of numerical simulation. The results obtained indicated that the storage performance is proportionally linked to the amount of residual gas in the medium and reservoirs with low residual fluids are a better choice for storage purposes. Therefore, it would be wise to perform the secondary recovery before storage in order to have the least amount of residual gas in the medium. Although the results of this study are useful to screen depleted gas reservoirs for the storage purpose, more studies are required to confirm the finding presented in this paper.

The simulation research of dissolved nitrogen and phosphorus non-point source pollution in Xiao-Jiang watershed of Three Gorges Reservoir area.

Science.gov (United States)

Wu, Lei; Long, Tian-Yu; Li, Chong-Ming

2010-01-01

Xiao-jiang, with a basin area of almost 5,276 km(2) and a length of 182.4 km, is located in the center of the Three Gorges Reservoir Area, and is the largest tributary of the central section in Three Gorges Reservoir Area, farmland accounts for a large proportion of Xiao-jiang watershed, and the hilly cropland of purple soil is much of the farmland of the watershed. After the second phase of water storage in the Three Gorges Reservoir, the majority of sub-rivers in the reservoir area experienced eutrophication phenomenon frequently, and non-point source (NPS) pollution has become an important source of pollution in Xiao-jiang Watershed. Because dissolved nitrogen and phosphorus non-point source pollution are related to surface runoff and interflow, using climatic, topographic and land cover data from the internet and research institutes, the Semi-Distributed Land-use Runoff Process (SLURP) hydrological model was introduced to simulate the complete hydrological cycle of the Xiao-jiang Watershed. Based on the SLURP distributed hydrological model, non-point source pollution annual output load models of land use and rural residents were respectively established. Therefore, using GIS technology, considering the losses of dissolved nitrogen and phosphorus in the course of transport, a dissolved non-point source pollution load dynamic model was established by the organic coupling of the SLURP hydrological model and land-use output model. Through the above dynamic model, the annual dissolved non-point source nitrogen and phosphorus pollution output as well as the load in different types were simulated and quantitatively estimated from 2001 to 2008, furthermore, the loads of Xiao-jiang Watershed were calculated and expressed by temporal and spatial distribution in the Three Gorges Reservoir Area. The simulation results show that: the temporal changes of dissolved nitrogen and phosphorus load in the watershed are close to the inter-annual changes of rainfall runoff, and the

Generalized transmissibilities for corner point rids in reservoir simulation; Transmissibilidades generalizadas em malhas corner point na simulacao de reservatorios

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Tada, Mauricio P.; Silva, Antonio Fabio C. da; Maliska, Clovis R. [Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina (UFSC), Florianopolis, SC (Brazil). Lab. de Simulacao Numerica em Mecanica dos Fluidos e Transferencia de Calor (SINMEC)

2008-07-01

It is common to use five points schemes in reservoir simulation, since it simplifies the computational implementation and takes the linear resultant system simplest to be solved, giving more process velocity and robust to simulator. However, the use of these schemes may introduce significant errors solutions as function of volume's non orthogonality and medium anisotropy. These errors do not disappear with grid refinement since they are not truncate errors, it is a flux calculus approximation in the control volume faces. In order to get a correct solution and with no errors of these kind, it must be used a nine point scheme based on the correct flux calculus. The objective of this work is to present a new methodology to calculate the transmissibility on simulation reservoir that use a five and nine points scheme with corner-points grids. This mode considers full tensor anisotropy and the heterogeneity. The transmissibility presented are derivative of the discrete flux expression through control volume faces, where a generalized curvilinear coordinate system, located inner to the control volume, it is adopted. The transmissibility is then written on vector form and may to be used for any coordinate system. (author)

Multi-data reservoir history matching of crosswell seismic, electromagnetics and gravimetry data

KAUST Repository

Katterbauer, Klemens

2014-01-01

Reservoir engineering has become of prime importance for oil and gas field development projects. With rising complexity, reservoir simulations and history matching have become critical for fine-tuning reservoir production strategies, improved

Imaging fluid/solid interactions in hydrocarbon reservoir rocks.

Science.gov (United States)

Uwins, P J; Baker, J C; Mackinnon, I D

1993-08-01

The environmental scanning electron microscope (ESEM) has been used to image liquid hydrocarbons in sandstones and oil shales. Additionally, the fluid sensitivity of selected clay minerals in hydrocarbon reservoirs was assessed via three case studies: HCl acid sensitivity of authigenic chlorite in sandstone reservoirs, freshwater sensitivity of authigenic illite/smectite in sandstone reservoirs, and bleach sensitivity of a volcanic reservoir containing abundant secondary chlorite/corrensite. The results showed the suitability of using ESEM for imaging liquid hydrocarbon films in hydrocarbon reservoirs and the importance of simulating in situ fluid-rock interactions for hydrocarbon production programmes. In each case, results of the ESEM studies greatly enhanced prediction of reservoir/borehole reactions and, in some cases, contradicted conventional wisdom regarding the outcome of potential engineering solutions.

Simulating the gas hydrate production test at Mallik using the pilot scale pressure reservoir LARS

Science.gov (United States)

Heeschen, Katja; Spangenberg, Erik; Schicks, Judith M.; Priegnitz, Mike; Giese, Ronny; Luzi-Helbing, Manja

2014-05-01

LARS, the LArge Reservoir Simulator, allows for one of the few pilot scale simulations of gas hydrate formation and dissociation under controlled conditions with a high resolution sensor network to enable the detection of spatial variations. It was designed and built within the German project SUGAR (submarine gas hydrate reservoirs) for sediment samples with a diameter of 0.45 m and a length of 1.3 m. During the project, LARS already served for a number of experiments simulating the production of gas from hydrate-bearing sediments using thermal stimulation and/or depressurization. The latest test simulated the methane production test from gas hydrate-bearing sediments at the Mallik test site, Canada, in 2008 (Uddin et al., 2011). Thus, the starting conditions of 11.5 MPa and 11°C and environmental parameters were set to fit the Mallik test site. The experimental gas hydrate saturation of 90% of the total pore volume (70 l) was slightly higher than volumes found in gas hydrate-bearing formations in the field (70 - 80%). However, the resulting permeability of a few millidarcy was comparable. The depressurization driven gas production at Mallik was conducted in three steps at 7.0 MPa - 5.0 MPa - 4.2 MPa all of which were used in the laboratory experiments. In the lab the pressure was controlled using a back pressure regulator while the confining pressure was stable. All but one of the 12 temperature sensors showed a rapid decrease in temperature throughout the sediment sample, which accompanied the pressure changes as a result of gas hydrate dissociation. During step 1 and 2 they continued up to the point where gas hydrate stability was regained. The pressure decreases and gas hydrate dissociation led to highly variable two phase fluid flow throughout the duration of the simulated production test. The flow rates were measured continuously (gas) and discontinuously (liquid), respectively. Next to being discussed here, both rates were used to verify a model of gas

Hydrology and Mosquito Population Dynamics around a Hydropower Reservoir in Africa

Science.gov (United States)

Endo, N.; Eltahir, E. A.

2013-12-01

Malaria is associated with dams because their reservoirs provide mosquitoes, the vector of malaria, with permanent breeding sites. The risk of contracting malaria is likely to be enhanced following the increasing trend of hydropower dam construction to satisfy the expanding energy needs in developing countries. A close examination of its adverse health impacts is critical in the design, construction, and operation phases. We will present results of extensive field studies in 2012 and 2013 around the Koka Reservoir, Ethiopia. The results uncover the importance of reservoir management especially after the rainy seasons. Furthermore, we show the capability of a newly modified hydrology, entomology and malaria transmission simulator, HYDREMATS (Bomblies et al, 2008), and its potential as a tool for evaluating environmental management strategies to control malaria. HYDREMATS was developed to represent how the hydrology in nearby villages is impacted by the reservoir system, and the role of different types of vector ecologies associated with different Anopheles mosquito species. The hydrology component of HYDREMATS simulates three different mosquito breeding habitats: rain-fed pools, groundwater pools, and shoreline water. The entomology component simulates the life cycles of An. funestus and An. arabiensis, the two main vectors around the reservoir. The model was calibrated over the 2012-2013 period. The impact of reservoir water level management on the mosquito population is explored based on numerical model simulations and field experiments.

Markov random fields simulation: an introduction to the stochastic modelling of petroleum reservoirs; Simulacao de campos aleatorios markovianos: uma introducao voltada a modelagem estocastica de reservatorios de petroleo

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Saldanha Filho, Paulo Carlos

1998-02-01

Stochastic simulation has been employed in petroleum reservoir characterization as a modeling tool able to reconcile information from several different sources. It has the ability to preserve the variability of the modeled phenomena and permits transference of geological knowledge to numerical models of flux, whose predictions on reservoir constitute the main basis for reservoir management decisions. Several stochastic models have been used and/or suggested, depending on the nature of the phenomena to be described. Markov Random Fields (MRFs) appear as an alternative for the modeling of discrete variables, mainly reservoirs with mosaic architecture of facies. In this dissertation, the reader is introduced to the stochastic modeling by MRFs in a generic sense. The main aspects of the technique are reviewed. MRF Conceptual Background is described: its characterization through the Markovian property and the equivalence to Gibbs distributions. The framework for generic modeling of MRFs is described. The classical models of Ising and Potts-Strauss are specific in this context and are related to models of Ising and Potts-Strauss are specific in this context and are related to models used in petroleum reservoir characterization. The problem of parameter estimation is discussed. The maximum pseudolikelihood estimators for some models are presented. Estimators for two models useful for reservoir characterization are developed, and represent a new contribution to the subject. Five algorithms for the Conditional Simulation of MRFs are described: the Metropolis algorithm, the algorithm of German and German (Gibbs sampler), the algorithm of Swendsen-Wang, the algorithm of Wolff, and the algorithm of Flinn. Finally, examples of simulation for some of the models discussed are presented, along with their implications on the modelling of petroleum reservoirs. (author)

Applicability and optimization of SAGD in eastern Venezuela reservoirs

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Pina R, J.A.; Bashbush, J.L.; Fernandez, E.A. [Schlumberger, Caracas (Venezuela)

2008-10-15

Steam-assisted gravity drainage (SAGD) is one of the most effective enhanced oil recovery (EOR) methods. In Venezuela, a significant amount of heavy oil in place has been mapped, but limited areas have been developed. Suitable EOR methods need to be applied to extend the productive life of these reservoirs and increase their recovery factors. This paper presented and described an evaluation and stepwise optimization process for a steam-assisted gravity drainage (SAGD) project using a representative sector model from a field with fluid and reservoir characteristics from an eastern Venezuela formation. The purpose of the study was to understand the impact of key parameters in the process specific to the selected area and to understand the effects on the recovery factor in these reservoirs, which have previously produced with primary recovery mechanisms. The paper discussed a sensitivity analysis that was performed using thermal simulation. Thermal simulation and pressure-volume-temperature (PVT) analysis were described. Parameters that were analyzed included vertical well spacing, injection steam rate, well flowing pressure, and horizontal length of the well pair. The paper also presented a brief analysis of the effect on oil recovery from the angle of dip in the reservoir and the orientation of the well pair with regard to the direction of dip. A comparison between two- and three- pseudocomponent model results was also provided. The authors recommended that economic analyses should accompany the final optimization sequence, to incorporate financial and technical considerations for the selection design of the SAGD pilot. 7 refs., 12 tabs., 18 figs.

APPLICATION OF RESERVOIR CHARACTERIZATION AND ADVANCED TECHNOLOGY TO IMPROVE RECOVERY AND ECONOMICS IN A LOWER QUALITY SHALLOW SHELF SAN ANDRES RESERVOIR

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hickman, T. Scott

2003-01-01

The Class 2 Project at West Welch was designed to demonstrate the use of advanced technologies to enhance the economics of improved oil recovery (IOR) projects in lower quality Shallow Shelf Carbonate (SSC) reservoirs, resulting in recovery of additional oil that would otherwise be left in the reservoir at project abandonment. Accurate reservoir description is critical to the effective evaluation and efficient design of IOR projects in the heterogeneous SSC reservoirs. Therefore, the majority of Budget Period 1 was devoted to reservoir characterization. Technologies being demonstrated include: (1) Advanced petrophysics; (2) Three-dimensional (3-D) seismic; (3) Crosswell bore tomography; (4) Advanced reservoir simulation; (5) Carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) stimulation treatments; (6) Hydraulic fracturing design and monitoring; and (7) Mobility control agents

APPLICATION OF RESERVOIR CHARACTERIZATION AND ADVANCED TECHNOLOGY TO IMPROVE RECOVERY AND ECONOMICS IN A LOWER QUALITY SHALLOW SHELF SAN ANDRES RESERVOIR

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Raj Kumar; Keith Brown; Hickman, T. Scott; Justice, James J.

2000-01-01

The Class 2 Project at West Welch was designed to demonstrate the use of advanced technologies to enhance the economics of improved oil recovery (IOR) projects in lower quality Shallow Shelf Carbonate (SSC) reservoirs, resulting in recovery of additional oil that would otherwise be left in the reservoir at project abandonment. Accurate reservoir description is critical to the effective evaluation and efficient design of IOR projects in the heterogeneous SSC reservoirs. Therefore, the majority of Budget Period 1 was devoted to reservoir characterization. Technologies being demonstrated include: (1) Advanced petrophysics; (2) Three-dimensional (3-D) seismic; (3) Crosswell bore tomography; (4) Advanced reservoir simulation; (5) Carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) stimulation treatments; (6) Hydraulic fracturing design and monitoring; and (7) Mobility control agents

APPLICATION OF RESERVOIR CHARACTERIZATION AND ADVANCED TECHNOLOGY TO IMPROVE RECOVERY AND ECONOMICS IN A LOWER QUALITY SHALLOW SHELF SAN ANDRES RESERVOIR

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hickman, T. Scott; Justice, James J.

2001-01-01

The Class 2 Project at West Welch was designed to demonstrate the use of advanced technologies to enhance the economics of improved oil recovery (IOR) projects in lower quality Shallow Shelf Carbonate (SSC) reservoirs, resulting in recovery of additional oil that would otherwise be left in the reservoir at project abandonment. Accurate reservoir description is critical to the effective evaluation and efficient design of IOR projects in the heterogeneous SSC reservoirs. Therefore, the majority of Budget Period 1 was devoted to reservoir characterization. Technologies being demonstrated include: (1) Advanced petrophysics; (2) Three-dimensional (3-D) seismic; (3) Crosswell bore tomography; (4) Advanced reservoir simulation; (5) Carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) stimulation treatments; (6) Hydraulic fracturing design and monitoring; and (7) Mobility control agents

APPLICATION OF RESERVOIR CHARACTERIZATION AND ADVANCED TECHNOLOGY TO IMPROVE RECOVERY AND ECONOMICS IN A LOWER QUALITY SHALLOW SHELF SAN ANDRES RESERVOIR

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

T. Scott Hickman; James J. Justice

2001-06-16

The Class 2 Project at West Welch was designed to demonstrate the use of advanced technologies to enhance the economics of improved oil recovery (IOR) projects in lower quality Shallow Shelf Carbonate (SSC) reservoirs, resulting in recovery of additional oil that would otherwise be left in the reservoir at project abandonment. Accurate reservoir description is critical to the effective evaluation and efficient design of IOR projects in the heterogeneous SSC reservoirs. Therefore, the majority of Budget Period 1 was devoted to reservoir characterization. Technologies being demonstrated include: (1) Advanced petrophysics; (2) Three-dimensional (3-D) seismic; (3) Crosswell bore tomography; (4) Advanced reservoir simulation; (5) Carbon dioxide (CO{sub 2}) stimulation treatments; (6) Hydraulic fracturing design and monitoring; and (7) Mobility control agents.

Complex relationship between seasonal streamflow forecast skill and value in reservoir operations

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

S. W. D. Turner

2017-09-01

Full Text Available Considerable research effort has recently been directed at improving and operationalising ensemble seasonal streamflow forecasts. Whilst this creates new opportunities for improving the performance of water resources systems, there may also be associated risks. Here, we explore these potential risks by examining the sensitivity of forecast value (improvement in system performance brought about by adopting forecasts to changes in the forecast skill for a range of hypothetical reservoir designs with contrasting operating objectives. Forecast-informed operations are simulated using rolling horizon, adaptive control and then benchmarked against optimised control rules to assess performance improvements. Results show that there exists a strong relationship between forecast skill and value for systems operated to maintain a target water level. But this relationship breaks down when the reservoir is operated to satisfy a target demand for water; good forecast accuracy does not necessarily translate into performance improvement. We show that the primary cause of this behaviour is the buffering role played by storage in water supply reservoirs, which renders the forecast superfluous for long periods of the operation. System performance depends primarily on forecast accuracy when critical decisions are made – namely during severe drought. As it is not possible to know in advance if a forecast will perform well at such moments, we advocate measuring the consistency of forecast performance, through bootstrap resampling, to indicate potential usefulness in storage operations. Our results highlight the need for sensitivity assessment in value-of-forecast studies involving reservoirs with supply objectives.

On the evaluation of steam assisted gravity drainage in naturally fractured oil reservoirs

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Seyed Morteza Tohidi Hosseini

2017-06-01

Full Text Available Steam Assisted Gravity Drainage (SAGD as a successful enhanced oil recovery (EOR process has been applied to extract heavy and extra heavy oils. Huge amount of global heavy oil resources exists in carbonate reservoirs which are mostly naturally fractured reservoirs. Unlike clastic reservoirs, few studies were carried out to determine the performance of SAGD in carbonate reservoirs. Even though SAGD is a highly promising technique, several uncertainties and unanswered questions still exist and they should be clarified for expansion of SAGD methods to world wide applications especially in naturally fractured reservoirs. In this communication, the effects of some operational and reservoir parameters on SAGD processes were investigated in a naturally fractured reservoir with oil wet rock using CMG-STARS thermal simulator. The purpose of this study was to investigate the role of fracture properties including fracture orientation, fracture spacing and fracture permeability on the SAGD performance in naturally fractured reservoirs. Moreover, one operational parameter was also studied; one new well configuration, staggered well pair was evaluated. Results indicated that fracture orientation influences steam expansion and oil production from the horizontal well pairs. It was also found that horizontal fractures have unfavorable effects on oil production, while vertical fractures increase the production rate for the horizontal well. Moreover, an increase in fracture spacing results in more oil production, because in higher fracture spacing model, steam will have more time to diffuse into matrices and heat up the entire reservoir. Furthermore, an increase in fracture permeability results in process enhancement and ultimate recovery improvement. Besides, diagonal change in the location of injection wells (staggered model increases the recovery efficiency in long-term production plan.

INCREASING HEAVY OIL RESERVES IN THE WILMINGTON OIL FIELD THROUGH ADVANCED RESERVOIR CHARACTERIZATION AND THERMAL PRODUCTION TECHNOLOGIES

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Unknown

2001-08-08

The objective of this project is to increase the recoverable heavy oil reserves within sections of the Wilmington Oil Field, near Long Beach, California, through the testing and application of advanced reservoir characterization and thermal production technologies. The hope is that successful application of these technologies will result in their implementation throughout the Wilmington Field and, through technology transfer, will be extended to increase the recoverable oil reserves in other slope and basin clastic (SBC) reservoirs. The existing steamflood in the Tar zone of Fault Block II-A (Tar II-A) has been relatively inefficient because of several producibility problems which are common in SBC reservoirs: inadequate characterization of the heterogeneous turbidite sands, high permeability thief zones, low gravity oil and non-uniform distribution of the remaining oil. This has resulted in poor sweep efficiency, high steam-oil ratios, and early steam breakthrough. Operational problems related to steam breakthrough, high reservoir pressure, and unconsolidated sands have caused premature well and downhole equipment failures. In aggregate, these reservoir and operational constraints have resulted in increased operating costs and decreased recoverable reserves. A suite of advanced reservoir characterization and thermal production technologies are being applied during the project to improve oil recovery and reduce operating costs, including: (1) Development of three-dimensional (3-D) deterministic and stochastic reservoir simulation models--thermal or otherwise--to aid in reservoir management of the steamflood and post-steamflood phases and subsequent development work. (2) Development of computerized 3-D visualizations of the geologic and reservoir simulation models to aid reservoir surveillance and operations. (3) Perform detailed studies of the geochemical interactions between the steam and the formation rock and fluids. (4) Testing and proposed application of a

An integrated “Reservoir-Plant” strategy for a sustainable and efficient use of geothermal resources

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Franco, Alessandro; Vaccaro, Maurizio

2012-01-01

A multidisciplinary approach for the design of geothermal power plants for water dominant resources is here proposed. The importance of a strategic approach is underlined, considering all the connections between the analysis of the geothermal potential of the reservoir (geophysical exploration and geochemical analysis) with the design of the plant based on thermodynamic and energy considerations, mainly regarding ORC (Organic Rankine Cycles) power plants. This multidisciplinary approach is fundamental for the objective of a sustainable exploitation of medium to low enthalpy sources. The aim of this study is to propose the optimization and management of the global system “reservoir-power plant” as the task of geothermal projects. This approach can be pursued only in a multidisciplinary perspective in which both Engineering and Geological aspects are involved. Numerical simulation appears to be an essential interacting step. After analyzing the problems caused by an incorrect characterization of geothermal source, reinjection temperature and strategy, a method for the numerical simulation of geothermal reservoirs long-term behavior/capacity is discussed. This could be the key instrument to synthesize the strategy inputs. A numerical modeling is performed, using as reference data the history matching of a well known and completely analyzed geothermal field. -- Highlights: ► Design of Binary plants based on Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC). ► A multidisciplinary approach for the design of geothermal power plants is proposed. ► Optimization of global system Reservoir-Plant is the aim of a geothermal project. ► Numerical simulation is strategic for the design of a geothermal ORC power plant. ► A numerical model of a geothermal reservoir has been realized and simulated.

Sampling from stochastic reservoir models constrained by production data

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hegstad, Bjoern Kaare

1997-12-31

When a petroleum reservoir is evaluated, it is important to forecast future production of oil and gas and to assess forecast uncertainty. This is done by defining a stochastic model for the reservoir characteristics, generating realizations from this model and applying a fluid flow simulator to the realizations. The reservoir characteristics define the geometry of the reservoir, initial saturation, petrophysical properties etc. This thesis discusses how to generate realizations constrained by production data, that is to say, the realizations should reproduce the observed production history of the petroleum reservoir within the uncertainty of these data. The topics discussed are: (1) Theoretical framework, (2) History matching, forecasting and forecasting uncertainty, (3) A three-dimensional test case, (4) Modelling transmissibility multipliers by Markov random fields, (5) Up scaling, (6) The link between model parameters, well observations and production history in a simple test case, (7) Sampling the posterior using optimization in a hierarchical model, (8) A comparison of Rejection Sampling and Metropolis-Hastings algorithm, (9) Stochastic simulation and conditioning by annealing in reservoir description, and (10) Uncertainty assessment in history matching and forecasting. 139 refs., 85 figs., 1 tab.

