Method and system for creating history matched simulation models

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9703006-B2
Application number	US-201013513816-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Nov 15, 2010
Priority date	Feb 12, 2010
Publication date	Jul 11, 2017
Grant date	Jul 11, 2017

Abstract

A method for matching production history to flow simulations includes identifying a plurality of parameters that control an objective function measuring the mismatch between a flow simulation response in a parameter subspace and a production history. A value is calculated for an objective function and for a static measurement at each of a plurality of experiments in the parameter subspace. These results are used to develop a mathematical relationship between one or more static measurements and the objective function. During subsequent adjustment of the simulation model, a target window in the objective function is identified, and flow simulations are performed for each modified model that is predicted from the static geologic measurement to produce an objective function within the window. An objective function of each flow simulation to the production history is calculated and the procedure is iterated until the objective function is within a target range.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A method for enhancing a production history matching process, the method comprising:
obtaining production data and an initial subsurface model;
determining an experimental design including one or more model parameter sets;
for each of the model parameter sets in the experimental design:
calculating a value for a static measurement, wherein the static measurement comprises a measurement of connectivity in a geologic model between two wells in the subsurface model, two compartments in the subsurface model or between two locations in the subsurface model identified as well locations, wherein the static measurement is a property measurement associated with a subsurface region, and wherein the subsurface region includes one or more of structure components, reservoir architecture components, rock type components, and petrophysics components, wherein the connectivity includes transmissibility that is the volumetric flow rate between two points at unit viscosity for a given pressure drop;
performing, using a computer, at least one flow simulation to generate results; and
comparing the generated results with the production data via an objective function to provide an objective function value;

determining relationships between the objective function values for the model parameter sets in the experimental design and the static measurements;
determining a screening filter based at least in part on relationships between the static measurements and the objective function values for the model parameter sets in the experimental design; and
for subsequent model parameter sets:
calculating a static measurement associated with each of the subsequent model parameter sets;
performing a history match process for each of the subsequent model parameter sets that satisfies the screening filter.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein determining the experimental design comprises identifying a plurality of parameters in the model parameter set that control objective function values.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein determining the screening filter comprises:
identifying a target window in the objective function; and
determining from the relationships a range of values for the static measurement wherein an objective function will be within the target window.

4. The method of claim 3 , wherein identifying the target window comprises selecting ranges for the objective function that encompass a minimum.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein performing the history match process comprises performing a flow simulation for the subsequent model parameter sets in which a value for the objective function is predicted to be within a current target window.

6. The method of claim 5 , further comprising:
identifying a new target window in the objective function, wherein the new target window is smaller than the current target window;
determining a new design experiment to explore a smaller parameter subspace;
calculating the static measurement at each of the subsequent model parameter sets from the new design experiment;
estimating an objective function value for each of the subsequent parameter sets based on the associated static measurement;
performing a flow simulation for each of the new model parameter sets for which the estimated objective function value is within the new target window; and
calculating an objective function value for each flow simulation.

7. The method recited in claim 1 , wherein the model parameter sets comprise fault transmissibility, net-to-gross, porosity, permeability, unit transmissibility, or any combinations thereof.

8. The method of claim 1 , wherein the connectivity comprises transmissibility, pore volume, drainage volume, shortest path cost, transit time, or any combinations thereof.

9. The method of claim 1 , comprising performing a shortest path algorithm on the subsurface model to obtain each static measurement.

10. The method recited in claim 1 , wherein the experimental design comprises a screening design, a full factorial design, a fractional factorial design, a Latin hypercube design, a D-Optimal design, or any combinations thereof.

11. The method of claim 1 , further comprising performing a static reservoir engineering analyses to identify the static measurement wherein performing the static reservoir engineering analyses comprises defining drainage volumes around producers or between injectors and producers, permeability-thickness around wells, pore volume of flow units or fault blocks, and shortest-path costs between injectors and producers.

12. The method of claim 1 , wherein for each of subsequent model parameter sets, calculating the static measurement associated with each of the subsequent model parameter sets calculation is performed prior to simulating the each of the subsequent model parameter sets.

13. The method of claim 1 , wherein the relationships between the static measurements and the objective function values is based on one of a rate mismatch as a function of drainage volume between wells, breakthrough time mismatch as a function of drainage volume between wells, early-time pressure at injectors as a function of permeability-thickness, pressure decline as a function of fault block pore volume, pressure decline as a function of fault seal, or any combinations thereof.

14. A method for producing hydrocarbons from a field comprising:
calculating a value for a static measurement, wherein the static measurement comprises a measurement of connectivity in a geologic model, wherein the static measurement is a property measurement associated with a subsurface region, and wherein the subsurface region includes one or more of structure components, reservoir architecture components, rock type components, and petrophysics components, wherein the connectivity includes transmissibility that is the volumetric flow rate between two points at unit viscosity for a given pressure drop;
performing at least one flow simulation with an initial reservoir model to generate results;
comparing the generated results with production data by calculating an objective function that quantifies the difference between simulation results and field measurement to provide an objective function value;
determining a relationship between the objective function value and the static measurement;
identifying a target window in the objective function based on the relationship;
determining from the relationship a range of values for the static measurement wherein an objective function is within the target window;
generating, using a computer, a reservoir model,
calculating a value for the static measurement of the reservoir model;
matching the reservoir model to a production history from the field by using the value as a surrogate for flow simulations in a calculation of a value for an objective function;
performing flow simulations for one or more model parameter sets that are indicated as being within the target window by the value;
adjusting the reservoir model to optimize the objective function; and
adjusting control of hydrocarbon production from the field based at least in part on the reservoir model or the adjusted reservoir model.

15. The method of claim 14 , wherein adjusting control of the hydrocarbon production from the field based at least in part on the reservoir model comprises changing injection pressures, converting injectors to producers, converting producers to injectors, drilling more wells to the reservoir, or any combinations thereof.

16. The method of claim 14 , wherein the static measurements comprise transmissibility, pore volume, drainage volum

Assignees

• Stern David
• Oyerinde Adedayo S
• Sahni Isha
• Subramanian Ganesan S
• Exxonmobil Upstream Res Co

Inventors

• Stern David
• Oyerinde Adedayo S
• Sahni Isha
• Subramanian Ganesan S

Classifications

• G01V2210/663

  Modeling production-induced effects · CPC title

• G01V1/282

  Application of seismic models, synthetic seismograms · CPC title

• G06F30/20

  Design optimisation, verification or simulation (optimisation, verification or simulation of circuit designs G06F30/30) · CPC title

• G06F2111/10

  Numerical modelling · CPC title

• G01V11/00 Primary

  Prospecting or detecting by methods combining techniques covered by two or more of main groups G01V1/00 - G01V9/00 · CPC title