Evaluation of SAGD performance in a deltaic environment

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Caplan, M.; Heron, C.; Sullivan, L.; Herle, E.; Keith, J.; Bernal, A.; Atkinson, I. [Athabasca Oil Sands Trust, Calgary, AB (Canada)

2008-10-15

This paper discussed an analysis and simulation of exploration data obtained from an oil sands lease located near Fort McMurray in Alberta. Over 231 delineation wells were drilled in order to delineate the oil sands resource base. The lease covered 116,500 acres of land and were located next to a high-performing oil sands project. The reservoir extended approximately 28 km in length and 5 km in width. The reservoir's lateral continuity and distinct reservoir facies distinguished it from the channel sand reservoirs located in the region. Results from the simulation were used to evaluate the potential of steam assisted gravity drainage (SAGD) for recovering the reservoir's deposits. The simulation used a geo-statistical approach that incorporated a stochastic methodology to allow for the generation of multiple geological realizations. Results from the geological program showed that the reservoir is suitable for thermal in situ recovery, and exhibited a high degree of bitumen saturation. The homogenous nature of the reservoir meant that only a small number of geo-bodies with unique characteristics were identified. It was concluded that results from the simulation are consistent with results obtained for highly successful SAGD projects in the area. 4 refs., 2 tabs., 5 figs.

Multiple intersecting cohesive discontinuities in 3D reservoir geomechanics

OpenAIRE

Das, K. C.; Sandha, S.S.; Carol, Ignacio; Vargas, P.E.; Gonzalez, Nubia Aurora; Rodrigues, E.; Segura Segarra, José María; Lakshmikantha, Ramasesha Mookanahallipatna; Mello,, U.

2013-01-01

Reservoir Geomechanics is playing an increasingly important role in developing and producing hydrocarbon reserves. One of the main challenges in reservoir modeling is accurate and efficient simulation of arbitrary intersecting faults. In this paper, we propose a new formulation to model multiple intersecting cohesive discontinuities (faults) in reservoirs using the XFEM framework. This formulation involves construction of enrichment functions and computation of stiffness sub-matrices for bulk...

Investigation of seasonal thermal flow in a real dam reservoir using 3-D numerical modeling

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Üneş Fatih

2015-03-01

Full Text Available Investigations indicate that correct estimation of seasonal thermal stratification in a dam reservoir is very important for the dam reservoir water quality modeling and water management problems. The main aim of this study is to develop a hydrodynamics model of an actual dam reservoir in three dimensions for simulating a real dam reservoir flows for different seasons. The model is developed using nonlinear and unsteady continuity, momentum, energy and k-ε turbulence model equations. In order to include the Coriolis force effect on the flow in a dam reservoir, Coriolis force parameter is also added the model equations. Those equations are constructed using actual dimensions, shape, boundary and initial conditions of the dam and reservoir. Temperature profiles and flow visualizations are used to evaluate flow conditions in the reservoir. Reservoir flow’s process and parameters are determined all over the reservoir. The mathematical model developed is capable of simulating the flow and thermal characteristics of the reservoir system for seasonal heat exchanges. Model simulations results obtained are compared with field measurements obtained from gauging stations for flows in different seasons. The results show a good agreement with the field measurements.

Robustness of a multiple-use reservoir to seasonal runoff shifts associated with climate change

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lettenmaier, D.P.; Brettman, K.L.

1990-05-01

Although much remains to be learned about long-term climate change associated with anthropogenic increases in concentrations of the so-called ''greenhouse gases,'' such as carbon dioxide and methane, there is a general consensus that some global warming will result from past and present emissions. In the western United States, the dominant hydrologic effect of such warming, aside from any accompanying changes in precipitation, would be to reduce winter snow accumulations in mountainous headwaters regions. To assess the robustness of reservoir operation to such shifts in seasonal runoff, simulations were developed of monthly runoff for the American River, Washington, using the National Weather Service River Forecast System. The American River is presently unregulated; however, we tested the performance of hypothetical reservoirs with capacity of 0.25 and 0.50 of the mean annual flow for a range of annual temperature changes from 0.0 (present climate) to 4.0 degree C. We considered a multiple-purpose reservoir system operated for water supply ad hydropower, with minimum releases required for fisheries enhancement. In addition to evaluating the sensitivity of water supply, low flow, and hydropower performance using a heuristic operating rule, the relative performance of the system under present and altered climates was evaluated using an optimization algorithm, extended linear quadratic Gaussian control. This paper reports the results of hydrologic simulations for the American River, Washington. 13 refs., 8 figs

The Coupling Effect of Rainfall and Reservoir Water Level Decline on the Baijiabao Landslide in the Three Gorges Reservoir Area, China

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nenghao Zhao

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Rainfall and reservoir level fluctuation are two of the main factors contributing to reservoir landslides. However, in China’s Three Gorges Reservoir Area, when the reservoir water level fluctuates significantly, it comes at a time of abundant rainfall, which makes it difficult to distinguish which factor dominates the deformation of the landslide. This study focuses on how rainfall and reservoir water level decline affect the seepage and displacement field of Baijiabao landslide spatially and temporally during drawdown of reservoir water level in the Three Gorges Reservoir Area, thus exploring its movement mechanism. The monitoring data of the landslide in the past 10 years were analyzed, and the correlation between rainfall, reservoir water level decline, and landslide displacement was clarified. By the numerical simulation method, the deformation evolution mechanism of this landslide during drawdown of reservoir water level was revealed, respectively, under three conditions, namely, rainfall, reservoir water level decline, and coupling of the above two conditions. The results showed that the deformation of the Baijiabao landslide was the coupling effect of rainfall and reservoir water level decline, while the latter effect is more pronounced.

Managing hydroclimatological risk to water supply with option contracts and reservoir index insurance

Science.gov (United States)

Brown, Casey; Carriquiry, Miguel

2007-11-01

This paper explores the performance of a system of economic instruments designed to facilitate the reduction of hydroclimatologic variability-induced impacts on stakeholders of shared water supply. The system is composed of bulk water option contracts between urban water suppliers and agricultural users and insurance indexed on reservoir inflows. The insurance is designed to cover the financial needs of the water supplier in situations where the option is likely to be exercised. Insurance provides the irregularly needed funds for exercising the water options. The combined option contract - reservoir index insurance system creates risk sharing between sectors that is currently lacking in many shared water situations. Contracts are designed for a shared agriculture - urban water system in Metro Manila, Philippines, using optimization and Monte Carlo analysis. Observed reservoir inflows are used to simulate contract performance. Results indicate the option - insurance design effectively smooths water supply costs of hydrologic variability for both agriculture and urban water.

Improving reservoir performance using new 'smart' well technology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Roggensack, W.D.; Matthews, C.M.

1997-01-01

The technologies that were available in the past to improve reservoir performance include 3-D seismic, coiled tubing, horizontal wells, and PCP's. Future enabling technologies will also include multi-lateral wells, 'smart' wells, underbalanced drilling, and downhole fluids processing. A description of 'smart' well technology was given, defined as well completions which facilitate downhole monitoring and control of production to achieve maximum reserves recovery. The current development for 'smart' wells is focused on offshore and subsea wells for marginal field development and work-over mitigation, with the emphasis in system design for production control of horizontal and multi-lateral wells. Basic 'smart' well configuration, instrumentation and monitoring systems, applications of 'smart' well technology in the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin, and future developments and applications for the technology in general, were also discussed. 30 figs

Practical considerations of reservoir heterogeneities on SAGD projects

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Baker, R.; Fong, C.; Li, T. [Epic Consulting Services Ltd., Calgary, AB (Canada); Bowes, C.; Toews, M. [Calgary Univ., AB (Canada)

2008-10-15

Significant emphasis has been placed on developing cost-effective strategies for the production of large heavy oil and bitumen reserves located in western Canada and around the world. An effective method that has been proven to be effective in this regard is steam-assisted gravity drainage (SAGD). However, determining the optimum and cost-effective strategy is a challenge to any SAGD reservoir. Average rock quality and reservoir heterogeneities have a significant impact on steam chamber development and the overall volumetric sweep. As well, the approach to SAGD simulation varies as heterogeneity changes. This paper examined two well pairs with different degrees of heterogeneity in the Surmont pilot project. The paper also addressed potential geological risk through analogy and the amount of heterogeneity that must be accounted for when developing a representative simulation. The paper provided background information on the Surmont pilot project, which consists of three horizontal SAGD well pairs in the Athabasca oil sands of northeast Alberta. The reservoir simulation model was then described. Results and conclusions were offered. It was concluded that careful production controls and strategy must be applied particular to the reservoir to ensure that the SAGD well pairs were capable of draining the mobilized oil. 5 refs., 1 tab., 25 figs.

Integration of advanced geoscience and engineering techniques to quantify interwell heterogeneity in reservoir models. Final report, September 29, 1993--September 30, 1996

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Weiss, W.W.; Buckley, J.S.; Ouenes, A.

1997-05-01

The goal of this three-year project was to provide a quantitative definition of reservoir heterogeneity. This objective was accomplished through the integration of geologic, geophysical, and engineering databases into a multi-disciplinary understanding of reservoir architecture and associated fluid-rock and fluid-fluid interactions. This interdisciplinary effort integrated geological and geophysical data with engineering and petrophysical results through reservoir simulation to quantify reservoir architecture and the dynamics of fluid-rock and fluid-fluid interactions. An improved reservoir description allows greater accuracy and confidence during simulation and modeling as steps toward gaining greater recovery efficiency from existing reservoirs. A field laboratory, the Sulimar Queen Unit, was available for the field research. Several members of the PRRC staff participated in the development of improved reservoir description by integration of the field and laboratory data as well as in the development of quantitative reservoir models to aid performance predictions. Subcontractors from Stanford University and the University of Texas at Austin (UT) collaborated in the research and participated in the design and interpretation of field tests. The three-year project was initiated in September 1993 and led to the development and application of various reservoir description methodologies. A new approach for visualizing production data graphically was developed and implemented on the Internet. Using production data and old gamma rays logs, a black oil reservoir model that honors both primary and secondary performance was developed. The old gamma ray logs were used after applying a resealing technique, which was crucial for the success of the project. In addition to the gamma ray logs, the development of the reservoir model benefitted from an inverse Drill Stem Test (DST) technique which provided initial estimates of the reservoir permeability at different wells.

Pennsylvanian carbonate buildups, Paradox basin: Increasing reserves in heterogeneous, shallow-shelf reservoirs

Science.gov (United States)

Montgomery, S.L.; Chidsey, T.C.; Eby, D.E.; Lorenz, D.M.; Culham, W.E.

1999-01-01

Productive carbonate buildups of Pennsylvanian age in the southern Paradox basin, Utah, contain up to 200 million bbl remaining oil potentially recoverable by enhanced recovery methods. These buildups comprise over 100 satellite fields to the giant Greater Aneth field, where secondary recovery operations thus far have been concentrated. Several types of satellite buildups exist and produce oil from the Desert Creek zone of the Paradox Formation. Many of the relevant fields have undergone early abandonment; wells in Desert Creek carbonate mounds commonly produce at very high initial rates (>1000 bbl/day) and then suffer precipitous declines. An important new study focused on the detailed characterization of five separate reservoirs has resulted in significant information relevant to their future redevelopment. Completed assessment of Anasazi field suggests that phylloid algal mounds, the major productive buildup type in this area, consist of ten separate lithotypes and can be described in terms of a two-level reservoir system with an underlying high-permeability mound-core interval overlain by a lower permeability but volumetrically larger supramound (mound capping) interval. Reservoir simulations and related performance predictions indicate that CO2 flooding of these reservoirs should have considerable success in recovering remaining oil reserves.Productive carbonate buildups of Pennsylvanian age in the southern Paradox basin, Utah, contain up to 200 million bbl remaining oil potentially recoverable by enhanced recovery methods. These buildups comprise over 100 satellite fields to the giant Greater Aneth field, where secondary recovery operations thus far have been concentrated. Several types of satellite buildups exist and produce oil from the Desert Creek zone of the Paradox Formation. Many of the relevant fields have undergone early abandonment; wells in Desert Creek carbonate mounds commonly produce at very high initial rates (>1000 bbl/day) and then suffer

Integrating geologic and engineering data into 3-D reservoir models: an example from norman wells field, NWT, Canada

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yose, L.A.

2004-01-01

A case study of the Norman Wells field will be presented to highlight the work-flow and data integration steps associated with characterization and modeling of a complex hydrocarbon reservoir. Norman Wells is a Devonian-age carbonate bank ('reef') located in the Northwest Territories of Canada, 60 kilometers south of the Arctic Circle. The reservoir reaches a maximum thickness of 130 meters in the reef interior and thins toward the basin due to depositional pinch outs. Norman Wells is an oil reservoir and is currently under a 5-spot water injection scheme for enhanced oil recovery (EOR). EOR strategies require a detailed understanding of how reservoir flow units, flow barriers and flow baffles are distributed to optimize hydrocarbon sweep and recovery and to minimize water handling. Reservoir models are routinely used by industry to characterize the 3-D distribution of reservoir architecture (stratigraphic layers, depositional facies, faults) and rock properties (porosity. permeability). Reservoir models are validated by matching historical performance data (e.g., reservoir pressures, well production or injection rates). Geologic models are adjusted until they produce a history match, and model adjustments are focused on inputs that have the greatest geologic uncertainty. Flow simulation models are then used to optimize field development strategies and to forecast field performance under different development scenarios. (author)

Integration of dynamical data in a geostatistical model of reservoir; Integration des donnees dynamiques dans un modele geostatistique de reservoir

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Costa Reis, L.

2001-01-01

We have developed in this thesis a methodology of integrated characterization of heterogeneous reservoirs, from geologic modeling to history matching. This methodology is applied to the reservoir PBR, situated in Campos Basin, offshore Brazil, which has been producing since June 1979. This work is an extension of two other thesis concerning geologic and geostatistical modeling of the reservoir PBR from well data and seismic information. We extended the geostatistical litho-type model to the whole reservoir by using a particular approach of the non-stationary truncated Gaussian simulation method. This approach facilitated the application of the gradual deformation method to history matching. The main stages of the methodology for dynamic data integration in a geostatistical reservoir model are presented. We constructed a reservoir model and the initial difficulties in the history matching led us to modify some choices in the geological, geostatistical and flow models. These difficulties show the importance of dynamic data integration in reservoir modeling. The petrophysical property assignment within the litho-types was done by using well test data. We used an inversion procedure to evaluate the petrophysical parameters of the litho-types. The up-scaling is a necessary stage to reduce the flow simulation time. We compared several up-scaling methods and we show that the passage from the fine geostatistical model to the coarse flow model should be done very carefully. The choice of the fitting parameter depends on the objective of the study. In the case of the reservoir PBR, where water is injected in order to improve the oil recovery, the water rate of the producing wells is directly related to the reservoir heterogeneity. Thus, the water rate was chosen as the fitting parameter. We obtained significant improvements in the history matching of the reservoir PBR. First, by using a method we have proposed, called patchwork. This method allows us to built a coherent

Preliminary formation analysis for compressed air energy storage in depleted natural gas reservoirs :

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gardner, William Payton

2013-06-01

The purpose of this study is to develop an engineering and operational understanding of CAES performance for a depleted natural gas reservoir by evaluation of relative permeability effects of air, water and natural gas in depleted natural gas reservoirs as a reservoir is initially depleted, an air bubble is created, and as air is initially cycled. The composition of produced gases will be evaluated as the three phase flow of methane, nitrogen and brine are modeled. The effects of a methane gas phase on the relative permeability of air in a formation are investigated and the composition of the produced fluid, which consists primarily of the amount of natural gas in the produced air are determined. Simulations of compressed air energy storage (CAES) in depleted natural gas reservoirs were carried out to assess the effect of formation permeability on the design of a simple CAES system. The injection of N2 (as a proxy to air), and the extraction of the resulting gas mixture in a depleted natural gas reservoir were modeled using the TOUGH2 reservoir simulator with the EOS7c equation of state. The optimal borehole spacing was determined as a function of the formation scale intrinsic permeability. Natural gas reservoir results are similar to those for an aquifer. Borehole spacing is dependent upon the intrinsic permeability of the formation. Higher permeability allows increased injection and extraction rates which is equivalent to more power per borehole for a given screen length. The number of boreholes per 100 MW for a given intrinsic permeability in a depleted natural gas reservoir is essentially identical to that determined for a simple aquifer of identical properties. During bubble formation methane is displaced and a sharp N2methane boundary is formed with an almost pure N2 gas phase in the bubble near the borehole. During cycling mixing of methane and air occurs along the boundary as the air bubble boundary moves. The extracted gas mixture changes as a

Estimating irrigation water demand using an improved method and optimizing reservoir operation for water supply and hydropower generation: a case study of the Xinfengjiang reservoir in southern China

Science.gov (United States)

Wu, Yiping; Chen, Ji

2013-01-01

The ever-increasing demand for water due to growth of population and socioeconomic development in the past several decades has posed a worldwide threat to water supply security and to the environmental health of rivers. This study aims to derive reservoir operating rules through establishing a multi-objective optimization model for the Xinfengjiang (XFJ) reservoir in the East River Basin in southern China to minimize water supply deficit and maximize hydropower generation. Additionally, to enhance the estimation of irrigation water demand from the downstream agricultural area of the XFJ reservoir, a conventional method for calculating crop water demand is improved using hydrological model simulation results. Although the optimal reservoir operating rules are derived for the XFJ reservoir with three priority scenarios (water supply only, hydropower generation only, and equal priority), the river environmental health is set as the basic demand no matter which scenario is adopted. The results show that the new rules derived under the three scenarios can improve the reservoir operation for both water supply and hydropower generation when comparing to the historical performance. Moreover, these alternative reservoir operating policies provide the flexibility for the reservoir authority to choose the most appropriate one. Although changing the current operating rules may influence its hydropower-oriented functions, the new rules can be significant to cope with the increasingly prominent water shortage and degradation in the aquatic environment. Overall, our results and methods (improved estimation of irrigation water demand and formulation of the reservoir optimization model) can be useful for local watershed managers and valuable for other researchers worldwide.

Behaviour of gas production from type 3 hydrate reservoirs

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Pooladi-Darvish, M. [Calgary Univ., AB (Canada). Dept. of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering]|[Fekete Associates Inc., Calgary, AB (Canada); Zatsepina, O. [Calgary Univ., AB (Canada). Dept. of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering; Hong, H. [Fekete Associates Inc., Calgary, AB (Canada)

2008-07-01

The possible role of gas hydrates as a potential energy resource was discussed with particular reference to methods for estimating the rate of gas production from hydrate reservoirs under different operating conditions. This paper presented several numerical simulations studies of gas production from type 3 hydrate reservoirs in 1-D and 2-D geometries. Type 3 reservoirs include gas production from hydrate-reservoirs that lie totally within the hydrate stability zone and are sandwiched by impermeable layers on top and bottom. The purpose of this study was to better understand hydrate decomposition by depressurization. The study questioned whether 1-D modeling of type 3 hydrate reservoirs is a reasonable approximation. It also determined whether gas rate increases or decreases with time. The important reservoir characteristics for determining the rate of gas production were identified. Last, the study determined how competition between fluid and heat flow affects hydrate decomposition. This paper also described the relation and interaction between the heat and fluid flow mechanisms in depressurization of type 3 hydrate reservoirs. All results of 1-D and 2-D numerical simulation and analyses were generated using the STARS simulator. It was shown that the rate of gas production depends on the initial pressure/temperature conditions and permeability of the hydrate bearing formation. A high peak rate may be achieved under favourable conditions, but this peak rate is obtained after an initial period where the rate of gas production increases with time. The heat transfer in the direction perpendicular to the direction of fluid flow is significant, requiring 2D modeling. The hydraulic diffusivity is low because of the low permeability of hydrate-bearing formations. This could result in competition between heat and fluid flow, thereby influencing the behaviour of decomposition. 6 refs., 3 tabs., 12 figs.

System-level modeling for economic evaluation of geological CO2 storage in gas reservoirs

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhang, Yingqi; Oldenburg, Curtis M.; Finsterle, Stefan; Bodvarsson, Gudmundur S.

2007-01-01

One way to reduce the effects of anthropogenic greenhouse gases on climate is to inject carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) from industrial sources into deep geological formations such as brine aquifers or depleted oil or gas reservoirs. Research is being conducted to improve understanding of factors affecting particular aspects of geological CO 2 storage (such as storage performance, storage capacity, and health, safety and environmental (HSE) issues) as well as to lower the cost of CO 2 capture and related processes. However, there has been less emphasis to date on system-level analyses of geological CO 2 storage that consider geological, economic, and environmental issues by linking detailed process models to representations of engineering components and associated economic models. The objective of this study is to develop a system-level model for geological CO 2 storage, including CO 2 capture and separation, compression, pipeline transportation to the storage site, and CO 2 injection. Within our system model we are incorporating detailed reservoir simulations of CO 2 injection into a gas reservoir and related enhanced production of methane. Potential leakage and associated environmental impacts are also considered. The platform for the system-level model is GoldSim [GoldSim User's Guide. GoldSim Technology Group; 2006, http://www.goldsim.com]. The application of the system model focuses on evaluating the feasibility of carbon sequestration with enhanced gas recovery (CSEGR) in the Rio Vista region of California. The reservoir simulations are performed using a special module of the TOUGH2 simulator, EOS7C, for multicomponent gas mixtures of methane and CO 2 . Using a system-level modeling approach, the economic benefits of enhanced gas recovery can be directly weighed against the costs and benefits of CO 2 injection

Optimization of conventional rule curves coupled with hedging rules for reservoir operation

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Taghian, Mehrdad; Rosbjerg, Dan; Haghighi, Ali

2014-01-01

As a common approach to reservoir operating policies, water levels at the end of each time interval should be kept at or above the rule curve. In this study, the policy is captured using rationing of the target yield to reduce the intensity of severe water shortages. For this purpose, a hybrid...... to achieve the optimal water allocation and the target storage levels for reservoirs. As a case study, a multipurpose, multireservoir system in southern Iran is selected. The results show that the model has good performance in extracting the optimum policy for reservoir operation under both normal...... model is developed to optimize simultaneously both the conventional rule curve and the hedging rule. In the compound model, a simple genetic algorithm is coupled with a simulation program, including an inner linear programming algorithm. In this way, operational policies are imposed by priority concepts...

OPTIMIZATION OF INFILL DRILLING IN NATURALLY-FRACTURED TIGHT-GAS RESERVOIRS

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lawrence W. Teufel; Her-Yuan Chen; Thomas W. Engler; Bruce Hart

2004-05-01

A major goal of industry and the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) fossil energy program is to increase gas reserves in tight-gas reservoirs. Infill drilling and hydraulic fracture stimulation in these reservoirs are important reservoir management strategies to increase production and reserves. Phase II of this DOE/cooperative industry project focused on optimization of infill drilling and evaluation of hydraulic fracturing in naturally-fractured tight-gas reservoirs. The cooperative project involved multidisciplinary reservoir characterization and simulation studies to determine infill well potential in the Mesaverde and Dakota sandstone formations at selected areas in the San Juan Basin of northwestern New Mexico. This work used the methodology and approach developed in Phase I. Integrated reservoir description and hydraulic fracture treatment analyses were also conducted in the Pecos Slope Abo tight-gas reservoir in southeastern New Mexico and the Lewis Shale in the San Juan Basin. This study has demonstrated a methodology to (1) describe reservoir heterogeneities and natural fracture systems, (2) determine reservoir permeability and permeability anisotropy, (3) define the elliptical drainage area and recoverable gas for existing wells, (4) determine the optimal location and number of new in-fill wells to maximize economic recovery, (5) forecast the increase in total cumulative gas production from infill drilling, and (6) evaluate hydraulic fracture simulation treatments and their impact on well drainage area and infill well potential. Industry partners during the course of this five-year project included BP, Burlington Resources, ConocoPhillips, and Williams.

Assessing Reservoir Depositional Environments to Develop and Quantify Improvements in CO₂ Storage Efficiency. A Reservoir Simulation Approach

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Okwen, Roland [University of Illinois, Champaign, IL (United States); Frailey, Scott [University of Illinois, Champaign, IL (United States); Leetaru, Hannes [University of Illinois, Champaign, IL (United States); Moulton, Sandy [Illinois State Geological Survey, Champaign, IL (United States)

2014-09-30

The storage potential and fluid movement within formations are dependent on the unique hydraulic characteristics of their respective depositional environments. Storage efficiency (E) quantifies the potential for storage in a geologic depositional environment and is used to assess basinal or regional CO₂ storage resources. Current estimates of storage resources are calculated using common E ranges by lithology and not by depositional environment. The objectives of this project are to quantify E ranges and identify E enhancement strategies for different depositional environments via reservoir simulation studies. The depositional environments considered include deltaic, shelf clastic, shelf carbonate, fluvial deltaic, strandplain, reef, fluvial and alluvial, and turbidite. Strategies considered for enhancing E include CO₂ injection via vertical, horizontal, and deviated wells, selective completions, water production, and multi-well injection. Conceptual geologic and geocellular models of the depositional environments were developed based on data from Illinois Basin oil fields and gas storage sites. The geologic and geocellular models were generalized for use in other US sedimentary basins. An important aspect of this work is the development of conceptual geologic and geocellular models that reflect the uniqueness of each depositional environment. Different injection well completions methods were simulated to investigate methods of enhancing E in the presence of geologic heterogeneity specific to a depositional environment. Modeling scenarios included horizontal wells (length, orientation, and inclination), selective and dynamic completions, water production, and multiwell injection. A Geologic Storage Efficiency Calculator (GSECalc) was developed to calculate E from reservoir simulation output. Estimated E values were normalized to diminish their dependency on fluid relative permeability. Classifying depositional environments according to

Characteristic of Soil Nutrients Loss in Beiyunhe Reservoir Under the Simulated Rainfall

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

LIU Cao

2016-05-01

Full Text Available Field nutrient loss from soil became the major factor of the water pollution control in countryside in China. Beiyunhe reservoir is located in semiarid zone, where field nutrient loss distributed in summer. To assess the flied nutrient loss in Beiyunhe reservoir, we conducted experiments to study the characteristic of soil nutrients loss by analysis of the content of runoff water, soil nutrients and runoff water sediment under simulated rainfall. The results showed that the runoff happened in the rainstorm. In runoff water, the content of TN was 4.7~11.3 mg·L-1, ammonia nitrogen and nitrate nitrogen accounted for 44.51% of TN; the content of P was 0.66~1.35 mg·L-1, water soluble phosphorus accounted for 54.08% of TP. And the main loss of nutrients was in the surface soil, the loss of TN, NH4+-N, NO3--N, TP and DP were 29.79%, 52.09%, 10.21%, 16.48% and 5.27%, respectively. However, the most of field nutrient loss were in runoff sediment, the content of TN and TP were 0.66~1.27 mg·g-1 and 14.73~20 mg·g-1 in sediment, and TN and TP account for 82.28% and 99.89% of total loss of nutrient. After the rainstorm, the macro-aggregates were reduced 8.8%, and the micro-aggregates increased 9.5%.

Simulating and stimulating performance: Introducing distributed simulation to enhance musical learning and performance

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Aaron eWilliamon

2014-02-01

Full Text Available Musicians typically rehearse far away from their audiences and in practice rooms that differ significantly from the concert venues in which they aspire to perform. Due to the high costs and inaccessibility of such venues, much current international music training lacks repeated exposure to realistic performance situations, with students learning all too late (or not at all how to manage performance stress and the demands of their audiences. Virtual environments have been shown to be an effective training tool in the fields of medicine and sport, offering practitioners access to real-life performance scenarios but with lower risk of negative evaluation and outcomes. The aim of this research was to design and test the efficacy of simulated performance environments in which conditions of real performance could be recreated. Advanced violin students (n=11 were recruited to perform in two simulations: a solo recital with a small virtual audience and an audition situation with three expert virtual judges. Each simulation contained back-stage and on-stage areas, life-sized interactive virtual observers, and pre- and post-performance protocols designed to match those found at leading international performance venues. Participants completed a questionnaire on their experiences of using the simulations. Results show that both simulated environments offered realistic experience of performance contexts and were rated particularly useful for developing performance skills. For a subset of 7 violinists, state anxiety and electrocardiographic data were collected during the simulated audition and an actual audition with real judges. Results display comparable levels of reported state anxiety and patterns of heart rate variability in both situations, suggesting that responses to the simulated audition closely approximate those of a real audition. The findings are discussed in relation to their implications, both generalizable and individual-specific, for

Simulating and stimulating performance: introducing distributed simulation to enhance musical learning and performance.

Science.gov (United States)

Williamon, Aaron; Aufegger, Lisa; Eiholzer, Hubert

2014-01-01

Musicians typically rehearse far away from their audiences and in practice rooms that differ significantly from the concert venues in which they aspire to perform. Due to the high costs and inaccessibility of such venues, much current international music training lacks repeated exposure to realistic performance situations, with students learning all too late (or not at all) how to manage performance stress and the demands of their audiences. Virtual environments have been shown to be an effective training tool in the fields of medicine and sport, offering practitioners access to real-life performance scenarios but with lower risk of negative evaluation and outcomes. The aim of this research was to design and test the efficacy of simulated performance environments in which conditions of "real" performance could be recreated. Advanced violin students (n = 11) were recruited to perform in two simulations: a solo recital with a small virtual audience and an audition situation with three "expert" virtual judges. Each simulation contained back-stage and on-stage areas, life-sized interactive virtual observers, and pre- and post-performance protocols designed to match those found at leading international performance venues. Participants completed a questionnaire on their experiences of using the simulations. Results show that both simulated environments offered realistic experience of performance contexts and were rated particularly useful for developing performance skills. For a subset of 7 violinists, state anxiety and electrocardiographic data were collected during the simulated audition and an actual audition with real judges. Results display comparable levels of reported state anxiety and patterns of heart rate variability in both situations, suggesting that responses to the simulated audition closely approximate those of a real audition. The findings are discussed in relation to their implications, both generalizable and individual-specific, for performance training.

Simulation of geothermal water extraction in heterogeneous reservoirs using dynamic unstructured mesh optimisation

Science.gov (United States)

Salinas, P.; Pavlidis, D.; Jacquemyn, C.; Lei, Q.; Xie, Z.; Pain, C.; Jackson, M.

2017-12-01

It is well known that the pressure gradient into a production well increases with decreasing distance to the well. To properly capture the local pressure drawdown into the well a high grid or mesh resolution is required; moreover, the location of the well must be captured accurately. In conventional simulation models, the user must interact with the model to modify grid resolution around wells of interest, and the well location is approximated on a grid defined early in the modelling process.We report a new approach for improved simulation of near wellbore flow in reservoir scale models through the use of dynamic mesh optimisation and the recently presented double control volume finite element method. Time is discretized using an adaptive, implicit approach. Heterogeneous geologic features are represented as volumes bounded by surfaces. Within these volumes, termed geologic domains, the material properties are constant. Up-, cross- or down-scaling of material properties during dynamic mesh optimization is not required, as the properties are uniform within each geologic domain. A given model typically contains numerous such geologic domains. Wells are implicitly coupled with the domain, and the fluid flows is modelled inside the wells. The method is novel for two reasons. First, a fully unstructured tetrahedral mesh is used to discretize space, and the spatial location of the well is specified via a line vector, ensuring its location even if the mesh is modified during the simulation. The well location is therefore accurately captured, the approach allows complex well trajectories and wells with many laterals to be modelled. Second, computational efficiency is increased by use of dynamic mesh optimization, in which an unstructured mesh adapts in space and time to key solution fields (preserving the geometry of the geologic domains), such as pressure, velocity or temperature, this also increases the quality of the solutions by placing higher resolution where required

Global mass conservation method for dual-continuum gas reservoir simulation

KAUST Repository

Wang, Yi; Sun, Shuyu; Gong, Liang; Yu, Bo

2018-01-01

In this paper, we find that the numerical simulation of gas flow in dual-continuum porous media may generate unphysical or non-robust results using regular finite difference method. The reason is the unphysical mass loss caused by the gas compressibility and the non-diagonal dominance of the discretized equations caused by the non-linear well term. The well term contains the product of density and pressure. For oil flow, density is independent of pressure so that the well term is linear. For gas flow, density is related to pressure by the gas law so that the well term is non-linear. To avoid these two problems, numerical methods are proposed using the mass balance relation and the local linearization of the non-linear source term to ensure the global mass conservation and the diagonal dominance of discretized equations in the computation. The proposed numerical methods are successfully applied to dual-continuum gas reservoir simulation. Mass conservation is satisfied while the computation becomes robust. Numerical results show that the location of the production well relative to the large-permeability region is very sensitive to the production efficiency. It decreases apparently when the production well is moved from the large-permeability region to the small-permeability region, even though the well is very close to the interface of the two regions. The production well is suggested to be placed inside the large-permeability region regardless of the specific position.

Global mass conservation method for dual-continuum gas reservoir simulation

KAUST Repository

Wang, Yi

2018-03-17

In this paper, we find that the numerical simulation of gas flow in dual-continuum porous media may generate unphysical or non-robust results using regular finite difference method. The reason is the unphysical mass loss caused by the gas compressibility and the non-diagonal dominance of the discretized equations caused by the non-linear well term. The well term contains the product of density and pressure. For oil flow, density is independent of pressure so that the well term is linear. For gas flow, density is related to pressure by the gas law so that the well term is non-linear. To avoid these two problems, numerical methods are proposed using the mass balance relation and the local linearization of the non-linear source term to ensure the global mass conservation and the diagonal dominance of discretized equations in the computation. The proposed numerical methods are successfully applied to dual-continuum gas reservoir simulation. Mass conservation is satisfied while the computation becomes robust. Numerical results show that the location of the production well relative to the large-permeability region is very sensitive to the production efficiency. It decreases apparently when the production well is moved from the large-permeability region to the small-permeability region, even though the well is very close to the interface of the two regions. The production well is suggested to be placed inside the large-permeability region regardless of the specific position.

Genetic Algorithm (GA Method for Optimization of Multi-Reservoir Systems Operation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Shervin Momtahen

2006-01-01

Full Text Available A Genetic Algorithm (GA method for optimization of multi-reservoir systems operation is proposed in this paper. In this method, the parameters of operating policies are optimized using system simulation results. Hence, any operating problem with any sort of objective function, constraints and structure of operating policy can be optimized by GA. The method is applied to a 3-reservoir system and is compared with two traditional methods of Stochastic Dynamic Programming and Dynamic Programming and Regression. The results show that GA is superior both in objective function value and in computational speed. The proposed method is further improved using a mutation power updating rule and a varying period simulation method. The later is a novel procedure proposed in this paper that is believed to help in solving computational time problem in large systems. These revisions are evaluated and proved to be very useful in converging to better solutions in much less time. The final GA method is eventually evaluated as a very efficient procedure that is able to solve problems of large multi-reservoir system which is usually impossible by traditional methods. In fact, the real performance of the GA method starts where others fail to function.

A poroelastic reservoir model for predicting subsidence and mapping subsurface pressure fronts

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Du, J.; Olson, J.E.

2001-01-01

A forward model was constructed to numerically predict surface subsidence and reservoir compaction following the approach of Segall [Pure Appl. Phys. 139 (1992) 536]. A nucleus of poroelastic strain is numerically integrated over a rectangular prism assuming constant pressure change. This fundamental geometry allows a reservoir to be divided into many small cubic blocks in a manner similar to reservoir simulation. The subsidence and compaction effects of the pressure change throughout the reservoir are calculated by the superposition of results from each individual block. Using forward modeling, pressure boundary conditions can be acquired from pressure test data or reservoir simulation predictions. An inversion model also was developed that can track pressure fronts in a subsurface reservoir using surface displacements. The capability of the inversion model was demonstrated using synthetic examples of one-well and four-well cases with different layouts of surface observation locations. The impact of noise on the inversion result is also included

Reservoir sedimentation; a literature survey

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Sloff, C.J.

1991-01-01

A survey of literature is made on reservoir sedimentation, one of the most threatening processes for world-wide reservoir performance. The sedimentation processes, their impacts, and their controlling factors are assessed from a hydraulic engineering point of view with special emphasis on

Risk Assessment of Carbon Sequestration into A Naturally Fractured Reservoir at Kevin Dome, Montana

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Nguyen, Minh [Univ. of Wyoming, Laramie, WY (United States); Onishi, Tsubasa [Texas A & M Univ., College Station, TX (United States); Carey, James William [Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States); Will, Bob [Schlumberger, Houston, TX (United States); Zaluski, Wade [Schlumberger, Houston, TX (United States); Bowen, David [Montana State Univ., Bozeman, MT (United States); DeVault, Brian [Vecta Oil and Gas, Dallas, TX (United States); Duguid, Andrew [Battelle Memorial Inst., Columbus, OH (United States); Spangler, Lee [Montana State Univ., Bozeman, MT (United States); Stauffer, Philip H. [Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)

2017-12-22

In this report, we describe risk assessment work done using the National Risk Assessment Partnership (NRAP) applied to CO₂ storage at Kevin Dome, Montana. Geologic CO₂ sequestration in saline aquifers poses certain risks including CO₂/brine leakage through wells or non-sealing faults into groundwater or to the land surface. These risks are difficult to quantify due to data availability and uncertainty. One solution is to explore the consequences of these limitations by running large numbers of numerical simulations on the primary CO2 injection reservoir, shallow reservoirs/aquifers, faults, and wells to assess leakage risks and uncertainties. However, a large number of full-physics simulations is usually too computationally expensive. The NRAP integrated assessment model (NRAP-IAM) uses reduced order models (ROMs) developed from full-physics simulations to address this issue. A powerful stochastic framework allows NRAPIAM to explore complex interactions among many uncertain variables and evaluate the likely performance of potential sequestration sites.

EXPLOITATION AND OPTIMIZATION OF RESERVOIR PERFORMANCE IN HUNTON FORMATION, OKLAHOMA

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mohan Kelkar

2004-10-01

West Carney field--one of the newest fields discovered in Oklahoma--exhibits many unique production characteristics. These characteristics include: (1) decreasing water-oil ratio; (2) decreasing gas-oil ratio followed by an increase; (3) poor prediction capability of the reserves based on the log data; and (4) low geological connectivity but high hydrodynamic connectivity. The purpose of this investigation is to understand the principal mechanisms affecting the production, and propose methods by which we can extend the phenomenon to other fields with similar characteristics. In our experimental investigation section, we present the data on surfactant injection in near well bore region. We demonstrate that by injecting the surfactant, the relative permeability of water could be decreased, and that of gas could be increased. This should result in improved gas recovery from the reservoir. Our geological analysis of the reservoir develops the detailed stratigraphic description of the reservoir. Two new stratigraphic units, previously unrecognized, are identified. Additional lithofacies are recognized in new core descriptions. Our engineering analysis has determined that well density is an important parameter in optimally producing Hunton reservoirs. It appears that 160 acre is an optimal spacing. The reservoir pressure appears to decline over time; however, recovery per well is only weakly influenced by the pressure. This indicates that additional opportunity to drill wells exists in relatively depleted fields. A simple material balance technique is developed to validate the recovery of gas, oil and water. This technique can be used to further extrapolate recoveries from other fields with similar field characteristics.

Three-dimensional numerical reservoir simulation of the EGS Demonstration Project at The Geysers geothermal field

Science.gov (United States)

Borgia, Andrea; Rutqvist, Jonny; Oldenburg, Curt M.; Hutchings, Lawrence; Garcia, Julio; Walters, Mark; Hartline, Craig; Jeanne, Pierre; Dobson, Patrick; Boyle, Katie

2013-04-01

-isothermal porous media numerical flow simulator in order to model the evolution and injection-related operational dynamics of The Geysers geothermal field. At the bottom of the domain in the felsite, we impose a constant temperature, constant saturation, low-permeability boundary. Laterally we set no-flow boundaries (no mass or heat flow), while at the top we use a fully aqueous-phase-saturated constant atmospheric pressure boundary condition. We compute initial conditions for two different conceptual models. The first conceptual model has two phases (gas and aqueous) with decreasing proportions of gas from the steam zone downward; the second model has dry steam all the way from the steam zone to the bottom. The first may be more similar to a pre-exploitation condition, before production reduced pressure and dried out the system, while the second is calibrated to the pressure and temperature actually measured in the reservoir today. Our preliminary results are in reasonable agreement with the pressure monitoring at Prati State 31. These results will be used in hydrogeomechanical modeling to plan, design, and validate the effects of injection in the system.

A theoretical study on the performances of thermoelectric heat engine and refrigerator with two-dimensional electron reservoirs

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Luo, Xiaoguang; Long, Kailin; Wang, Jun; Qiu, Teng; He, Jizhou; Liu, Nian

2014-01-01

Theoretical thermoelectric nanophysics models of low-dimensional electronic heat engine and refrigerator devices, comprising two-dimensional hot and cold reservoirs and an interconnecting filtered electron transport mechanism have been established. The models were used to numerically simulate and evaluate the thermoelectric performance and energy conversion efficiencies of these low-dimensional devices, based on three different types of electron transport momentum-dependent filters, referred to herein as k x , k y , and k r filters. Assuming the Fermi-Dirac distribution of electrons, expressions for key thermoelectric performance parameters were derived for the resonant transport processes, in which the transmission of electrons has been approximated as a Lorentzian resonance function. Optimizations were carried out and the corresponding optimized design parameters have been determined, including but not limited to the universal theoretical upper bound of the efficiency at maximum power for heat engines, and the maximum coefficient of performance for refrigerators. From the results, it was determined that k r filter delivers the best thermoelectric performance, followed by the k x filter, and then the k y filter. For refrigerators with any one of three filters, an optimum range for the full width at half maximum of the transport resonance was found to be B T.

Tsengwen Reservoir Watershed Hydrological Flood Simulation Under Global Climate Change Using the 20 km Mesh Meteorological Research Institute Atmospheric General Circulation Model (MRI-AGCM

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nobuaki Kimura

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Severe rainstorms have occurred more frequently in Taiwan over the last decade. To understand the flood characteristics of a local region under climate change, a hydrological model simulation was conducted for the Tsengwen Reservoir watershed. The model employed was the Integrated Flood Analysis System (IFAS, which has a conceptual, distributed rainfall-runoff analysis module and a GIS data-input function. The high-resolution rainfall data for flood simulation was categorized into three terms: 1979 - 2003 (Present, 2015 - 2039 (Near-future, and 2075 - 2099 (Future, provided by the Meteorological Research Institute atmospheric general circulation model (MRI-AGCM. Ten extreme rainfall (top ten events were selected for each term in descending order of total precipitation volume. Due to the small watershed area the MRI-AGCM3.2S data was downsized into higher resolution data using the Weather Research and Forecasting Model. The simulated discharges revealed that most of the Near-future and Future peaks caused by extreme rainfall increased compared to the Present peak. These ratios were 0.8 - 1.6 (Near-future/Present and 0.9 - 2.2 (Future/Present, respectively. Additionally, we evaluated how these future discharges would affect the reservoir¡¦s flood control capacity, specifically the excess water volume required to be stored while maintaining dam releases up to the dam¡¦s spillway capacity or the discharge peak design for flood prevention. The results for the top ten events show that the excess water for the Future term exceeded the reservoir¡¦s flood control capacity and was approximately 79.6 - 87.5% of the total reservoir maximum capacity for the discharge peak design scenario.

Total output operation chart optimization of cascade reservoirs and its application

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jiang, Zhiqiang; Ji, Changming; Sun, Ping; Wang, Liping; Zhang, Yanke

2014-01-01

Highlights: • We propose a new double nested model for cascade reservoirs operation optimization. • We use two methods to extract the output distribution ratio. • The adopted two methods perform better than the widely used methods at present. • Stepwise regression method performs better than mean value method on the whole. - Abstract: With the rapid development of cascade hydropower stations in recent decades, the cascade system composed of multiple reservoirs needs unified operation and management. However, the output distribution problem has not yet been solved reasonably when the total output of cascade system obtained, which makes the full utilization of hydropower resources in cascade reservoirs very difficult. Discriminant criterion method is a traditional and common method to solve the output distribution problem at present, but some shortcomings cannot be ignored in the practical application. In response to the above concern, this paper proposes a new total output operation chart optimization model and a new optimal output distribution model, the two models constitute to a double nested model with the goal of maximizing power generation. This paper takes the cascade reservoirs of Li Xianjiang River in China as an instance to obtain the optimal total output operation chart by the proposed double nested model and the 43 years historical runoff data, progressive searching method and progressive optimality algorithm are used in solving the model. In order to take the obtained total output operation chart into practical operation, mean value method and stepwise regression method are adopted to extract the output distribution ratios on the basis of the optimal simulation intermediate data. By comparing with discriminant criterion method and conventional method, the combined utilization of total output operation chart and output distribution ratios presents better performance in terms of power generation and assurance rate, which proves it is an effective

Effect of stratification on segregation in carbon dioxide miscible flooding in a water-flooded oil reservoir

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bhatti, A.A.; Mahmood, S.M.; Amjad, B.

2013-01-01

Oil reservoirs are subjected to tertiary recovery by deploying any enhanced oil recovery (EOR) technique for the recovery of left over oil. Amongst many EOR methods one of the widely applied worldwide is CO/sub 2/ flooding through miscible, near miscible or immiscible displacement processes. CO/sub 2/ flooding process responds to a number of reservoir and fluid characteristics. These characteristics have strong effect on overall efficiency of the displacement process. Better understanding of the effect of different characteristics on displacement process is important to plan an efficient displacement process. In this work, the effect of stratification resulting in gravity segregation of the injected fluid is studied in an oil reservoir which is water-flooded during secondary phase of recovery. Sensitivity analysis is performed through successive simulation on Eclipse 300 (compositional) reservoir simulator. Process involves the continuous CO/sub 2/ injection in an oil reservoir with more than 1/3rd of original oil in place left after water flooding. Reservoir model with four different permeability layers is studied. Four patterns by changing the arrangement of the permeabilities of the layers are analysed. The effect of different arrangement or stratification on segregation of CO/sub 2/ and ultimately on the incremental oil recovery, is investigated. It has been observed that out of four arrangements, upward fining pattern relatively overcame the issue of the segregation of CO/sub 2/ and consequently 33% more oil with half injection volume is recovered when compared with the downward fining pattern. (author)

Representing Reservoir Stratification in Land Surface and Earth System Models

Science.gov (United States)

Yigzaw, W.; Li, H. Y.; Leung, L. R.; Hejazi, M. I.; Voisin, N.; Payn, R. A.; Demissie, Y.

2017-12-01

A one-dimensional reservoir stratification modeling has been developed as part of Model for Scale Adaptive River Transport (MOSART), which is the river transport model used in the Accelerated Climate Modeling for Energy (ACME) and Community Earth System Model (CESM). Reservoirs play an important role in modulating the dynamic water, energy and biogeochemical cycles in the riverine system through nutrient sequestration and stratification. However, most earth system models include lake models that assume a simplified geometry featuring a constant depth and a constant surface area. As reservoir geometry has important effects on thermal stratification, we developed a new algorithm for deriving generic, stratified area-elevation-storage relationships that are applicable at regional and global scales using data from Global Reservoir and Dam database (GRanD). This new reservoir geometry dataset is then used to support the development of a reservoir stratification module within MOSART. The mixing of layers (energy and mass) in the reservoir is driven by eddy diffusion, vertical advection, and reservoir inflow and outflow. Upstream inflow into a reservoir is treated as an additional source/sink of energy, while downstream outflow represented a sink. Hourly atmospheric forcing from North American Land Assimilation System (NLDAS) Phase II and simulated daily runoff by ACME land component are used as inputs for the model over the contiguous United States for simulations between 2001-2010. The model is validated using selected observed temperature profile data in a number of reservoirs that are subject to various levels of regulation. The reservoir stratification module completes the representation of riverine mass and heat transfer in earth system models, which is a major step towards quantitative understanding of human influences on the terrestrial hydrological, ecological and biogeochemical cycles.

Estimation of Bank Erosion Due To Reservoir Operation in Cascade (Case Study: Citarum Cascade Reservoir

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sri Legowo

2009-11-01

Full Text Available Sedimentation is such a crucial issue to be noted once the accumulated sediment begins to fill the reservoir dead storage, this will then influence the long-term reservoir operation. The sediment accumulated requires a serious attention for it may influence the storage capacity and other reservoir management of activities. The continuous inflow of sediment to the reservoir will decrease the capacity of reservoir storage, the reservoir value in use, and the useful age of reservoir. Because of that, the rate of the sediment needs to be delayed as possible. In this research, the delay of the sediment rate is considered based on the rate of flow of landslide of the reservoir slope. The rate of flow of the sliding slope can be minimized by way of each reservoir autonomous efforts. This effort can be performed through; the regulation of fluctuating rate of reservoir surface current that does not cause suddenly drawdown and upraising as well. The research model is compiled using the searching technique of Non Linear Programming (NLP.The rate of bank erosion for the reservoir variates from 0.0009 to 0.0048 MCM/year, which is no sigrificant value to threaten the life time of reservoir.Mean while the rate of watershed sediment has a significant value, i.e: 3,02 MCM/year for Saguling that causes to fullfill the storage capacity in 40 next years (from years 2008.

Coupling Chemical Kinetics and Flashes in Reactive, Thermal and Compositional Reservoir Simulation

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kristensen, Morten Rode; Gerritsen, Margot G.; Thomsen, Per Grove

2007-01-01

of convergence and error test failures by more than 50% compared to direct integration without the new algorithm. To facilitate the algorithmic development we construct a virtual kinetic cell model. We use implicit one-step ESDIRK (Explicit Singly Diagonal Implicit Runge-Kutta) methods for integration...... of the kinetics. The kinetic cell model serves both as a tool for the development and testing of tailored solvers as well as a testbed for studying the interactions between chemical kinetics and phase behavior. A comparison between a Kvalue correlation based approach and a more rigorous equation of state based......Phase changes are known to cause convergence problems for integration of stiff kinetics in thermal and compositional reservoir simulations. We propose an algorithm for detection and location of phase changes based on discrete event system theory. The algorithm provides a robust way for handling...

Coupling Chemical Kinetics and Flashes in Reactive, Thermal and Compositional Reservoir Simulation

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kristensen, Morten Rode; Gerritsen, Margot G.; Thomsen, Per Grove

2007-01-01

of convergence and error test failures by more than 50% compared to direct integration without the new algorithm. To facilitate the algorithmic development we construct a virtual kinetic cell model. We use implicit one-step ESDIRK (Explicit Singly Diagonal Implicit Runge-Kutta) methods for integration......Phase changes are known to cause convergence problems for integration of stiff kinetics in thermal and compositional reservoir simulations. We propose an algorithm for detection and location of phase changes based on discrete event system theory. The algorithm provides a robust way for handling...... the switching of variables and equations required when the number of phases changes. We extend the method to handle full phase equilibrium described by an equation of state. Experiments show that the new algorithm improves the robustness of the integration process near phase boundaries by lowering the number...

Well performance relationships in heavy foamy oil reservoirs

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kumar, R.; Mahadevan, J. [Society of Petroleum Engineers, Richardson, TX (United States)]|[Tulsa Univ., Tulsa, OK (United States)

2008-10-15

The viscosities and thermodynamic properties of heavy oils are different from conventional oils. Heavy oil reservoirs have foamy behaviour and the gas/oil interface stabilizes in the presence of asphaltenes. In the case of conventional oils, gas evolves from the solution when the formation pressure reaches the bubble point pressure. This study modelled the fluid properties of heavy foamy oils and their influence on the inflow performance relationship (IPR). An expression for inflow performance in heavy oil was developed by including the properties of foamy oil into a space averaged flow equation assuming pseudo-steady state conditions. The unique feature of this study was that the density, formation volume factor and solution gas-oil ratio were modelled as functions of entrained gas fraction. The newly developed expression for inflow performance of foamy oils may also be used to model conventional oil inflow by setting the entrained gas fraction to zero in the fluid property models. The results of the inflow performance of foamy oil and conventional oil were compared and an outflow performance relationship was calculated. The study showed that the inflow performance in foamy oil is influenced by entrained gas. The surface flow rates and bottom-hole flow rates are also influenced by the presence of entrained gas, with heavy foamy oil showing a higher volumetric production rate than conventional oil. The outflow performance curve depended on the fluid properties of the foamy oil. A nodal analysis of the well performance showed that the conventional calculation methods underestimate the production from foamy oil wells because they do not consider the effect of entrained gas which lowers density and improves the mobility of foamy oil. 14 refs., 2 tabs., 20 figs., 1 appendix.

Real-time optimisation of the Hoa Binh reservoir, Vietnam

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Richaud, Bertrand; Madsen, Henrik; Rosbjerg, Dan

2011-01-01

-time optimisation. First, the simulation-optimisation framework is applied for optimising reservoir operating rules. Secondly, real-time and forecast information is used for on-line optimisation that focuses on short-term goals, such as flood control or hydropower generation, without compromising the deviation...... in the downstream part of the Red River, and at the same time to increase hydropower generation and to save water for the dry season. The real-time optimisation procedure further improves the efficiency of the reservoir operation and enhances the flexibility for the decision-making. Finally, the quality......Multi-purpose reservoirs often have to be managed according to conflicting objectives, which requires efficient tools for trading-off the objectives. This paper proposes a multi-objective simulation-optimisation approach that couples off-line rule curve optimisation with on-line real...

Reservoir Modeling by Data Integration via Intermediate Spaces and Artificial Intelligence Tools in MPS Simulation Frameworks

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ahmadi, Rouhollah; Khamehchi, Ehsan

2013-01-01

Conditioning stochastic simulations are very important in many geostatistical applications that call for the introduction of nonlinear and multiple-point data in reservoir modeling. Here, a new methodology is proposed for the incorporation of different data types into multiple-point statistics (MPS) simulation frameworks. Unlike the previous techniques that call for an approximate forward model (filter) for integration of secondary data into geologically constructed models, the proposed approach develops an intermediate space where all the primary and secondary data are easily mapped onto. Definition of the intermediate space, as may be achieved via application of artificial intelligence tools like neural networks and fuzzy inference systems, eliminates the need for using filters as in previous techniques. The applicability of the proposed approach in conditioning MPS simulations to static and geologic data is verified by modeling a real example of discrete fracture networks using conventional well-log data. The training patterns are well reproduced in the realizations, while the model is also consistent with the map of secondary data

Reservoir Modeling by Data Integration via Intermediate Spaces and Artificial Intelligence Tools in MPS Simulation Frameworks

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ahmadi, Rouhollah, E-mail: rouhollahahmadi@yahoo.com [Amirkabir University of Technology, PhD Student at Reservoir Engineering, Department of Petroleum Engineering (Iran, Islamic Republic of); Khamehchi, Ehsan [Amirkabir University of Technology, Faculty of Petroleum Engineering (Iran, Islamic Republic of)

2013-12-15

Conditioning stochastic simulations are very important in many geostatistical applications that call for the introduction of nonlinear and multiple-point data in reservoir modeling. Here, a new methodology is proposed for the incorporation of different data types into multiple-point statistics (MPS) simulation frameworks. Unlike the previous techniques that call for an approximate forward model (filter) for integration of secondary data into geologically constructed models, the proposed approach develops an intermediate space where all the primary and secondary data are easily mapped onto. Definition of the intermediate space, as may be achieved via application of artificial intelligence tools like neural networks and fuzzy inference systems, eliminates the need for using filters as in previous techniques. The applicability of the proposed approach in conditioning MPS simulations to static and geologic data is verified by modeling a real example of discrete fracture networks using conventional well-log data. The training patterns are well reproduced in the realizations, while the model is also consistent with the map of secondary data.

Mathematical and field analysis of longitudinal reservoir infill

Science.gov (United States)

Ke, W. T.; Capart, H.

2016-12-01

In reservoirs, severe problems are caused by infilled sediment deposits. In long term, the sediment accumulation reduces the capacity of reservoir storage and flood control benefits. In the short term, the sediment deposits influence the intakes of water-supply and hydroelectricity generation. For the management of reservoir, it is important to understand the deposition process and then to predict the sedimentation in reservoir. To investigate the behaviors of sediment deposits, we propose a one-dimensional simplified theory derived by the Exner equation to predict the longitudinal sedimentation distribution in idealized reservoirs. The theory models the reservoir infill geomorphic actions for three scenarios: delta progradation, near-dam bottom deposition, and final infill. These yield three kinds of self-similar analytical solutions for the reservoir bed profiles, under different boundary conditions. Three analytical solutions are composed by error function, complementary error function, and imaginary error function, respectively. The theory is also computed by finite volume method to test the analytical solutions. The theoretical and numerical predictions are in good agreement with one-dimensional small-scale laboratory experiment. As the theory is simple to apply with analytical solutions and numerical computation, we propose some applications to simulate the long-profile evolution of field reservoirs and focus on the infill sediment deposit volume resulting the uplift of near-dam bottom elevation. These field reservoirs introduced here are Wushe Reservoir, Tsengwen Reservoir, Mudan Reservoir in Taiwan, Lago Dos Bocas in Puerto Rico, and Sakuma Dam in Japan.

Hydrologic modeling in a small mediterranean basin as a tool to assess the feasibility of a limno-reservoir.

Science.gov (United States)

Molina-Navarro, Eugenio; Martínez-Pérez, Silvia; Sastre-Merlín, Antonio; Bienes-Allas, Ramón

2014-01-01

The SWAT model was applied to the Ompólveda River Basin (Guadalajara, central Spain) to assess the hydrological feasibility of the Pareja Limno-reservoir. A limno-reservoir is a water management infrastructure designed to counteract some negative impacts caused by large reservoirs under Mediterranean climate. Highly detailed inputs were selected to set up the model. Its performance was evaluated by graphical and statistical techniques and compared with the previous knowledge of the basin. An overall good performance was obtained during the calibration and validation periods (monthly and annual NSE values of 0.67 and 0.60, respectively, for calibration and 0.70 and 0.83, respectively, for validation). Total discharge was well simulated, and flow components prediction was acceptable. However, the model is not accurate at predicting evapotranspiration. Once evaluated, the model was used to simulate the water discharge into the Pareja Limno-reservoir during 2008 and 2009, establishing a water balance and assessing its hydrologic feasibility. The water balance predicted the absence of surplus during summer (2008 and 2009) and autumn (2009), matching up with the decrease of water level and demonstrating the usefulness of SWAT as a tool to evaluate the hydrologic feasibility of the Pareja Limno-reservoir. Very low discharges from the Ompólveda River after a sequence of normal and dry years are the main factors responsible of this phenomenon, whereas the effect of the wastewater flow redirection in the Pareja village is negligible. These results question the usefulness of the Pareja Limno-reservoir during summer, the most favorable season for recreational activities. Copyright © by the American Society of Agronomy, Crop Science Society of America, and Soil Science Society of America, Inc.

Terahertz-dependent identification of simulated hole shapes in oil-gas reservoirs

Science.gov (United States)

Bao, Ri-Ma; Zhan, Hong-Lei; Miao, Xin-Yang; Zhao, Kun; Feng, Cheng-Jing; Dong, Chen; Li, Yi-Zhang; Xiao, Li-Zhi

2016-10-01

Detecting holes in oil-gas reservoirs is vital to the evaluation of reservoir potential. The main objective of this study is to demonstrate the feasibility of identifying general micro-hole shapes, including triangular, circular, and square shapes, in oil-gas reservoirs by adopting terahertz time-domain spectroscopy (THz-TDS). We evaluate the THz absorption responses of punched silicon (Si) wafers having micro-holes with sizes of 20 μm-500 μm. Principal component analysis (PCA) is used to establish a model between THz absorbance and hole shapes. The positions of samples in three-dimensional spaces for three principal components are used to determine the differences among diverse hole shapes and the homogeneity of similar shapes. In addition, a new Si wafer with the unknown hole shapes, including triangular, circular, and square, can be qualitatively identified by combining THz-TDS and PCA. Therefore, the combination of THz-TDS with mathematical statistical methods can serve as an effective approach to the rapid identification of micro-hole shapes in oil-gas reservoirs. Project supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 61405259), the National Basic Research Program of China (Grant No. 2014CB744302), and the Specially Founded Program on National Key Scientific Instruments and Equipment Development, China (Grant No. 2012YQ140005).

Direct hydrocarbon exploration and gas reservoir development technology

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kwak, Young Hoon; Oh, Jae Ho; Jeong, Tae Jin [Korea Inst. of Geology Mining and Materials, Taejon (Korea, Republic of); and others

1995-12-01

In order to enhance the capability of petroleum exploration and development techniques, three year project (1994 - 1997) was initiated on the research of direct hydrocarbon exploration and gas reservoir development. This project consists of four sub-projects. (1) Oil(Gas) - source rock correlation technique: The overview of bio-marker parameters which are applicable to hydrocarbon exploration has been illustrated. Experimental analysis of saturated hydrocarbon and bio-markers of the Pohang E and F core samples has been carried out. (2) Study on surface geochemistry and microbiology for hydrocarbon exploration: the test results of the experimental device for extraction of dissolved gases from water show that the device can be utilized for the gas geochemistry of water. (3) Development of gas and gas condensate reservoirs: There are two types of reservoir characterization. For the reservoir formation characterization, calculation of conditional simulation was compared with that of unconditional simulation. In the reservoir fluid characterization, phase behavior calculations revealed that the component grouping is more important than the increase of number of components. (4) Numerical modeling of seismic wave propagation and full waveform inversion: Three individual sections are presented. The first one is devoted to the inversion theory in general sense. The second and the third sections deal with the frequency domain pseudo waveform inversion of seismic reflection data and refraction data respectively. (author). 180 refs., 91 figs., 60 tabs.

Evaluation of field development plans using 3-D reservoir modelling

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Seifert, D.; Lewis, J.J.M. [Heriot-Watt Univ., Edinburgh (United Kingdom); Newbery, J.D.H. [Conoco, UK Ltd., Aberdeen (United Kingdom)] [and others

1997-08-01

Three-dimensional reservoir modelling has become an accepted tool in reservoir description and is used for various purposes, such as reservoir performance prediction or integration and visualisation of data. In this case study, a small Northern North Sea turbiditic reservoir was to be developed with a line drive strategy utilising a series of horizontal producer and injector pairs, oriented north-south. This development plan was to be evaluated and the expected outcome of the wells was to be assessed and risked. Detailed analyses of core, well log and analogue data has led to the development of two geological {open_quotes}end member{close_quotes} scenarios. Both scenarios have been stochastically modelled using the Sequential Indicator Simulation method. The resulting equiprobable realisations have been subjected to detailed statistical well placement optimisation techniques. Based upon bivariate statistical evaluation of more than 1000 numerical well trajectories for each of the two scenarios, it was found that the wells inclinations and lengths had a great impact on the wells success, whereas the azimuth was found to have only a minor impact. After integration of the above results, the actual well paths were redesigned to meet external drilling constraints, resulting in substantial reductions in drilling time and costs.

A parallel adaptive finite difference algorithm for petroleum reservoir simulation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hoang, Hai Minh

2005-07-01

Adaptive finite differential for problems arising in simulation of flow in porous medium applications are considered. Such methods have been proven useful for overcoming limitations of computational resources and improving the resolution of the numerical solutions to a wide range of problems. By local refinement of the computational mesh where it is needed to improve the accuracy of solutions, yields better solution resolution representing more efficient use of computational resources than is possible with traditional fixed-grid approaches. In this thesis, we propose a parallel adaptive cell-centered finite difference (PAFD) method for black-oil reservoir simulation models. This is an extension of the adaptive mesh refinement (AMR) methodology first developed by Berger and Oliger (1984) for the hyperbolic problem. Our algorithm is fully adaptive in time and space through the use of subcycling, in which finer grids are advanced at smaller time steps than the coarser ones. When coarse and fine grids reach the same advanced time level, they are synchronized to ensure that the global solution is conservative and satisfy the divergence constraint across all levels of refinement. The material in this thesis is subdivided in to three overall parts. First we explain the methodology and intricacies of AFD scheme. Then we extend a finite differential cell-centered approximation discretization to a multilevel hierarchy of refined grids, and finally we are employing the algorithm on parallel computer. The results in this work show that the approach presented is robust, and stable, thus demonstrating the increased solution accuracy due to local refinement and reduced computing resource consumption. (Author)

Assessing reservoir performance risk in CO2 storage projects

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bowden, A.R.; Rigg, A.

2005-01-01

One of the main issues for researchers involved with geological storage of carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) has been the development of a proper methodology to assess and compare alternative CO 2 injection projects on the basis of risk. Consideration needs to be given to technical aspects, such as the risk of leakage and the effectiveness of the intended reservoir, as well as less tangible aspects such as the value and safety of geological storage of CO 2 , and potential impacts on the community and environment. The Geological Disposal of Carbon Dioxide (GEODISC), was a research program of the Australian Petroleum Cooperative Research Centre which identified 56 potential environmentally sustainable sites for CO 2 injection (ESSCIs) within Australia. Several studies were carried out, involving detailed evaluation of the suitability of 4 selected sites, including Dongara, Petrel, Gippsland and Carnarvon. The GEODISC program included a risk assessment research module which required a complete and quantified risk assessment of CO 2 injection as a storage option. Primary goals were to assess the risk of leakage, to assess the effectiveness of the intended reservoir, and to assess negative consequences to facilitate comparison of alternative sites. This paper discussed the background and risk assessment model. Key performance indicators (KPIs) were also developed to address the purpose of risk assessment. It was concluded that the RISQUE method is an appropriate approach and that potential injection projects can be measured against six KPIs including containment; effectiveness; self-funding potential; wider community benefits; community safety and community amenity. 6 refs., 3 tabs., 3 figs

Carbon dioxide sequestration induced mineral precipitation healing of fractured reservoir seals

Science.gov (United States)

Welch, N.; Crawshaw, J.

2017-12-01

Initial experiments and the thermodynaic basis for carbon dioxide sequestration induced mineral precipitation healing of fractures through reservoir seals will be presented. The basis of this work is the potential exists for the dissolution of reservoir host rock formation carbonate minerals in the acidified injection front of CO2 during sequestration or EOR. This enriched brine and the bulk CO2 phase will then flow through the reservoir until contact with the reservoir seal. At this point any fractures present in the reservoir seal will be the preferential flow path for the bulk CO2 phase as well as the acidified brine front. These fractures would currently be filled with non-acidified brine saturated in seal formation brine. When the acidifeid brine from the host formation and the cap rock brine mix there is the potential for minerals to fall out of solution, and for these precipitated minerals to decrease or entirely cut off the fluid flow through the fractures present in a reservoir seal. Initial equilibrium simulations performed using the PHREEQC1 database drived from the PHREEQE2 database are used to show the favorable conditions under which this mineral precipitation can occurs. Bench scale fluid mixing experiments were then performed to determine the kinetics of the mineral precipitation process, and determine the progress of future experiemnts involving fluid flow within fractured anhydrite reservoir seal samples. 1Parkhurst, D.L., and Appelo, C.A.J., 2013, Description of input and examples for PHREEQC version 3—A computer program for speciation, batch-reaction, one-dimensional transport, and inverse geochemical calculations: U.S. Geological Survey Techniques and Methods, book 6, chap. A43, 497 p., available only at https://pubs.usgs.gov/tm/06/a43/. 2Parkhurst, David L., Donald C. Thorstenson, and L. Niel Plummer. PHREEQE: a computer program for geochemical calculations. No. 80-96. US Geological Survey, Water Resources Division,, 1980.

Building Adjustable Pre-storm Reservoir Flood-control Release Rules

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, Shun-Nien; Chang, Li-Chiu; Chang, Fi-John; Hsieh, Cheng-Daw

2017-04-01

Typhoons hit Taiwan several times every year, which could cause serious flood disasters. Because mountainous terrains and steep landforms can rapidly accelerate the speed of flood flow during typhoon events, rivers cannot be a stable source of water supply. Reservoirs become the most effective floodwater storage facilities for alleviating flood damages in Taiwan. The pre-storm flood-control release can significantly increase reservoir storage capacity available to store floodwaters for reducing downstream flood damage, while the uncertainties of total forecasted rainfalls are very high in different stages of an oncoming typhoon, which may cause the risk of water shortage in the future. This study proposes adjustable pre-storm reservoir flood-control release rules in three designed operating stages with various hydrological conditions in the Feitsui Reservoir, a pivot reservoir for water supply to Taipei metropolitan in Taiwan, not only to reduce the risk of reservoir flood control and downstream flooding but also to consider water supply. The three operating stages before an oncoming typhoon are defined upon the timings when: (1) typhoon news is issued (3-7days before typhoon hit); (2) the sea warning is issued (2-4 days before typhoon hit); and (3) the land warning is issued (1-2 days before typhoon hit). We simulate 95 historical typhoon events with 3000 initial water levels and build some pre-storm flood-control release rules to adjust the amount of pre-release based on the total forecasted rainfalls at different operating stages. A great number of simulations (68.4 millions) are conducted to extract their major consequences and then build the adjustable pre-storm reservoir flood-control release rules. Accordingly, given a total forecasted rainfall and a water level, reservoir decision makers can easily identify the corresponding rule to tell the amount of pre-release in any stage. The results show that the proposed adjustable pre-release rules can effectively

INTEGRATED OUTCROP AND SUBSURFACE STUDIES OF THE INTERWELL ENVIRONMENT OF CARBONATE RESERVOIRS: CLEAR FORK (LEONARDIAN-AGE) RESERVOIRS, WEST TEXAS AND NEW MEXICO

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

F. Jerry Lucia

2002-01-31

This is the final report of the project ''Integrated Outcrop and Subsurface Studies of the Interwell Environment of Carbonate Reservoirs: Clear Fork (Leonardian-Age) Reservoirs, West Texas and New Mexico'', Department of Energy contract no. DE-AC26-98BC15105 and is the third in a series of similar projects funded jointly by the U.S. Department of Energy and The University of Texas at Austin, Bureau of Economic Geology, Reservoir Characterization Research Laboratory for Carbonates. All three projects focus on the integration of outcrop and subsurface data for the purpose of developing improved methods for modeling petrophysical properties in the interwell environment. The first project, funded by contract no. DE-AC22-89BC14470, was a study of San Andres outcrops in the Algerita Escarpment, Guadalupe Mountains, Texas and New Mexico, and the Seminole San Andres reservoir, Permian Basin. This study established the basic concepts for constructing a reservoir model using sequence-stratigraphic principles and rock-fabric, petrophysical relationships. The second project, funded by contract no. DE-AC22-93BC14895, was a study of Grayburg outcrops in the Brokeoff Mountains, New Mexico, and the South Cowden Grayburg reservoir, Permian Basin. This study developed a sequence-stratigraphic succession for the Grayburg and improved methods for locating remaining hydrocarbons in carbonate ramp reservoirs. The current study is of the Clear Fork Group in Apache Canyon, Sierra Diablo Mountains, West Texas, and the South Wasson Clear Fork reservoir, Permian Basin. The focus was on scales of heterogeneity, imaging high- and low-permeability layers, and the impact of fractures on reservoir performance. In this study (1) the Clear Fork cycle stratigraphy is defined, (2) important scales of petrophysical variability are confirmed, (3) a unique rock-fabric, petrophysical relationship is defined, (4) a porosity method for correlating high-frequency cycles and defining rock

A numerical investigation of combined heat storage and extraction in deep geothermal reservoirs

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Major, Márton; Poulsen, Søren Erbs; Balling, Niels

2018-01-01

Heat storage capabilities of deep sedimentary geothermal reservoirs are evaluated through numerical model simulations. We combine storage with heat extraction in a doublet well system when storage phases are restricted to summer months. The effects of stored volume and annual repetition on energy...... recovery are investigated. Recovery factors are evaluated for several different model setups and we find that storing 90 °C water at 2500 m depth is capable of reproducing, on average 67% of the stored energy. In addition, ambient reservoir temperature of 75 °C is slightly elevated leading to increased...... efficiency. Additional simulations concerning pressure build-up in the reservoir are carried out to show that safety levels may not be reached. Reservoir characteristics are inspired by Danish geothermal conditions, but results are assumed to have more general validity. Thus, deep sedimentary reservoirs...

INTEGRATED GEOLOGIC-ENGINEERING MODEL FOR REEF AND CARBONATE SHOAL RESERVOIRS ASSOCIATED WITH PALEOHIGHS: UPPER JURASSIC SMACKOVER FORMATION, NORTHEASTERN GULF OF MEXICO

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ernest A. Mancini

2002-09-25

heterogeneity in these reef and shoal reservoirs have been made. Petrophysical and engineering property characterization has been essentially completed. Porosity and permeability data at Appleton and Vocation Fields have been analyzed, and well performance analysis has been conducted. Data integration is up to date, in that, the geological, geophysical, petrophysical and engineering data collected to date for Appleton and Vocation Fields have been compiled into a fieldwide digital database. 3-D geologic modeling of the structures and reservoirs at Appleton and Vocation Fields has been completed. The model represents an integration of geological, petrophysical and seismic data. 3-D reservoir simulation of the reservoirs at Appleton and Vocation Fields has been completed. The 3-D geologic model served as the framework for the simulations. A technology workshop on reservoir characterization and modeling at Appleton and Vocation Fields was conducted to transfer the results of the project to the petroleum industry.

Modeling of reservoir operation in UNH global hydrological model

Science.gov (United States)

Shiklomanov, Alexander; Prusevich, Alexander; Frolking, Steve; Glidden, Stanley; Lammers, Richard; Wisser, Dominik

2015-04-01

Climate is changing and river flow is an integrated characteristic reflecting numerous environmental processes and their changes aggregated over large areas. Anthropogenic impacts on the river flow, however, can significantly exceed the changes associated with climate variability. Besides of irrigation, reservoirs and dams are one of major anthropogenic factor affecting streamflow. They distort hydrological regime of many rivers by trapping of freshwater runoff, modifying timing of river discharge and increasing the evaporation rate. Thus, reservoirs is an integral part of the global hydrological system and their impacts on rivers have to be taken into account for better quantification and understanding of hydrological changes. We developed a new technique, which was incorporated into WBM-TrANS model (Water Balance Model-Transport from Anthropogenic and Natural Systems) to simulate river routing through large reservoirs and natural lakes based on information available from freely accessible databases such as GRanD (the Global Reservoir and Dam database) or NID (National Inventory of Dams for US). Different formulations were applied for unregulated spillway dams and lakes, and for 4 types of regulated reservoirs, which were subdivided based on main purpose including generic (multipurpose), hydropower generation, irrigation and water supply, and flood control. We also incorporated rules for reservoir fill up and draining at the times of construction and decommission based on available data. The model were tested for many reservoirs of different size and types located in various climatic conditions using several gridded meteorological data sets as model input and observed daily and monthly discharge data from GRDC (Global Runoff Data Center), USGS Water Data (US Geological Survey), and UNH archives. The best results with Nash-Sutcliffe model efficiency coefficient in the range of 0.5-0.9 were obtained for temperate zone of Northern Hemisphere where most of large

The influence of lumping on the behavior of reservoir with light oil and CO2

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Scanavini, Helena Finardi Alvares [Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNISIM/UNICAMP), SP (Brazil). Dept. de Engenharia de Petroleo. Pesquisa em Simulacao e Gerenciamento de Reservatorios; Schiozer, Denis Jose [Universidade Estadual de Campinas (DEP/FEM/UNICAMP), SP (Brazil). Fac. de Engenharia Mecanica. Dept. de Engenharia de Petroleo

2012-07-01

Compositional simulation demands a large number of equations and functions to be solved, once fluid properties depend on reservoir pressure and temperature and also on fluid composition. As a consequence, the number of components used influences considerably in the simulation run time and accuracy: more components yield more equations to be solved with expected higher run time. Giant petroleum fields discovered recently in Brazil (pre-salt reservoirs) demand compositional simulation due to the fluid characteristics (light oil with the presence of CO2). However, the computational time can be a limitation because of the number of grid blocks that are necessary to represent the reservoir. So, reducing the number of components is an important step for the simulation models. Under this context, this paper presents a study on the influence of different lumping clusters, used to reduce the number of components in a volatile oil, on reservoir simulation. Phase diagram, saturation pressure and simulation results were used for comparison purposes. The best results were obtained for the cases with 14, 9 and 7 pseudo components, which represented correctly the original fluid, reducing till three times the simulation run time, for the same production volumes of oil and gas. (author)

Sensitivity Analysis of Methane Hydrate Reservoirs: Effects of Reservoir Parameters on Gas Productivity and Economics

Science.gov (United States)

Anderson, B. J.; Gaddipati, M.; Nyayapathi, L.

2008-12-01

This paper presents a parametric study on production rates of natural gas from gas hydrates by the method of depressurization, using CMG STARS. Seven factors/parameters were considered as perturbations from a base-case hydrate reservoir description based on Problem 7 of the International Methane Hydrate Reservoir Simulator Code Comparison Study led by the Department of Energy and the USGS. This reservoir is modeled after the inferred properties of the hydrate deposit at the Prudhoe Bay L-106 site. The included sensitivity variables were hydrate saturation, pressure (depth), temperature, bottom-hole pressure of the production well, free water saturation, intrinsic rock permeability, and porosity. A two-level (L=2) Plackett-Burman experimental design was used to study the relative effects of these factors. The measured variable was the discounted cumulative gas production. The discount rate chosen was 15%, resulting in the gas contribution to the net present value of a reservoir. Eight different designs were developed for conducting sensitivity analysis and the effects of the parameters on the real and discounted production rates will be discussed. The breakeven price in various cases and the dependence of the breakeven price on the production parameters is given in the paper. As expected, initial reservoir temperature has the strongest positive effect on the productivity of a hydrate deposit and the bottom-hole pressure in the production well has the strongest negative dependence. Also resulting in a positive correlation is the intrinsic permeability and the initial free water of the formation. Negative effects were found for initial hydrate saturation (at saturations greater than 50% of the pore space) and the reservoir porosity. These negative effects are related to the available sensible heat of the reservoir, with decreasing productivity due to decreasing available sensible heat. Finally, we conclude that for the base case reservoir, the break-even price (BEP

An Elevated Reservoir of Air Pollutants over the Mid-Atlantic States During the 2011 DISCOVER-AQ Campaign: Airborne Measurements and Numerical Simulations

Science.gov (United States)

He, Hao; Loughner, Christopher P.; Stehr, Jeffrey W.; Arkinson, Heather L.; Brent, Lacey C.; Follette-Cook, Melanie B.; Tzortziou, Maria A.; Pickering, Kenneth E.; Thompson, Anne M.; Martins, Douglas K.;

Reservoir model for the Alameda Central waterflood

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Randall, T E

1968-01-01

The basic approach used in developing the model to characterize the Alameda Central Unit Waterflood assumes continuity of the reservoir mechanics with time. The past performance was analyzed to describe the reservoir and future performance was assumed to follow the established patterns. To develop a mathematical picture of the Alameda Central Unit reservoir, a two-dimensional single-phase steady-state model was used in conjunction with material balance calculations, real-time conversion methods and oil-water interface advance calculations. The model was developed to optimize water injection allocation, determine the configuration of the frontal advance and evaluate the success of the waterflood. The model also provides a basis for continuing review and revision of the basic concepts of reservoir operation. The results of the reservoir study have confirmed the apparent lack of permeability orientation in the pool and indicate that the waterflood is progressing better than originally anticipated.

Analog readout for optical reservoir computers

OpenAIRE

Smerieri, Anteo; Duport, François; Paquot, Yvan; Schrauwen, Benjamin; Haelterman, Marc; Massar, Serge

2012-01-01

Reservoir computing is a new, powerful and flexible machine learning technique that is easily implemented in hardware. Recently, by using a time-multiplexed architecture, hardware reservoir computers have reached performance comparable to digital implementations. Operating speeds allowing for real time information operation have been reached using optoelectronic systems. At present the main performance bottleneck is the readout layer which uses slow, digital postprocessing. We have designed a...

A numerical study of EGS heat extraction process based on a thermal non-equilibrium model for heat transfer in subsurface porous heat reservoir

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Jiliang; Jiang, Fangming

2016-02-01

With a previously developed numerical model, we perform a detailed study of the heat extraction process in enhanced or engineered geothermal system (EGS). This model takes the EGS subsurface heat reservoir as an equivalent porous medium while it considers local thermal non-equilibrium between the rock matrix and the fluid flowing in the fractured rock mass. The application of local thermal non-equilibrium model highlights the temperature-difference heat exchange process occurring in EGS reservoirs, enabling a better understanding of the involved heat extraction process. The simulation results unravel the mechanism of preferential flow or short-circuit flow forming in homogeneously fractured reservoirs of different permeability values. EGS performance, e.g. production temperature and lifetime, is found to be tightly related to the flow pattern in the reservoir. Thermal compensation from rocks surrounding the reservoir contributes little heat to the heat transmission fluid if the operation time of an EGS is shorter than 15 years. We find as well the local thermal equilibrium model generally overestimates EGS performance and for an EGS with better heat exchange conditions in the heat reservoir, the heat extraction process acts more like the local thermal equilibrium process.

Cased-hole log analysis and reservoir performance monitoring

CERN Document Server

Bateman, Richard M

2015-01-01

This book addresses vital issues, such as the evaluation of shale gas reservoirs and their production. Topics include the cased-hole logging environment, reservoir fluid properties; flow regimes; temperature, noise, cement bond, and pulsed neutron logging; and casing inspection. Production logging charts and tables are included in the appendices. The work serves as a comprehensive reference for production engineers with upstream E&P companies, well logging service company employees, university students, and petroleum industry training professionals. This book also: ·       Provides methods of conveying production logging tools along horizontal well segments as well as measurements of formation electrical resistivity through casing ·       Covers new information on fluid flow characteristics in inclined pipe and provides new and improved nuclear tool measurements in cased wells ·       Includes updates on cased-hole wireline formation testing  

Estimation of reservoir fluid volumes through 4-D seismic analysis on Gullfaks

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Veire, H.S.; Reymond, S.B.; Signer, C.; Tenneboe, P.O.; Soenneland, L.; Schlumberger, Geco-Prakla

1998-12-31

4-D seismic has the potential to monitor hydrocarbon movement in reservoirs during production, and could thereby supplement the predictions of reservoir parameters offered by the reservoir simulator. However 4-D seismic is often more band limited than the vertical resolution required in the reservoir model. As a consequence the seismic data holds a composite response from reservoir parameter changes during production so that the inversion becomes non-unique. A procedure where data from the reservoir model are integrated with seismic data will be presented. The potential of such a procedure is demonstrated through a case study from a recent 4-D survey over the Gullfaks field. 2 figs.

Ecological operation for Three Gorges Reservoir

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Wen-xian Guo

2011-06-01

Full Text Available The traditional operation of the Three Gorges Reservoir has mainly focused on water for flood control, power generation, navigation, water supply, and recreation, and given less attention to the negative impacts of reservoir operation on the river ecosystem. In order to reduce the negative influence of reservoir operation, ecological operation of the reservoir should be studied with a focus on maintaining a healthy river ecosystem. This study considered ecological operation targets, including maintaining the river environmental flow and protecting the spawning and reproduction of the Chinese sturgeon and four major Chinese carps. Using flow data from 1900 to 2006 at the Yichang gauging station as the control station data for the Yangtze River, the minimal and optimal river environmental flows were analyzed, and eco-hydrological targets for the Chinese sturgeon and four major Chinese carps in the Yangtze River were calculated. This paper proposes a reservoir ecological operation model, which comprehensively considers flood control, power generation, navigation, and the ecological environment. Three typical periods, wet, normal, and dry years, were selected, and the particle swarm optimization algorithm was used to analyze the model. The results show that ecological operation modes have different effects on the economic benefit of the hydropower station, and the reservoir ecological operation model can simulate the flood pulse for the requirements of spawning of the Chinese sturgeon and four major Chinese carps. According to the results, by adopting a suitable re-operation scheme, the hydropower benefit of the reservoir will not decrease dramatically while the ecological demand is met. The results provide a reference for designing reasonable operation schemes for the Three Gorges Reservoir.

Tidal phenomena in reservoirs; Fenomeno de mare em reservatorios

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Pinilla Cortes, John Freddy

1997-06-01

This work models the oceanic tidal effect on reservoirs by coupling geomechanic principles with equations for fluid in a deformable porous media. The coupling revealed the importance of establishing properly the system compressibility under the various possible configurations of the loading system. The basic models for infinite reservoir, constant outer-pressure reservoir and closed reservoir were considered. It was verified that it was possible to apply the superposition of effects on the solution for the basic models by carrying a simple transformation on the solution variable. The problem was treated by in the context of test analysis, concerning dimensionless form of variables and the inclusion of well effects. The solution for the infinite reservoir including tidal effects. The solution for the infinite reservoir including tidal effects was obtained in the Laplace space and was inverted numerically by using Crump's routine. The results were incorporated to conventional type curves, and were validated by comparison with real and simulated pressure test data. Finally, alternate practices were suggested to integrate the well test analysis in reservoirs affected by the tidal effect. (author)

Interpretation of Water Tracer Simulation in the H-1 Segment of the Gullfaks Field

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Moid, Farrukh

2000-07-01

This thesis describes the water tracer simulation in the H-1 segment of the Gullfaks field. Three passive water tracer slugs were injected from the two producing wells during water flooding, pressure maintenance and reservoir monitoring program in the Gullfaks field. The same program is considered in this thesis. Computer Modelling Group's (CMG) simulator STARS is used for the general reservoir simulation and a separate module for tracer flow (ITRC-SIM) which is incorporated in the STARS and developed at Institute For Energy (IFE) is used for the tracer simulation. Water cut and tracer concentration data are used in history matching of the field. History matching is performed by changing the transmissibility and permeability of different layers; also the effect of changing saturations near the well bore on history matching is examined. It is noted that water cut is sensitive to transmissibility of the layers and the saturation around the well bore. Tracers are found to be moving in the most permeable layers. The corresponding history matching of water and tracer production shows a severe loss of first tracer injected because of imbibition process. Water phase velocity and areal communication between different wells are determined. Advance numerical features of tracer module ITRC-SIM such as flux limiting scheme and grid refinement scheme are evaluated and are found to be an important tool for reducing the numerical smearing. The effects of dispersion and diffusion on tracer response curve are also evaluated. Dispersion makes the tracer concentration curve smeared. Simulation results of water cut and tracer concentration show a good history match for this reservoir. The improved simulation model and the tracer module for this reservoir can be used for the prediction of future performance of the reservoir and interpretation of the tracer behaviour in the reservoir. (author)

River and Reservoir Operations Model, Truckee River basin, California and Nevada, 1998

Science.gov (United States)

Berris, Steven N.; Hess, Glen W.; Bohman, Larry R.

2001-01-01

The demand for all uses of water in the Truckee River Basin, California and Nevada, commonly is greater than can be supplied. Storage reservoirs in the system have a maximum effective total capacity equivalent to less than two years of average river flows, so longer-term droughts can result in substantial water-supply shortages for irrigation and municipal users and may stress fish and wildlife ecosystems. Title II of Public Law (P.L.) 101-618, the Truckee?Carson?Pyramid Lake Water Rights Settlement Act of 1990, provides a foundation for negotiating and developing operating criteria, known as the Truckee River Operating Agreement (TROA), to balance interstate and interbasin allocation of water rights among the many interests competing for water from the Truckee River. In addition to TROA, the Truckee River Water Quality Settlement Agreement (WQSA), signed in 1996, provides for acquisition of water rights to resolve water-quality problems during low flows along the Truckee River in Nevada. Efficient execution of many of the planning, management, or environmental assessment requirements of TROA and WQSA will require detailed water-resources data coupled with sound analytical tools. Analytical modeling tools constructed and evaluated with such data could help assess effects of alternative operational scenarios related to reservoir and river operations, water-rights transfers, and changes in irrigation practices. The Truckee?Carson Program of the U.S. Geological Survey, to support U.S. Department of the Interior implementation of P.L. 101-618, is developing a modeling system to support efficient water-resources planning, management, and allocation. The daily operations model documented herein is a part of the modeling system that includes a database management program, a graphical user interface program, and a program with modules that simulate river/reservoir operations and a variety of hydrologic processes. The operations module is capable of simulating lake

Optimal nonlinear information processing capacity in delay-based reservoir computers

Science.gov (United States)

Grigoryeva, Lyudmila; Henriques, Julie; Larger, Laurent; Ortega, Juan-Pablo

2015-09-01

Reservoir computing is a recently introduced brain-inspired machine learning paradigm capable of excellent performances in the processing of empirical data. We focus in a particular kind of time-delay based reservoir computers that have been physically implemented using optical and electronic systems and have shown unprecedented data processing rates. Reservoir computing is well-known for the ease of the associated training scheme but also for the problematic sensitivity of its performance to architecture parameters. This article addresses the reservoir design problem, which remains the biggest challenge in the applicability of this information processing scheme. More specifically, we use the information available regarding the optimal reservoir working regimes to construct a functional link between the reservoir parameters and its performance. This function is used to explore various properties of the device and to choose the optimal reservoir architecture, thus replacing the tedious and time consuming parameter scannings used so far in the literature.

Lattice Boltzmann Simulations of Fluid Flow in Continental Carbonate Reservoir Rocks and in Upscaled Rock Models Generated with Multiple-Point Geostatistics

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

J. Soete

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Microcomputed tomography (μCT and Lattice Boltzmann Method (LBM simulations were applied to continental carbonates to quantify fluid flow. Fluid flow characteristics in these complex carbonates with multiscale pore networks are unique and the applied method allows studying their heterogeneity and anisotropy. 3D pore network models were introduced to single-phase flow simulations in Palabos, a software tool for particle-based modelling of classic computational fluid dynamics. In addition, permeability simulations were also performed on rock models generated with multiple-point geostatistics (MPS. This allowed assessing the applicability of MPS in upscaling high-resolution porosity patterns into large rock models that exceed the volume limitations of the μCT. Porosity and tortuosity control fluid flow in these porous media. Micro- and mesopores influence flow properties at larger scales in continental carbonates. Upscaling with MPS is therefore necessary to overcome volume-resolution problems of CT scanning equipment. The presented LBM-MPS workflow is applicable to other lithologies, comprising different pore types, shapes, and pore networks altogether. The lack of straightforward porosity-permeability relationships in complex carbonates highlights the necessity for a 3D approach. 3D fluid flow studies provide the best understanding of flow through porous media, which is of crucial importance in reservoir modelling.

Reservoir management

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Satter, A.; Varnon, J.E.; Hoang, M.T.

1992-01-01

A reservoir's life begins with exploration leading to discovery followed by delineation of the reservoir, development of the field, production by primary, secondary and tertiary means, and finally to abandonment. Sound reservoir management is the key to maximizing economic operation of the reservoir throughout its entire life. Technological advances and rapidly increasing computer power are providing tools to better manage reservoirs and are increasing the gap between good and neural reservoir management. The modern reservoir management process involves goal setting, planning, implementing, monitoring, evaluating, and revising plans. Setting a reservoir management strategy requires knowledge of the reservoir, availability of technology, and knowledge of the business, political, and environmental climate. Formulating a comprehensive management plan involves depletion and development strategies, data acquisition and analyses, geological and numerical model studies, production and reserves forecasts, facilities requirements, economic optimization, and management approval. This paper provides management, engineers, geologists, geophysicists, and field operations staff with a better understanding of the practical approach to reservoir management using a multidisciplinary, integrated team approach

Reservoir management

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Satter, A.; Varnon, J.E.; Hoang, M.T.

1992-01-01

A reservoir's life begins with exploration leading to discovery followed by delineation of the reservoir, development of the field, production by primary, secondary and tertiary means, and finally to abandonment. Sound reservoir management is the key to maximizing economic operation of the reservoir throughout its entire life. Technological advances and rapidly increasing computer power are providing tools to better manage reservoirs and are increasing the gap between good and neutral reservoir management. The modern reservoir management process involves goal setting, planning, implementing, monitoring, evaluating, and revising plans. Setting a reservoir management strategy requires knowledge of the reservoir, availability of technology, and knowledge of the business, political, and environmental climate. Formulating a comprehensive management plan involves depletion and development strategies, data acquisition and analyses, geological and numerical model studies, production and reserves forecasts, facilities requirements, economic optimization, and management approval. This paper provides management, engineers geologists, geophysicists, and field operations staff with a better understanding of the practical approach to reservoir management using a multidisciplinary, integrated team approach

Modeling surface energy fluxes and thermal dynamics of a seasonally ice-covered hydroelectric reservoir.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Weifeng; Roulet, Nigel T; Strachan, Ian B; Tremblay, Alain

2016-04-15

The thermal dynamics of human created northern reservoirs (e.g., water temperatures and ice cover dynamics) influence carbon processing and air-water gas exchange. Here, we developed a process-based one-dimensional model (Snow, Ice, WAater, and Sediment: SIWAS) to simulate a full year's surface energy fluxes and thermal dynamics for a moderately large (>500km(2)) boreal hydroelectric reservoir in northern Quebec, Canada. There is a lack of climate and weather data for most of the Canadian boreal so we designed SIWAS with a minimum of inputs and with a daily time step. The modeled surface energy fluxes were consistent with six years of observations from eddy covariance measurements taken in the middle of the reservoir. The simulated water temperature profiles agreed well with observations from over 100 sites across the reservoir. The model successfully captured the observed annual trend of ice cover timing, although the model overestimated the length of ice cover period (15days). Sensitivity analysis revealed that air temperature significantly affects the ice cover duration, water and sediment temperatures, but that dissolved organic carbon concentrations have little effect on the heat fluxes, and water and sediment temperatures. We conclude that the SIWAS model is capable of simulating surface energy fluxes and thermal dynamics for boreal reservoirs in regions where high temporal resolution climate data are not available. SIWAS is suitable for integration into biogeochemical models for simulating a reservoir's carbon cycle. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Tailor-made surfactants for optimized chemical EOR. Meeting oil reservoir conditions by applied knowledge of structure-performance relationship in extended surfactants

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Trahan, G.; Sorensen, W. [Sasol North America Inc., Westlake, LA (United States); Jakobs-Sauter, B. [Sasol Germany GmbH (Germany)

2013-08-01

Formulating the surfactant package for chemical EOR is a time consuming and expensive process - the formulation needs to fit the specific reservoir conditions (like oil type, temperature, salinity, etc.) to give optimum performance and the number of formulation variables is virtually endless. This paper studies the impact of surfactant structure on EOR formulation ability and performance and how to adjust the structure of the surfactant molecule to meet a specific reservoir's needs. Data from salinity phase boundary studies of alcohol propoxy sulfates illustrate how changes in alcohol structure as well as in propylene oxide level can shift optimum salinity and temperature to the desired range in a given model oil. From these data the impact of individual structural units was evaluated. Application of the HLD model (Hydrophilic-Lipophilic Deviation) shows how to extrapolate from the known data set to actual reservoir conditions. This is illustrated by studies on crude oil samples. Additional tests study how effective the selected surfactants perform. The HLD concept proves to be a valuable tool to select and tailor surfactants to individual reservoir needs, thus simplifying the surfactant screening process for EOR formulations by pre-selection of suitable structures and ultimately reducing cost and effort on the way to the most effective chemical EOR package. (orig.)

Interaction between Proppant Packing, Reservoir Depletion, and Fluid Flow in Pore Space

Science.gov (United States)

Fan, M.; McClure, J. E.; Han, Y.; Chen, C.

2016-12-01

In the oil and gas industry, the performance of proppant pack in hydraulically created fractures has a significant influence on fracture conductivity. A better understanding of proppant transport and deposition pattern in a hydraulic fracture is vital for effective and economical production within oil and gas reservoirs. In this research, a numerical modeling approach, combining Particle Flow Code (PFC) and GPU-enhanced lattice Boltzmann simulator (GELBS), is adopted to advance the understanding of the interaction between proppant particle packing, depletion of reservoir formation, and transport of reservoir flow through the pore space. In this numerical work flow, PFC is used to simulate effective stress increase and proppant particle movement and rearrangement under increasing mechanical loading. The pore structure of the proppant pack evolves subsequently and the geometrical data are output for lattice Boltzmann (LB) simulation of proppant pack permeability. Three different proppant packs with fixed particle concentration and 12/18, 16/30, and 20/40 mesh sizes are generated. These proppant packs are compressed with specified loading stress and their subsequent geometries are used for fluid flow simulations. The simulation results are in good agreement with experimental observations, e.g., the conductivity of proppant packs decreases with increasing effective stress. Three proppant packs with the same average diameter were generated using different coefficients of variation (COVs) for the proppant diameter (namely cov5%, cov20%, and cov30%). By using the coupled PFC-LBM work flow, the proppant pack permeability as functions of effective stress and porosity is investigated. The results show that the proppant pack with a higher proppant diameter COV has lower permeability and porosity under the same effective stress, because smaller particles fill in the pore space between bigger particles. The relationship between porosity and permeability is also consistent with

Stretch due to Penile Prosthesis Reservoir Migration

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

E. Baten

2016-03-01

Full Text Available A 43-year old patient presented to the emergency department with stretch, due to impossible deflation of the penile prosthesis, 4 years after successful implant. A CT-scan showed migration of the reservoir to the left rectus abdominis muscle. Refilling of the reservoir was inhibited by muscular compression, causing stretch. Removal and replacement of the reservoir was performed, after which the prosthesis was well-functioning again. Migration of the penile prosthesis reservoir is extremely rare but can cause several complications, such as stretch.

Water coning in porous media reservoirs for compressed air energy storage

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wiles, L.E.; McCann, R.A.

1981-06-01

The general purpose of this work is to define the hydrodynamic and thermodynamic response of a CAES porous media reservoir subjected to simulated air mass cycling. This research will assist in providing design guidelines for the efficient and stable operation of the air storage reservoir. This report presents the analysis and results for the two-phase (air-water), two-dimensional, numerical modeling of CAES porous media reservoirs. The effects of capillary pressure and relative permeability were included. The fluids were considered to be immisicible; there was no phase change; and the system was isothermal. The specific purpose of this analysis was to evaluate the reservoir parameters that were believed to be important to water coning. This phenomenon may occur in reservoirs in which water underlies the air storage zone. It involves the possible intrusion of water into the wellbore or near-wellbore region. The water movement is in response to pressure gradients created during a reservoir discharge cycle. Potential adverse effects due to this water movement are associated with the pressure response of the reservoir and the geochemical stability of the near-wellbore region. The results obtained for the simulated operation of a CAES reservoir suggest that water coning should not be a severe problem, due to the slow response of the water to the pressure gradients and the relatively short duration in which those gradients exist. However, water coning will depend on site-specific conditions, particularly the fluid distributions following bubble development, and, therefore, a water coning analysis should be included as part of site evaluation.

Speeding up the flash calculations in two-phase compositional flow simulations - The application of sparse grids

KAUST Repository

Wu, Yuanqing

2015-03-01

Flash calculations have become a performance bottleneck in the simulation of compositional flow in subsurface reservoirs. We apply a sparse grid surrogate model to substitute the flash calculation and thus try to remove the bottleneck from the reservoir simulation. So instead of doing a flash calculation in each time step of the simulation, we just generate a sparse grid approximation of all possible results of the flash calculation before the reservoir simulation. Then we evaluate the constructed surrogate model to approximate the values of the flash calculation results from this surrogate during the simulations. The execution of the true flash calculation has been shifted from the online phase during the simulation to the offline phase before the simulation. Sparse grids are known to require only few unknowns in order to obtain good approximation qualities. In conjunction with local adaptivity, sparse grids ensure that the accuracy of the surrogate is acceptable while keeping the memory usage small by only storing a minimal amount of values for the surrogate. The accuracy of the sparse grid surrogate during the reservoir simulation is compared to the accuracy of using a surrogate based on regular Cartesian grids and the original flash calculation. The surrogate model improves the speed of the flash calculations and the simulation of the whole reservoir. In an experiment, it is shown that the speed of the online flash calculations is increased by about 2000 times and as a result the speed of the reservoir simulations has been enhanced by 21 times in the best conditions.

Future changes in Mekong River hydrology: impact of climate change and reservoir operation on discharge

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

H. Lauri

2012-12-01

Full Text Available The transboundary Mekong River is facing two ongoing changes that are expected to significantly impact its hydrology and the characteristics of its exceptional flood pulse. The rapid economic development of the riparian countries has led to massive plans for hydropower construction, and projected climate change is expected to alter the monsoon patterns and increase temperature in the basin. The aim of this study is to assess the cumulative impact of these factors on the hydrology of the Mekong within next 20–30 yr. We downscaled the output of five general circulation models (GCMs that were found to perform well in the Mekong region. For the simulation of reservoir operation, we used an optimisation approach to estimate the operation of multiple reservoirs, including both existing and planned hydropower reservoirs. For the hydrological assessment, we used a distributed hydrological model, VMod, with a grid resolution of 5 km × 5 km. In terms of climate change's impact on hydrology, we found a high variation in the discharge results depending on which of the GCMs is used as input. The simulated change in discharge at Kratie (Cambodia between the baseline (1982–1992 and projected time period (2032–2042 ranges from −11% to +15% for the wet season and −10% to +13% for the dry season. Our analysis also shows that the changes in discharge due to planned reservoir operations are clearly larger than those simulated due to climate change: 25–160% higher dry season flows and 5–24% lower flood peaks in Kratie. The projected cumulative impacts follow rather closely the reservoir operation impacts, with an envelope around them induced by the different GCMs. Our results thus indicate that within the coming 20–30 yr, the operation of planned hydropower reservoirs is likely to have a larger impact on the Mekong hydrograph than the impacts of climate change, particularly during the dry season. On the other hand, climate change will

Exploration and reservoir characterization; Technology Target Areas; TTA2 - Exploration and reservoir characterisation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

2008-07-01

In future, research within exploration and reservoir characterization will play an even more important role for Norway since resources are decreasing and new challenges like deep sea, harsh environment and last but not least environmental issues have to be considered. There are two major fields which have to be addressed within exploration and reservoir characterization: First, replacement of reserves by new discoveries and ultimate field recoveries in mature basins at the Norwegian Continental shelf, e.g. at the Halten Terrace has to be addressed. A wealth of data exists in the more mature areas. Interdisciplinary integration is a key feature of reservoir characterization, where available data and specialist knowledge need to be combined into a consistent reservoir description. A systematic approach for handling both uncertainties in data sources and uncertainties in basic models is needed. Fast simulation techniques are necessary to generate models spanning the event space, covering both underground based and model-based uncertainties. Second, exploration in frontier areas like the Barents Sea region and the deeper Voering Basin has to be addressed. The scarcity of wells in these frontier areas leads to uncertainties in the geological understanding. Basin- and depositional modelling are essential for predicting where source rocks and reservoir rocks are deposited, and if, when and which hydrocarbons are generated and trapped. Predictive models and improved process understanding is therefore crucial to meet these issues. Especially the challenges related to the salt deposits e.g. sub-salt/sub-basalt reservoir definitions in the Nordkapp Basin demands up-front research and technology developments. TTA2 stresses the need to focus on the development of new talents. We also see a strong need to push cooperation as far as possible in the present competitive environment. Projects that may require a substantial financial commitment have been identified. The following

Paragenetic evolution of reservoir facies, Middle Triassic Halfway Formation, PeeJay Field, northeastern British Columbia: controls on reservoir quality

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Caplan, M. L. [Alberta Univ., Dept. of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, Edmonton, AB (Canada); Moslow, T. F. [Ulster Petroleum Ltd., Calgary, AB (Canada)

1998-09-01

Because of the obvious importance of reservoir quality to reservoir performance, diagenetic controls on reservoir quality of Middle Triassic reservoir facies are investigated by comparing two reservoir lithofacies. The implications of porosity structure on the efficiency of primary and secondary hydrocarbon recovery are also assessed. Halfway reservoir facies are composed of bioclastic grainstones (lithofacies G) and litharenites/sublitharenites (lithofacies H), both of which are interpreted as tidal inlet fills. Although paragenetic evolution was similar for the two reservoir facies, subtle differences in reservoir quality are discernible. These are controlled by sedimentary structures, porosity type, grain constituents, and degree of cementation. Reservoir quality in lithofacies G is a function of connectivity of the pore network. In lithofacies H, secondary granular porosity creates a more homogeneous interconnected pore system, wide pore throats and low aspect ratios. The high porosity and low permeability values of the bioclastic grainstones are suspected to cause inefficient flushing of hydrocarbons during waterflooding. However, it is suggested that recovery may be enhanced by induced hydraulic fracturing and acidization of lower permeability calcareous cemented zones. 52 refs., 15 figs.

Impacts of boreal hydroelectric reservoirs on seasonal climate and precipitation recycling as simulated by the CRCM5: a case study of the La Grande River watershed, Canada

Science.gov (United States)

Irambona, C.; Music, B.; Nadeau, D. F.; Mahdi, T. F.; Strachan, I. B.

2018-02-01

Located in northern Quebec, Canada, eight hydroelectric reservoirs of a 9782-km2 maximal area cover 6.4% of the La Grande watershed. This study investigates the changes brought by the impoundment of these reservoirs on seasonal climate and precipitation recycling. Two 30-year climate simulations, corresponding to pre- and post-impoundment conditions, were used. They were generated with the fifth-generation Canadian Regional Climate Model (CRCM5), fully coupled to a 1D lake model (FLake). Seasonal temperatures and annual energy budget were generally well reproduced by the model, except in spring when a cold bias, probably related to the overestimation of snow cover, was seen. The difference in 2-m temperature shows that reservoirs induce localized warming in winter (+0.7 ± 0.02 °C) and cooling in the summer (-0.3 ± 0.02 °C). The available energy at the surface increases throughout the year, mostly due to a decrease in surface albedo. Fall latent and sensible heat fluxes are enhanced due to additional energy storage and availability in summer and spring. The changes in precipitation and runoff are within the model internal variability. At the watershed scale, reservoirs induce an additional evaporation of only 5.9 mm year-1 (2%). We use Brubaker's precipitation recycling model to estimate how much of the precipitation is recycled within the watershed. In both simulations, the maximal precipitation recycling occurs in July (less than 6%), indicating weak land-atmosphere coupling. Reservoirs do not seem to affect this coupling, as precipitation recycling only decreased by 0.6% in July.

Reservoir engineering assessment of Dubti geothermal field, Northern Tendaho Rift, Ethiopia

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Battistelli, A.; Ferragina, C. [Aquater S.p.A. (ENI Group), San Lorenzo in Campo (Italy); Yiheyis, A.; Abatneh, W. [Ethiopian Institute of Geological Surveys, Addis Ababa (Ethiopia); Calore, C. [International Institute for Geothermal Research, Pisa (Italy)

2002-06-01

Following on from surface exploration surveys performed during the 1970s and early 1980s, exploration drilling was carried out in the Tendaho Rift, in Central Afar (Ethiopia), from October 1993 to June 1995. Three deep and one shallow well were drilled in the central part of the Northern Tendaho Rift to verify the existence of a geothermal reservoir and its possible utilisation for electric power generation. The project was jointly financed by the Ethiopian Ministry of Mines and Energy and the Italian Ministry for Foreign Affairs. Project activities were performed by the Ethiopian Institute of Geological Surveys and Aquater SpA. The main reservoir engineering data discussed in this paper were collected during drilling and testing of the above four wells, three of which are located inside the Dubti Cotton Plantation, in which a promising hydrothermal area was identified by surface exploration surveys. Drilling confirmed the existence of a liquid-dominated shallow reservoir inside the Dubti Plantation, characterised by a boiling -point-for-depth temperature distribution down to about 500 m depth. The main permeable zones in the Sedimentary Sequence, which is made up of lacustrine deposits, are located in correspondence to basalt lava flow interlayerings, or at the contact between volcanic and sedimentary rocks. At depth, the basaltic lava flows that characterise the Afar Stratoid Series seem to have low permeability, with the exception of fractured zones associated with sub-vertical faults. Two different upflows of geothermal fluids have been inferred: one flow connected to the Dubti fault feeds the shallow reservoir crossed by wells TD-2 and TD-4, where a maximum temperature of 245{sup o}C was recorded; the second flow seems to be connected with a fault located east of well TD-1, where the maximum recorded temperature was 270{sup o}C. A schematic conceptual model of the Dubti hydrothermal area, as derived from reservoir engineering studies integrated with geological

Simulation study of the VAPEX process in fractured heavy oil system at reservoir conditions

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Azin, Reza; Ghotbi, Cyrus [Department of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering, Sharif Univ. Tech., Tehran (Iran); Kharrat, Riyaz; Rostami, Behzad [Petroleum University of Technology Research Center, Tehran (Iran); Vossoughi, Shapour [4132C Learned Hall, Department of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering, Kansas University, Lawrence, KS (United States)

2008-01-15

The Vapor Extraction (VAPEX) process, a newly developed Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR) process to recover heavy oil and bitumen, has been studied theoretically and experimentally and is found a promising EOR method for certain heavy oil reservoirs. In this work, a simulation study of the VAPEX process was made on a fractured model, which consists of a matrix surrounded by horizontal and vertical fractures. The results show a very interesting difference in the pattern of solvent flow in fractured model compared with the conventional model. Also, in the fractured system, due to differences in matrix and fracture permeabilities, the solvent first spreads through the fractures and then starts diffusing into matrix from all parts of the matrix. Thus, the solvent surrounds the oil bank, and an oil rather than the solvent chamber forms and shrinks as the process proceeds. In addition, the recovery factor is higher at lower solvent injection rates for a constant pore volume of the solvent injected into the model. Also, the diffusion process becomes important and higher recoveries are obtained at low injection rates, provided sufficient time is given to the process. The effect of inter-connectivity of the surrounding fractures was studied by making the side vertical fractures shorter than the side length of the model. It was observed that inter-connectivity of the fractures affects the pattern of solvent distribution. Even for the case of side fractures being far apart from the bottom fracture, the solvent distribution in the matrix was significantly different than that in the model without fractures. Combination of diffusion phenomenon and gravity segregation was observed to be controlling factors in all VAPEX processes simulated in fractured systems. The early breakthrough of the solvent for the case of matrix surrounded by the fracture partially inhibited diffusion of the solvent into the oil and consequently the VAPEX process became the least effective. It is concluded

Reviving Abandoned Reservoirs with High-Pressure Air Injection: Application in a Fractured and Karsted Dolomite Reservoir

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Robert Loucks; Stephen C. Ruppel; Dembla Dhiraj; Julia Gale; Jon Holder; Jeff Kane; Jon Olson; John A. Jackson; Katherine G. Jackson

2006-09-30

Engineering (both at The University of Texas at Austin) to define the controls on fluid flow in the reservoir as a basis for developing a reservoir model. The successful development of HPAI technology has tremendous potential for increasing the flow of oil from deep carbonate reservoirs in the Permian Basin, a target resource that can be conservatively estimated at more than 1.5 billion barrels. Successful implementation in the field chosen for demonstration, for example, could result in the recovery of more than 34 million barrels of oil that will not otherwise be produced. Geological and petrophysical analysis of available data at Barnhart field reveals the following important observations: (1) the Barnhart Ellenburger reservoir is similar to most other Ellenburger reservoirs in terms of depositional facies, diagenesis, and petrophysical attributes; (2) the reservoir is characterized by low to moderate matrix porosity much like most other Ellenburger reservoirs in the Permian Basin; (3) karst processes (cave formation, infill, and collapse) have substantially altered stratigraphic architecture and reservoir properties; (4) porosity and permeability increase with depth and may be associated with the degree of karst-related diagenesis; (5) tectonic fractures overprint the reservoir, improving overall connectivity; (6) oil-saturation profiles show that the oil-water contact (OWC) is as much as 125 ft lower than previous estimations; (7) production history and trends suggest that this reservoir is very similar to other solution-gas-drive reservoirs in the Permian Basin; and (8) reservoir simulation study showed that the Barnhart reservoir is a good candidate for HPAI and that application of horizontal-well technology can improve ultimate resource recovery from the reservoir.

Gas coning control for smart wells using a dynamic coupled well-reservoir simulator

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Leemhuis, A.P.; Nennie, E.D.; Belfroid, S.P.C.; Alberts, G.J.N.; Peters, E.; Joosten, G.J.P.

2008-01-01

A strong increase in gas inflow due to gas coning and the resulting bean-back because of Gas to Oil Ratio (GOR) constraints can severely limit oil production and reservoir drive energy. In this paper we will use a coupled reservoir-well model to demonstrate that oil production can be increased by

A review on hydraulic fracturing of unconventional reservoir

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Quanshu Li

2015-03-01

Full Text Available Hydraulic fracturing is widely accepted and applied to improve the gas recovery in unconventional reservoirs. Unconventional reservoirs to be addressed here are with very low permeability, complicated geological settings and in-situ stress field etc. All of these make the hydraulic fracturing process a challenging task. In order to effectively and economically recover gas from such reservoirs, the initiation and propagation of hydraulic fracturing in the heterogeneous fractured/porous media under such complicated conditions should be mastered. In this paper, some issues related to hydraulic fracturing have been reviewed, including the experimental study, field study and numerical simulation. Finally the existing problems that need to be solved on the subject of hydraulic fracturing have been proposed.

PDVSA Petrolera Sinovensa reservoir engineering project and optimization study

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Campos, O. [PDVSA Petroleos de Venezuela SA, Caracas (Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of). Petrolera Sinovensa; Patino, J. [Kizer Energy Inc., Katy, TX (United States); Chalifoux, G.V. [Petrospec Engineering Ltd., Edmonton, AB (Canada)

2009-07-01

This paper presented a development plan for an extra-heavy oil field in Venezuela's Orinoco belt involving cold heavy oil production (CHOP) as well as a thermal follow-up process to increase the ultimate recovery factor. A reservoir simulation model was used to model various reservoir formations in order to assess their oil recovery potential. Several thermal recovery processes were considered, such as steam assisted gravity drainage (SAGD), horizontal alternate steam drive (HASD), cyclic steam stimulation (CSS), horizontal continuous steam drive, and combined drive drainage (CDD). A geological static model and dynamic reservoir model were coupled for the well optimization evaluation. Production data were used to identify trends related to specific geological conditions. The study also examined methods of improving slotted liner designs and evaluated the use of electric heating as a means of improving CHOP performance. Results of the study showed that CDD offered the highest recovery rates as a follow-up to CHOP. The CDD process allowed for the use of existing wells drilled in the field. New horizontal wells will be placed between the existing wells. It was concluded that a CDD pilot should be implemented in order to prepare for a commercial implementation plan. 8 refs., 2 tabs., 14 figs.

Numerical Simulation of Natural Gas Flow in Anisotropic Shale Reservoirs

KAUST Repository

Negara, Ardiansyah

2015-11-09

Shale gas resources have received great attention in the last decade due to the decline of the conventional gas resources. Unlike conventional gas reservoirs, the gas flow in shale formations involves complex processes with many mechanisms such as Knudsen diffusion, slip flow (Klinkenberg effect), gas adsorption and desorption, strong rock-fluid interaction, etc. Shale formations are characterized by the tiny porosity and extremely low-permeability such that the Darcy equation may no longer be valid. Therefore, the Darcy equation needs to be revised through the permeability factor by introducing the apparent permeability. With respect to the rock formations, several studies have shown the existence of anisotropy in shale reservoirs, which is an essential feature that has been established as a consequence of the different geological processes over long period of time. Anisotropy of hydraulic properties of subsurface rock formations plays a significant role in dictating the direction of fluid flow. The direction of fluid flow is not only dependent on the direction of pressure gradient, but it also depends on the principal directions of anisotropy. Therefore, it is very important to take into consideration anisotropy when modeling gas flow in shale reservoirs. In this work, the gas flow mechanisms as mentioned earlier together with anisotropy are incorporated into the dual-porosity dual-permeability model through the full-tensor apparent permeability. We employ the multipoint flux approximation (MPFA) method to handle the full-tensor apparent permeability. We combine MPFA method with the experimenting pressure field approach, i.e., a newly developed technique that enables us to solve the global problem by breaking it into a multitude of local problems. This approach generates a set of predefined pressure fields in the solution domain in such a way that the undetermined coefficients are calculated from these pressure fields. In other words, the matrix of coefficients

Numerical Simulation of Natural Gas Flow in Anisotropic Shale Reservoirs

KAUST Repository

Negara, Ardiansyah; Salama, Amgad; Sun, Shuyu; Elgassier, Mokhtar; Wu, Yu-Shu

2015-01-01

Shale gas resources have received great attention in the last decade due to the decline of the conventional gas resources. Unlike conventional gas reservoirs, the gas flow in shale formations involves complex processes with many mechanisms such as Knudsen diffusion, slip flow (Klinkenberg effect), gas adsorption and desorption, strong rock-fluid interaction, etc. Shale formations are characterized by the tiny porosity and extremely low-permeability such that the Darcy equation may no longer be valid. Therefore, the Darcy equation needs to be revised through the permeability factor by introducing the apparent permeability. With respect to the rock formations, several studies have shown the existence of anisotropy in shale reservoirs, which is an essential feature that has been established as a consequence of the different geological processes over long period of time. Anisotropy of hydraulic properties of subsurface rock formations plays a significant role in dictating the direction of fluid flow. The direction of fluid flow is not only dependent on the direction of pressure gradient, but it also depends on the principal directions of anisotropy. Therefore, it is very important to take into consideration anisotropy when modeling gas flow in shale reservoirs. In this work, the gas flow mechanisms as mentioned earlier together with anisotropy are incorporated into the dual-porosity dual-permeability model through the full-tensor apparent permeability. We employ the multipoint flux approximation (MPFA) method to handle the full-tensor apparent permeability. We combine MPFA method with the experimenting pressure field approach, i.e., a newly developed technique that enables us to solve the global problem by breaking it into a multitude of local problems. This approach generates a set of predefined pressure fields in the solution domain in such a way that the undetermined coefficients are calculated from these pressure fields. In other words, the matrix of coefficients

Geophysical monitoring in a hydrocarbon reservoir

Science.gov (United States)

Caffagni, Enrico; Bokelmann, Goetz

2016-04-01

Extraction of hydrocarbons from reservoirs demands ever-increasing technological effort, and there is need for geophysical monitoring to better understand phenomena occurring within the reservoir. Significant deformation processes happen when man-made stimulation is performed, in combination with effects deriving from the existing natural conditions such as stress regime in situ or pre-existing fracturing. Keeping track of such changes in the reservoir is important, on one hand for improving recovery of hydrocarbons, and on the other hand to assure a safe and proper mode of operation. Monitoring becomes particularly important when hydraulic-fracturing (HF) is used, especially in the form of the much-discussed "fracking". HF is a sophisticated technique that is widely applied in low-porosity geological formations to enhance the production of natural hydrocarbons. In principle, similar HF techniques have been applied in Europe for a long time in conventional reservoirs, and they will probably be intensified in the near future; this suggests an increasing demand in technological development, also for updating and adapting the existing monitoring techniques in applied geophysics. We review currently available geophysical techniques for reservoir monitoring, which appear in the different fields of analysis in reservoirs. First, the properties of the hydrocarbon reservoir are identified; here we consider geophysical monitoring exclusively. The second step is to define the quantities that can be monitored, associated to the properties. We then describe the geophysical monitoring techniques including the oldest ones, namely those in practical usage from 40-50 years ago, and the most recent developments in technology, within distinct groups, according to the application field of analysis in reservoir. This work is performed as part of the FracRisk consortium (www.fracrisk.eu); this project, funded by the Horizon2020 research programme, aims at helping minimize the

AUTOMATED TECHNIQUE FOR FLOW MEASUREMENTS FROM MARIOTTE RESERVOIRS.

Science.gov (United States)

Constantz, Jim; Murphy, Fred

1987-01-01

The mariotte reservoir supplies water at a constant hydraulic pressure by self-regulation of its internal gas pressure. Automated outflow measurements from mariotte reservoirs are generally difficult because of the reservoir's self-regulation mechanism. This paper describes an automated flow meter specifically designed for use with mariotte reservoirs. The flow meter monitors changes in the mariotte reservoir's gas pressure during outflow to determine changes in the reservoir's water level. The flow measurement is performed by attaching a pressure transducer to the top of a mariotte reservoir and monitoring gas pressure changes during outflow with a programmable data logger. The advantages of the new automated flow measurement techniques include: (i) the ability to rapidly record a large range of fluxes without restricting outflow, and (ii) the ability to accurately average the pulsing flow, which commonly occurs during outflow from the mariotte reservoir.

Intelligent control for modeling of real-time reservoir operation, part II: artificial neural network with operating rule curves

Science.gov (United States)

Chang, Ya-Ting; Chang, Li-Chiu; Chang, Fi-John

2005-04-01

To bridge the gap between academic research and actual operation, we propose an intelligent control system for reservoir operation. The methodology includes two major processes, the knowledge acquired and implemented, and the inference system. In this study, a genetic algorithm (GA) and a fuzzy rule base (FRB) are used to extract knowledge based on the historical inflow data with a design objective function and on the operating rule curves respectively. The adaptive network-based fuzzy inference system (ANFIS) is then used to implement the knowledge, to create the fuzzy inference system, and then to estimate the optimal reservoir operation. To investigate its applicability and practicability, the Shihmen reservoir, Taiwan, is used as a case study. For the purpose of comparison, a simulation of the currently used M-5 operating rule curve is also performed. The results demonstrate that (1) the GA is an efficient way to search the optimal input-output patterns, (2) the FRB can extract the knowledge from the operating rule curves, and (3) the ANFIS models built on different types of knowledge can produce much better performance than the traditional M-5 curves in real-time reservoir operation. Moreover, we show that the model can be more intelligent for reservoir operation if more information (or knowledge) is involved.

Incorporating teleconnection information into reservoir operating policies using Stochastic Dynamic Programming and a Hidden Markov Model

Science.gov (United States)

Turner, Sean; Galelli, Stefano; Wilcox, Karen

2015-04-01

Water reservoir systems are often affected by recurring large-scale ocean-atmospheric anomalies, known as teleconnections, that cause prolonged periods of climatological drought. Accurate forecasts of these events -- at lead times in the order of weeks and months -- may enable reservoir operators to take more effective release decisions to improve the performance of their systems. In practice this might mean a more reliable water supply system, a more profitable hydropower plant or a more sustainable environmental release policy. To this end, climate indices, which represent the oscillation of the ocean-atmospheric system, might be gainfully employed within reservoir operating models that adapt the reservoir operation as a function of the climate condition. This study develops a Stochastic Dynamic Programming (SDP) approach that can incorporate climate indices using a Hidden Markov Model. The model simulates the climatic regime as a hidden state following a Markov chain, with the state transitions driven by variation in climatic indices, such as the Southern Oscillation Index. Time series analysis of recorded streamflow data reveals the parameters of separate autoregressive models that describe the inflow to the reservoir under three representative climate states ("normal", "wet", "dry"). These models then define inflow transition probabilities for use in a classic SDP approach. The key advantage of the Hidden Markov Model is that it allows conditioning the operating policy not only on the reservoir storage and the antecedent inflow, but also on the climate condition, thus potentially allowing adaptability to a broader range of climate conditions. In practice, the reservoir operator would effect a water release tailored to a specific climate state based on available teleconnection data and forecasts. The approach is demonstrated on the operation of a realistic, stylised water reservoir with carry-over capacity in South-East Australia. Here teleconnections relating

Will building new reservoirs always help increase the water supply reliability? - insight from a modeling-based global study

Science.gov (United States)

Zhuang, Y.; Tian, F.; Yigzaw, W.; Hejazi, M. I.; Li, H. Y.; Turner, S. W. D.; Vernon, C. R.

2017-12-01

More and more reservoirs are being build or planned in order to help meet the increasing water demand all over the world. However, is building new reservoirs always helpful to water supply? To address this question, the river routing module of Global Change Assessment Model (GCAM) has been extended with a simple yet physical-based reservoir scheme accounting for irrigation, flood control and hydropower operations at each individual reservoir. The new GCAM river routing model has been applied over the global domain with the runoff inputs from the Variable Infiltration Capacity Model. The simulated streamflow is validated at 150 global river basins where the observed streamflow data are available. The model performance has been significantly improved at 77 basins and worsened at 35 basins. To facilitate the analysis of additional reservoir storage impacts at the basin level, a lumped version of GCAM reservoir model has been developed, representing a single lumped reservoir at each river basin which has the regulation capacity of all reservoir combined. A Sequent Peak Analysis is used to estimate how much additional reservoir storage is required to satisfy the current water demand. For basins with water deficit, the water supply reliability can be improved with additional storage. However, there is a threshold storage value at each basin beyond which the reliability stops increasing, suggesting that building new reservoirs will not help better relieve the water stress. Findings in the research can be helpful to the future planning and management of new reservoirs.

Assessing reservoir performance risk in CO{sub 2} storage projects

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bowden, A.R. [URS Corp., San Francisco, CA (United States); Rigg, A. [CRC for Greenhouse Gas Technologies, Canberra (Australia)

2005-07-01

One of the main issues for researchers involved with geological storage of carbon dioxide (CO{sub 2}) has been the development of a proper methodology to assess and compare alternative CO{sub 2} injection projects on the basis of risk. Consideration needs to be given to technical aspects, such as the risk of leakage and the effectiveness of the intended reservoir, as well as less tangible aspects such as the value and safety of geological storage of CO{sub 2}, and potential impacts on the community and environment. The Geological Disposal of Carbon Dioxide (GEODISC), was a research program of the Australian Petroleum Cooperative Research Centre which identified 56 potential environmentally sustainable sites for CO{sub 2} injection (ESSCIs) within Australia. Several studies were carried out, involving detailed evaluation of the suitability of 4 selected sites, including Dongara, Petrel, Gippsland and Carnarvon. The GEODISC program included a risk assessment research module which required a complete and quantified risk assessment of CO{sub 2} injection as a storage option. Primary goals were to assess the risk of leakage, to assess the effectiveness of the intended reservoir, and to assess negative consequences to facilitate comparison of alternative sites. This paper discussed the background and risk assessment model. Key performance indicators (KPIs) were also developed to address the purpose of risk assessment. It was concluded that the RISQUE method is an appropriate approach and that potential injection projects can be measured against six KPIs including containment; effectiveness; self-funding potential; wider community benefits; community safety and community amenity. 6 refs., 3 tabs., 3 figs.

Integrated Reservoir Modeling of CO2-EOR Performance and Storage Potential in the Farnsworth Field Unit, Texas.

Science.gov (United States)

Ampomah, W.; Balch, R. S.; Cather, M.; Dai, Z.

2017-12-01

We present a performance assessment methodology and storage potential for CO2 enhanced oil recovery (EOR) in partially depleted reservoirs. A three dimensional heterogeneous reservoir model was developed based on geological, geophysics and engineering data from Farnsworth field Unit (FWU). The model aided in improved characterization of prominent rock properties within the Pennsylvanian aged Morrow sandstone reservoir. Seismic attributes illuminated previously unknown faults and structural elements within the field. A laboratory fluid analysis was tuned to an equation of state and subsequently used to predict the thermodynamic minimum miscible pressure (MMP). Datasets including net-to-gross ratio, volume of shale, permeability, and burial history were used to model initial fault transmissibility based on Sperivick model. An improved history match of primary and secondary recovery was performed to set the basis for a CO2 flood study. The performance of the current CO2 miscible flood patterns was subsequently calibrated to historical production and injection data. Several prediction models were constructed to study the effect of recycling, addition of wells and /or new patterns, water alternating gas (WAG) cycles and optimum amount of CO2 purchase on incremental oil production and CO2 storage in the FWU. The history matching study successfully validated the presence of the previously undetected faults within FWU that were seen in the seismic survey. The analysis of the various prediction scenarios showed that recycling a high percentage of produced gas, addition of new wells and a gradual reduction in CO2 purchase after several years of operation would be the best approach to ensure a high percentage of recoverable incremental oil and sequestration of anthropogenic CO2 within the Morrow reservoir. Larger percentage of stored CO2 were dissolved in residual oil and less amount existed as supercritical free CO2. The geomechanical analysis on the caprock proved to an

Transport of Gas Phase Radionuclides in a Fractured, Low-Permeability Reservoir

Science.gov (United States)

Cooper, C. A.; Chapman, J.

2001-12-01

The U.S. Atomic Energy Commission (predecessor to the Department of Energy, DOE) oversaw a joint program between industry and government in the 1960s and 1970s to develop technology to enhance production from low-permeability gas reservoirs using nuclear stimulation rather than conventional means (e.g., hydraulic and/or acid fracturing). Project Rio Blanco, located in the Piceance Basin, Colorado, was the third experiment under the program. Three 30-kiloton nuclear explosives were placed in a 2134 m deep well at 1780, 1899, and 2039 m below the land surface and detonated in May 1973. Although the reservoir was extensively fractured, complications such as radionuclide contamination of the gas prevented production and subsequent development of the technology. Two-dimensional numerical simulations were conducted to identify the main transport processes that have occurred and are currently occurring in relation to the detonations, and to estimate the extent of contamination in the reservoir. Minor modifications were made to TOUGH2, the multiphase, multicomponent reservoir simulator developed at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratories. The simulator allows the explicit incorporation of fractures, as well as heat transport, phase change, and first order radionuclide decay. For a fractured two-phase (liquid and gas) reservoir, the largest velocities are of gases through the fractures. In the gas phase, tritium and one isotope of krypton are the principle radionuclides of concern. However, in addition to existing as a fast pathway, fractures also permit matrix diffusion as a retardation mechanism. Another retardation mechanism is radionuclide decay. Simulations show that incorporation of fractures can significantly alter transport rates, and that radionuclides in the gas phase can preferentially migrate upward due to the downward gravity drainage of liquid water in the pores. This project was funded by the National Nuclear Security Administration, Nevada Operations Office

Simulating cold production by a coupled reservoir-geomechanics model with sand erosion

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wang, Y.; Xue, S. [Petro-Geotech Inc., Calgary, AB (Canada)

2002-06-01

This paper presents a newly developed fully coupled reservoir-geomechanics model with sand erosion. Sand production occurs during aggressive production induced by the impact of viscous fluid flow and the in situ stress concentration near a wellbore, as well as by perforation tips in poorly consolidated formations. This compromises oil production, increases well completion costs, and reduces the life cycles of equipment down hole and on the surface. The proposed model can be used for sand production studies in conventional oil/gas reservoirs such as the North Sea as well as in heavy oil reservoirs such as in northwestern Canada. Instead of generating a high permeability network in reservoirs, the enhanced oil production is determined by the increase in the effective wellbore radius. This paper presents the general model. A detailed study on the capillary pressure and the impact of multiphase flow on sanding and erosion will be conducted at a later date. It appears that 2 phase flow can be important to elastoplasticity if no significant sand erosion has occurred. It was determined that high porosity is induced by erosion and capillary pressure. Two phase flow can be important when the built-up drag force carries sand-fluid slurry into the well. It is concluded that viscosity and flow velocity can help estimate the slurry transport, sand rate and enhanced oil production. 22 refs., 3 tabs., 11 figs.

Reservoir Cathode for Electric Space Propulsion, Phase II

Data.gov (United States)

National Aeronautics and Space Administration — We propose a hollow reservoir cathode to improve performance in ion and Hall thrusters. We will adapt our existing reservoir cathode technology to this purpose....

A priori data-driven multi-clustered reservoir generation algorithm for echo state network.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Xiumin Li

Full Text Available Echo state networks (ESNs with multi-clustered reservoir topology perform better in reservoir computing and robustness than those with random reservoir topology. However, these ESNs have a complex reservoir topology, which leads to difficulties in reservoir generation. This study focuses on the reservoir generation problem when ESN is used in environments with sufficient priori data available. Accordingly, a priori data-driven multi-cluster reservoir generation algorithm is proposed. The priori data in the proposed algorithm are used to evaluate reservoirs by calculating the precision and standard deviation of ESNs. The reservoirs are produced using the clustering method; only the reservoir with a better evaluation performance takes the place of a previous one. The final reservoir is obtained when its evaluation score reaches the preset requirement. The prediction experiment results obtained using the Mackey-Glass chaotic time series show that the proposed reservoir generation algorithm provides ESNs with extra prediction precision and increases the structure complexity of the network. Further experiments also reveal the appropriate values of the number of clusters and time window size to obtain optimal performance. The information entropy of the reservoir reaches the maximum when ESN gains the greatest precision.

New approaches to screening infrastructure investments in multi-reservoir systems- Evaluating proposed dams in Ethiopia and Kenya

Science.gov (United States)

Harou, J. J.; Geressu, R. T.; Hurford, A. P.

2014-12-01

Two approaches have been used traditionally to screen infrastructure investments in multi-reservoir systems: scenario analysis of a few simulated designs and deterministic optimization, sometimes using hydro-economic models or screening optimization models. Simulation models realistically represent proposed water systems and can easily include multiple performance metrics; however each prospective system operating rules need to be formulated and simulated for each proposed design (time consuming. Optimization models have been used to overcome this burden. Screening optimization models use integer or non-linear programming and can be challenging to apply to large and/or multi-objective systems. Hydro-economic models that use deterministic (implicit stochastic) optimization must be modified to examine each different plan and they cannot always reproduce realistic or politically acceptable system operations. In this presentation we demonstrate the application of a new screening approach to multi-reservoir systems where operating rules and new assets (dams) are simultaneously optimized in a multi-criteria context. Results are not least cost investment plans that satisfy reliability or other engineering constraints, but rather Pareto-optimal sets of asset portfolios that work well under historical and/or future scenarios. This is achieved by using stakeholder-built simulation models linked to multi-criteria search algorithms (e.g. many objective evolutionary algorithms, MOEA). Typical output is demonstrated through two case-studies on the Tana and Blue Nile rivers where operating rules and reservoir assets are efficiently screened together considering stakeholder-defined metrics. The focus on the Tana system is how reservoir operating rules and new irrigation schemes should be co-managed to limit ecological damages. On the Nile system, we identify Blue Nile river reservoir capacities that least negatively impact downstream Nile nations. Limitations and new directions of

Well pressure and rate history match in numerical reservoir simulator in Santos Basin gas wells; Ajuste automatizado de testes de formacao e de producao no simulador numerico de reservatorios de pocos de gas na Bacia de Santos

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Xavier, Alexandre Monticuco [Petroleo Brasileiro, S.A. (PETROBRAS), Rio de Janeiro, RJ (Brazil)

2012-07-01

This paper describes a methodology and shows some results from an automated adjust of the numerical reservoir simulation model accomplished during Drill Steam Test (DST - before the completion of the well) and a Production Test (PT - after completion of the well) in a gas field HPHT (High Pressure High Temperature) horizontal well in Santos Basin. The achievement of these tests in the numerical reservoir simulator is very useful in the characterization of reservoir properties in different areas of reservoir, mainly in regions without data from basic petrophysics (cores and sidewall cores). The adjust of the drill steam test and production test can support the characterization of the test drainage area and forecast the well potential before and after the well completion including these effects in the simulation model. These effects can show a reasonable reduction in production of this well, confirming the importance of these data inside of the simulation model. Between the period of the drill steam test and production test, the well was temporarily abandoned with drilling fluid providing a reduction in their potential. The results of these adjusts respect the bottom hole pressures and observed gas rates showing the consistency of the analysis. The achievement of these tests provides adjust of many reservoir properties: horizontal and vertical permeabilities (during the DST) and the well effective length and skin (during the PT). These tools demonstrate to be relevant and robust to achieve these adjusts and easy application considering lots of variables. The parallel processing had a substantial functions in this job, because the large number of simulation made. (author)

Fractured reservoir history matching improved based on artificial intelligent

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sayyed Hadi Riazi

2016-12-01

Full Text Available In this paper, a new robust approach based on Least Square Support Vector Machine (LSSVM as a proxy model is used for an automatic fractured reservoir history matching. The proxy model is made to model the history match objective function (mismatch values based on the history data of the field. This model is then used to minimize the objective function through Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO and Imperialist Competitive Algorithm (ICA. In automatic history matching, sensitive analysis is often performed on full simulation model. In this work, to get new range of the uncertain parameters (matching parameters in which the objective function has a minimum value, sensitivity analysis is also performed on the proxy model. By applying the modified ranges to the optimization methods, optimization of the objective function will be faster and outputs of the optimization methods (matching parameters are produced in less time and with high precision. This procedure leads to matching of history of the field in which a set of reservoir parameters is used. The final sets of parameters are then applied for the full simulation model to validate the technique. The obtained results show that the present procedure in this work is effective for history matching process due to its robust dependability and fast convergence speed. Due to high speed and need for small data sets, LSSVM is the best tool to build a proxy model. Also the comparison of PSO and ICA shows that PSO is less time-consuming and more effective.

The architecture of dynamic reservoir in the echo state network

Science.gov (United States)

Cui, Hongyan; Liu, Xiang; Li, Lixiang

2012-09-01

Echo state network (ESN) has recently attracted increasing interests because of its superior capability in modeling nonlinear dynamic systems. In the conventional echo state network model, its dynamic reservoir (DR) has a random and sparse topology, which is far from the real biological neural networks from both structural and functional perspectives. We hereby propose three novel types of echo state networks with new dynamic reservoir topologies based on complex network theory, i.e., with a small-world topology, a scale-free topology, and a mixture of small-world and scale-free topologies, respectively. We then analyze the relationship between the dynamic reservoir structure and its prediction capability. We utilize two commonly used time series to evaluate the prediction performance of the three proposed echo state networks and compare them to the conventional model. We also use independent and identically distributed time series to analyze the short-term memory and prediction precision of these echo state networks. Furthermore, we study the ratio of scale-free topology and the small-world topology in the mixed-topology network, and examine its influence on the performance of the echo state networks. Our simulation results show that the proposed echo state network models have better prediction capabilities, a wider spectral radius, but retain almost the same short-term memory capacity as compared to the conventional echo state network model. We also find that the smaller the ratio of the scale-free topology over the small-world topology, the better the memory capacities.

Cesium reservoir and interconnective components

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1994-03-01

The program objective is to demonstrate the technology readiness of a TFE (thermionic fuel element) suitable for use as the basic element in a thermionic reactor with electric power output in the 0.5 to 5.0 MW range. A thermionic converter must be supplied with cesium vapor for two reasons. Cesium atoms adsorbed on the surface of the emitter cause a reduction of the emitter work function to permit high current densities without excessive heating of the emitter. The second purpose of the cesium vapor is to provide space-charge neutralization in the emitter-collector gap so that the high current densities may flow across the gap unattenuated. The function of the cesium reservoir is to provide a source of cesium atoms, and to provide a reserve in the event that cesium is lost from the plasma by any mechanism. This can be done with a liquid cesium metal reservoir in which case it is heated to the desired temperature with auxiliary heaters. In a TFE, however, it is desirable to have the reservoir passively heated by the nuclear fuel. In this case, the reservoir must operate at a temperature intermediate between the emitter and the collector, ruling out the use of liquid reservoirs. Integral reservoirs contained within the TFE will produce cesium vapor pressures in the desired range at typical electrode temperatures. The reservoir material that appears to be the best able to meet requirements is graphite. Cesium intercalates easily into graphite, and the cesium pressure is insensitive to loading for a given intercalation stage. The goals of the cesium reservoir test program were to verify the performance of Cs-graphite reservoirs in the temperature-pressure range of interest to TFE operation, and to test the operation of these reservoirs after exposure to a fast neutron fluence corresponding to seven year mission lifetime. In addition, other materials were evaluated for possible use in the integral reservoir

Computerized X-ray Microtomography Observations and Fluid Flow Measurements of the Effect of Effective Stress on Fractured Reservoir Seal Shale

Science.gov (United States)

Welch, N.; Crawshaw, J.; Boek, E.

2014-12-01

The successful storage of carbon dioxide in geologic formations requires an in-depth understanding of all reservoir characteristics and morphologies. An intact and substantial seal formation above a storage reservoir is required for a significant portion of the initial sealing mechanisms believed to occur during carbon dioxide storage operations. Shales are a common seal formation rock types found above numerous hydrocarbon reservoirs, as well as potential saline aquifer storage locations. Shales commonly have very low permeability, however they also have the tendency to be quite fissile, and the formation of fractures within these seals can have a significant detrimental effect on the sealing potential of a reservoir and amount to large areas of high permeability and low capillary pressures compared to the surrounding intact rock. Fractured shales also have an increased current interest due to the increasing development of shale gas reservoirs using hydraulic fracturing techniques. This work shows the observed changes that occur within fractured pieces of reservoir seal shale samples, along with quarry analogues, using an in-situ micro-CT fluid flow imaging apparatus with a Hassler type core holder. Changes within the preferential flow path under different stress regimes as well as physical changes to the fracture geometry are reported. Lattice Boltzmann flow simulations were then performed on the extracted flow paths and compared to experiment permeability measurements. The preferential flow path of carbon dioxide through the fracture network is also observed and compared to the results two-phase Lattice Boltzmann fluid flow simulations.

Simulation of complex fracture networks influenced by natural fractures in shale gas reservoir

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zhao Jinzhou

2014-10-01

Full Text Available When hydraulic fractures intersect with natural fractures, the geometry and complexity of a fracture network are determined by the initiation and propagation pattern which is affected by a number of factors. Based on the fracture mechanics, the criterion for initiation and propagation of a fracture was introduced to analyze the tendency of a propagating angle and factors affecting propagating pressure. On this basis, a mathematic model with a complex fracture network was established to investigate how the fracture network form changes with different parameters, including rock mechanics, in-situ stress distribution, fracture properties, and frac treatment parameters. The solving process of this model was accelerated by classifying the calculation nodes on the extending direction of the fracture by equal pressure gradients, and solving the geometrical parameters prior to the iteration fitting flow distribution. With the initiation and propagation criterion as the bases for the propagation of branch fractures, this method decreased the iteration times through eliminating the fitting of the fracture length in conventional 3D fracture simulation. The simulation results indicated that the formation with abundant natural fractures and smaller in-situ stress difference is sufficient conditions for fracture network development. If the pressure in the hydraulic fractures can be kept at a high level by temporary sealing or diversion, the branch fractures will propagate further with minor curvature radius, thus enlarging the reservoir stimulation area. The simulated shape of fracture network can be well matched with the field microseismic mapping in data point range and distribution density, validating the accuracy of this model.

The influence of reservoir heterogeneities on geothermal doublet performance

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Doddema, Leon

2012-01-01

SUMMARY The current main problem with deep geothermal energy in the Netherlands is the uncertainty in terms of attainable flow rate and life time. The goal of this research is therefore modeling a geothermal doublet in a heterogeneous reservoir, using a

Artificial Neural Network Model for Alkali-Surfactant-Polymer Flooding in Viscous Oil Reservoirs: Generation and Application

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Si Le Van

2016-12-01

Full Text Available Chemical flooding has been widely utilized to recover a large portion of the oil remaining in light and viscous oil reservoirs after the primary and secondary production processes. As core-flood tests and reservoir simulations take time to accurately estimate the recovery performances as well as analyzing the feasibility of an injection project, it is necessary to find a powerful tool to quickly predict the results with a level of acceptable accuracy. An approach involving the use of an artificial neural network to generate a representative model for estimating the alkali-surfactant-polymer flooding performance and evaluating the economic feasibility of viscous oil reservoirs from simulation is proposed in this study. A typical chemical flooding project was referenced for this numerical study. A number of simulations have been made for training on the basis of a base case from the design of 13 parameters. After training, the network scheme generated from a ratio data set of 50%-20%-30% corresponding to the number of samples used for training-validation-testing was selected for estimation with the total coefficient of determination of 0.986 and a root mean square error of 1.63%. In terms of model application, the chemical concentration and injection strategy were optimized to maximize the net present value (NPV of the project at a specific oil price from the just created ANN model. To evaluate the feasibility of the project comprehensively in terms of market variations, a range of oil prices from 30 $/bbl to 60 $/bbl referenced from a real market situation was considered in conjunction with its probability following a statistical distribution on the NPV computation. Feasibility analysis of the optimal chemical injection scheme revealed a variation of profit from 0.42 $MM to 1.0 $MM, corresponding to the changes in oil price. In particular, at the highest possible oil prices, the project can earn approximately 0.61 $MM to 0.87 $MM for a quarter

CO2 interfacial properties: application to multiphase flow at reservoir conditions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chalbaud, C.

2007-07-01

In this work we deal with the interfacial properties of CO 2 at reservoir conditions with a special interest on deep saline aquifers. Each chapter of this dissertation represents a different physical scale studied with different experimental devices and simulation tools. The results obtained in the first part of this study represent a complete data set of brine-CO 2 interfacial tension at reservoir conditions. A semi-analytical equation is proposed in order to facilitate the work of reservoir engineers. The second deals with the interfacial properties at the pore scale using glass micro-models at different wettability conditions. This part shows the wetting behavior of CO 2 on hydrophobic or oil-wet solid surfaces. A pore network model was used for the interpretation and exploitation of these results. The third part corresponds to two different experimental approaches at the core scale at different wettability conditions associated to a modelling at flue Darcy scale. This part is a significant contribution to the validation of COORES compositional reservoir simulator developed by IFP. It has also allow us to estimate multiphase properties, Pc and kr, for brine-CO 2 systems at reservoir conditions. This study presents the necessary scales to model CO 2 storage in deep saline aquifers. (author)

Performance of the Taber South polymer flood

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Shaw, R A; Stright, Jr, D H

1975-01-01

A polymer flood was initiated in the Taber South Manville B Pool in Feb. 1967. The reservoir, which contains a viscous, highly undersaturated crude oil with no bottom water was depleted to the bubble-point pressure of 400 psig prior to polymer flooding. A 20% hydrocarbon pore volume slug of polyacrylamide (Pusher 700) was injected at the center of this long, narrow Lower Cretaceous sandstone reservoir. In early 1972, injection was converted to plain water by gradually reducing polymer concentration. The reservoir was studied with numerical reservoir simulation models in an attempt to evaluate the polymer flood performance. Additional laboratory work was initiated to evaluate polymer quality and to investigate wettability. The study results are presented.

Estimation of oil reservoir thermal properties through temperature log data using inversion method

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cheng, Wen-Long; Nian, Yong-Le; Li, Tong-Tong; Wang, Chang-Long

2013-01-01

Oil reservoir thermal properties not only play an important role in steam injection well heat transfer, but also are the basic parameters for evaluating the oil saturation in reservoir. In this study, for estimating reservoir thermal properties, a novel heat and mass transfer model of steam injection well was established at first, this model made full analysis on the wellbore-reservoir heat and mass transfer as well as the wellbore-formation, and the simulated results by the model were quite consistent with the log data. Then this study presented an effective inversion method for estimating the reservoir thermal properties through temperature log data. This method is based on the heat transfer model in steam injection wells, and can be used to predict the thermal properties as a stochastic approximation method. The inversion method was applied to estimate the reservoir thermal properties of two steam injection wells, it was found that the relative error of thermal conductivity for the two wells were 2.9% and 6.5%, and the relative error of volumetric specific heat capacity were 6.7% and 7.0%,which demonstrated the feasibility of the proposed method for estimating the reservoir thermal properties. - Highlights: • An effective inversion method for predicting the oil reservoir thermal properties was presented. • A novel model for steam injection well made full study on the wellbore-reservoir heat and mass transfer. • The wellbore temperature field and steam parameters can be simulated by the model efficiently. • Both reservoirs and formation thermal properties could be estimated simultaneously by the proposed method. • The estimated steam temperature was quite consistent with the field data

Laboratory and simulation approach to the polymer EOR evaluation in German reservoir characteristics

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zheng, S.; Hincapie-Reina, R.; Ganzer, L. [Technische Univ. Clausthal, Clausthal-Zellerfeld (Germany). ITE

2013-08-01

Nowadays, polymer flooding is widely used as it enhances oil recovery. As polymer has relatively higher viscosity than water, which leads to better mobility ratio compared to it, and thus better sweep efficiency. However, this technique is limited by some factors. As normal polymers are not tolerant to high temperature or salinity or hardness, which lead to lose of most their viscosity, and thus lost their function in enhanced oil recovery. Therefore, new polymers which are resistant to high temperature, high salinity or other factors which may happen in the reservoir should be employed. In that direction, the present work focus in characterize two different polymers, Flopaam AN 125 and ZLPAM 22051, how they would be influenced by polymer concentration, salinity, shear rate and temperature, and to predict how they would work in the reservoir. A synthetic brine from a German reservoir (Valendis, Suderbruch Field) is used to analyze the polymer. In many different previous experiments is observed the divalent and monovalent effect of salt in polymers was carried out. Rheology characterization was done under the reservoir conditions to get the best approximation related to concentration, shear rate and temperature effect; filtration ratio and filterability plot are used as a quality check for the solutions. Finally, all the data is used into the Polymer Flood Predictive Model (PFPM), to figure out how polymer acted in German typical reservoir conditions, and the specific incremental in oil recovery and effect due the possible polymer application, which might provide information for future polymer flooding application decisions. (orig.)

Investigating the effects of rock porosity and permeability on the performance of nitrogen injection into a southern Iranian oil reservoirs through neural network

Science.gov (United States)

Gheshmi, M. S.; Fatahiyan, S. M.; Khanesary, N. T.; Sia, C. W.; Momeni, M. S.

2018-03-01

In this work, a comprehensive model for Nitrogen injection into an oil reservoir (southern Iranian oil fields) was developed and used to investigate the effects of rock porosity and permeability on the oil production rate and the reservoir pressure decline. The model was simulated and developed by using ECLIPSE300 software, which involved two scenarios as porosity change and permeability changes in the horizontal direction. We found that the maximum pressure loss occurs at a porosity value of 0.07, which later on, goes to pressure buildup due to reservoir saturation with the gas. Also we found that minimum pressure loss is encountered at porosity 0.46. Increases in both pressure and permeability in the horizontal direction result in corresponding increase in the production rate, and the pressure drop speeds up at the beginning of production as it increases. However, afterwards, this pressure drop results in an increase in pressure because of reservoir saturation. Besides, we determined the regression values, R, for the correlation between pressure and total production, as well as for the correlation between permeability and the total production, using neural network discipline.

A comparative study of gas-gas miscibility processes in underground gas storage reservoirs

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Rafiee, M.M.; Schmitz, S. [DBI - Gastechnologisches Institut gGmbH, Freiberg (Germany)

2013-08-01

Intermixture of gases in underground gas reservoirs have had great weight for natural gas storage in UGS projects with substitution of cushion gas by inert gases or changing the stored gas quality or origin, as for the replacement of town gas by natural gas. It was also investigated during the last years for Enhanced Gas Recovery (EGR) and Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) projects. The actual importance of its mechanisms is discussed for the H{sub 2} storage in Power to Gas to Power projects (PGP). In these approaches miscibility of the injected gas with the gas in place in the reservoir plays an important role in the displacement process. The conditions and parameters for the gas-gas displacement and mixing have been investigated in previous projects, as e.g. the miscibility of CO{sub 2} with natural gas (CLEAN). Furthermore the miscibility process of town gas with natural gas and sauer gas with sweet gas were also previously measured and compared in laboratory. The objective of this work is to investigate the miscibility of H{sub 2} injection into natural gas reservoirs using a compositional and a black oil reservoir simulator. Three processes of convection, dispersion and diffusion are considered precisely. The effect of gas miscibility is studied for both simulators and the results are compared to find optimum miscibility parameters. The findings of this work could be helpful for further pilot and field case studies to predict and monitor the changes in gas composition and quality. In future this monitoring might become more important when PGP together with H{sub 2}-UGS, as storage technology, will help to successfully implement the change to an energy supply from more renewable sources. Similarly the method confirms the use of the black oil simulator as an alternative for gas-gas displacement and sequestration reservoir simulation in comparison to the compositional simulator. (orig.)

Application of Advanced Reservoir Characterization, Simulation, and Production Optimization Strategies to Maximize Recovery in Slope and Basin Clastic Reservoirs, West Texas (Delaware Basin)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Dutton, S.P.; Flanders, W.A.; Guzman, J.I.; Zirczy, H.

1999-06-08

The objective of this Class III project is to demonstrate that detailed reservoir characterization of slope and basin clastic reservoirs in sandstones of the Delaware Mountain Group in the Delaware Basin of West Texas and New Mexico is a cost-effective way to recover a higher percentage of the original oil in place through geologically based field development. This year the project focused on reservoir characterization of the East Ford unit, a representative Delaware Mountain Group field that produces from the upper Bell Canyon Formation (Ramsey Sandstone). The field, discovered in 1960, is operated by Orla Petco, Inc., as the East Ford unit; it contained an estimated 19.8 million barrels (MMbbl) of original oil in place. Petrophysical characterization of the East Ford unit was accomplished by integrating core and log data and quantifying petrophysical properties from wireline logs. Most methods of petrophysical analysis that had been developed during an earlier study of the Ford Geraldine unit were successfully transferred to the East Ford unit. The approach that was used to interpret water saturation from resistivity logs, however, had to be modified because in some East Ford wells the log-calculated water saturation was too high and inconsistent with observations made during the actual production. Log-porosity to core-porosity transforms and core-porosity to core-permeability transforms were derived from the East Ford reservoir. The petrophysical data were used to map porosity, permeability, net pay, water saturation, mobil-oil saturation, and other reservoir properties.

Overtopping of Rubble Mound Breakwaters with Front Reservoir

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Burcharth, Hans F.; Andersen, Thomas Lykke

2007-01-01

The design and performance of breakwaters with front reservoir are discussed on the basis of physical 2-D model tests with a number of cross sections, in which vertopping discharge and spatial distribution, wave forces on inner parapet walls, and stability of reservoir armour were studied....... The sensitivity of these quantities to the width of the reservoir is discussed. It is demonstrated that front reservoir solutions are more economical than conventional cross section solutions, such as bermed structures and mild slope structures, in cases where low crests and small overtopping discharges...

Fractured reservoir discrete feature network technologies. Final report, March 7, 1996 to September 30, 1998

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Dershowitz, William S.; Einstein, Herbert H.; LaPoint, Paul R.; Eiben, Thorsten; Wadleigh, Eugene; Ivanova, Violeta

1998-12-01

This report summarizes research conducted for the Fractured Reservoir Discrete Feature Network Technologies Project. The five areas studied are development of hierarchical fracture models; fractured reservoir compartmentalization, block size, and tributary volume analysis; development and demonstration of fractured reservoir discrete feature data analysis tools; development of tools for data integration and reservoir simulation through application of discrete feature network technologies for tertiary oil production; quantitative evaluation of the economic value of this analysis approach.

Optimization In Searching Daily Rule Curve At Mosul Regulating Reservoir, North Iraq Using Genetic Algorithms

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Thair M. Al-Taiee

2013-05-01

Full Text Available To obtain optimal operating rules for storage reservoirs, large numbers of simulation and optimization models have been developed over the past several decades, which vary significantly in their mechanisms and applications. Rule curves are guidelines for long term reservoir operation. An efficient technique is required to find the optimal rule curves that can mitigate water shortage in long term operation. The investigation of developed Genetic Algorithm (GA technique, which is an optimization approach base on the mechanics of natural selection, derived from the theory of natural evolution, was carried out to through the application to predict the daily rule curve of  Mosul regulating reservoir in Iraq.  Record daily inflows, outflow, water level in the reservoir for 19 year (1986-1990 and (1994-2007 were used in the developed model for assessing the optimal reservoir operation. The objective function is set to minimize the annual sum of squared deviation from the desired downstream release and desired storage volume in the reservoir. The decision variables are releases, storage volume, water level and outlet (demand from the reservoir. The results of the GA model gave a good agreement during the comparison with the actual rule curve and the designed rating curve of the reservoir. The simulated result shows that GA-derived policies are promising and competitive and can be effectively used for daily reservoir operation in addition to the rational monthly operation and predicting also rating curve of reservoirs.

Impact of solution gas on SAGD performance

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Das, Swapan K. [Marathon Oil Corporation (United States)

2011-07-01

In the Athabasca region of Canada, steam assisted gravity drainage (SAGD) is used as a means to enhance oil recovery in the highly viscous oil reservoirs. During steam injection, the solution gas evolves from oil phase as a non-condensable gas. Researchers assessed through simulations that non-condensable gas has a significant negative effect on SAGD performance although field operations might show a less severe effect. This research aimed at finding the reason for the difference between simulation and field results. Simulations were conducted in homogeneous and heterogeneous models with properties from a typical Athabasca reservoir. Results showed that the solubility of gas in the liquids has to be correctly taken into account, otherwise simulation models will overestimate the gas accumulation. This paper looked into the behavior of methane gas in simulation and field operations and highlighted the reasons for the discrepancies between their results.

Multigrid methods for fully implicit oil reservoir simulation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Molenaar, J.

1995-12-31

In this paper, the authors consider the simultaneous flow of oil and water in reservoir rock. This displacement process is modeled by two basic equations the material balance or continuity equations, and the equation of motion (Darcy`s law). For the numerical solution of this system of nonlinear partial differential equations, there are two approaches: the fully implicit or simultaneous solution method, and the sequential solution method. In this paper, the authors consider the possibility of applying multigrid methods for the iterative solution of the systems of nonlinear equations.