US 6,980,940 B1 · Intergrated reservoir optimization

Abstract

A method of managing a fluid or gas reservoir is disclosed which assimilates diverse data having different acquisition time scales and spatial scales of coverage for iteratively producing a reservoir development plan that is used for optimizing an overall performance of a reservoir. The method includes: (a) generating an initial reservoir characterization, (b) from the initial reservoir characterization, generating an initial reservoir development plan, (c) when the reservoir development plan is generated, incrementally advancing and generating a capital spending program, (d) when the capital spending program is generated, monitoring a performance of the reservoir by acquiring high rate monitor data from a first set of data measurements taken in the reservoir and using the high rate monitor data to perform well-regional and field-reservoir evaluations, (e) further monitoring the performance of the reservoir by acquiring low rate monitor data from a second set of data measurements taken in the reservoir, (f) assimilating together the high rate monitor data and the low rate monitor data, (g) from the high rate monitor data and the low rate monitor data, determining when it is necessary to update the initial reservoir development plan to produce a newly updated reservoir development plan, (h) when necessary, updating the initial reservoir development plan to produce the newly updated reservoir development plan, and (i) when the newly updated reservoir development plan is produced, repeating steps (c) through (h). A detailed disclosure is provided herein relating to the step (a) for generating the initial reservoir characterization and the step (b) for generating the initial reservoir development plan.

Claims42

Dependent claims

A computer-implemented method of managing a fluid and/or gas reservoir which assimilates diverse data having different acquisition time scales and spatial scales of coverage for iteratively producing a reservoir development plan that is used for optimizing an overall performance of said reservoir, comprising the steps of:

(a) generating an initial reservoir characterization,
(b) from the initial reservoir characterization, generating an initial reservoir development plan,
(c) when the reservoir development plan is generated, incrementally advancing and generating a capital spending program,
(d) when the capital spending program is generated, monitoring a performance of the reservoir by acquiring high rate monitor data from a first set of data measurements taken in the reservoir,
(e) further monitoring the performance of the reservoir by acquiring low rate monitor data from a second set of data measurements taken in the reservoir,
(f) assimilating together said high rate monitor data and said low rate monitor data,
(g) from said high rate monitor data and said low rate monitor data, determining when it is necessary to update said initial reservoir development plan to produce a newly updated reservoir development plan,
(h) when necessary, updating the initial reservoir development plan to produce the newly updated reservoir development plan, and
(i) when the newly updated reservoir development plan is produced, repeating steps (c) through (h) until it is no longer necessary to update the reservoir development plan, said reservoir being nearly depleted when the reservoir development plan is not updated during step (h).

6 more elements

A computer-implemented method for performing preliminary engineering, comprising the steps of:

(a) knowing a ‘set of fluid properties’ in a reservoir fluid properties model, comparing reservoir pressures in a set of reservoir pressure survey data when the ‘set of fluid properties’ is known, and adjusting the reservoir pressures to a common datum thereby producing a corrected ‘reservoir pressure history’ which reflects the history of the reservoir pressure corrected to a common datum,
(b) generating a corrected well ‘production and injection history’ in response to the set of fluid properties and a reported field production,
(c) conducting production and pressure test interpretations adapted for conducting a well test of one or more wells, measuring a plurality of pressure and rate versus time test data from the one or more wells, and interpreting the test data when the set of fluid properties is known,
(d) determining a set of well drilling and completion histories which examines where a set of wells are drilled and how the wells are drilled and completed,
(e) determining a set of production enhancement opportunities in response to the well test of step (c) and the drilling and completion histories of step (d) to identify what immediate opportunities exist to stimulate a well or install a pump that will result in higher production rates, and
(f) performing material balance volume and acquirer interpretations for estimating and determining, after extraction and injection of fluids into a formation, what were the original volumes of the fluids in place in the formation.

3 more elements

A computer-implemented method for performing geological modeling, comprising the steps of:

(a) determining a preliminary petrophysical model representing a method for converting well logs into a calculated reservoir property profile at each well location,
(b) determining a final petrophysical model from the preliminary petrophysical model and said preliminary engineering, said final petrophysical model representing information relating to a set of more detailed reservoir properties within said structural framework,
(c) determining a regional geologic model representing a regional geology in an earth formation associated with a particular reservoir field and applying a framework of sedimentology and stratigraphy to said formation during a sedimentologic and stratigraphic analyses,
(d) in response to the sedimentologic and stratigraphic analyses, performing detailed stratigraphic correlations between wells and establishing continuity of geologic horizons across the reservoir field, and
(e) performing a geomechanical analysis which in association with a set of geomechanical properties of the reservoir enables the conversion of time measured data from seismic into depth measurements and provides an indication of reservoir stresses which can be computed from the geomechanical properties.

2 more elements

A computer-implemented method for performing numerical model studies, comprising the steps of:

(a) defining a property distribution in a 3D structure and property model,
(b) defining a grid system in a 3D simulator grid system,
(c) defining a fluid property and saturation model,
(d) defining preliminary estimates of the extent or size of an aquifer in an initial reservoir conditions and aquifer model,
(e) combining the property distribution and the grid system and the fluid property and saturation model and the preliminary estimates of the extent or size of the aquifer in a 3D reservoir simulator for defining a rock model in the reservoir simulator and superimposing a saturation distribution in the rock model and creating an initial reservoir model in the reservoir simulator,
(f) performing a volumes consistent check to determine whether there is consistency in initial volumes and whether the grid system that is superimposed on the rock model is a reliable representation of a property description developed during the geological modeling step (a5), and
(g) when there is consistency in the initial volumes, generating a corrected volume model.

4 more elements

A computer-implemented method for performing analytical model studies, comprising the steps of:

(a) providing input data to the analytical model study, said input data including analogous reservoir performance, well drilling and completion histories, historic well performance trends, reservoir property and structure maps, and material balance volumes and aquifer model,
(b) from plots of production trends in the historic well performance trends, establishing a set of decline characteristics or a set of productivity characteristics of the reservoir field thereby generating well production decline characteristics which forecasts future performance trends from existing wells,
(c) from the historic well performance trends, mapping, in map displays of well performance indicators, a set of performance indicators including a total volumes of fluids at different well sites in order to examine which areas of a reservoir field are better or worse than average or better or worse than their companions wells at the different well sites,
(d) comparing, in a conformance decision, the map of the performance indicators with a geologic interpretation set forth in the reservoir property and structure maps and determining if any disagreement exists between said map and said geologic interpretation,
(e) if the disagreement does not exist and there is no total conformance, identifying any potential infill well opportunities reflecting any opportunities to drill any infill wells,
(f) if the disagreement does exist and there is total conformance, determining, in a volumetric and material balance fluids in place estimates step, how the well performance trends balance out with estimates of fluids in place and pressure support from material balance calculations, and
(g) in response to the well production decline characteristics generated during the establishing step (b), identifying workover and artificial lift candidates.

4 more elements

A computer-implemented method of generating a production and reserves forecast, comprising the steps of:

(a) in response to a plurality of constraints and to a history calibrated model, running a model in a simulator and generating a production forecast representing a way a reservoir responds to a development plan, said development plan defining a mechanism representing a process that is active in a reservoir field,
(b) determining whether an implementation plan of the mechanism or whether the constraints can be changed or optimized,
(c) if the implementation plan or the constraints can be changed or optimized, changing the implementation plan of the mechanism or the constraints, re-running the model in the simulator, and generating another production forecast,
(d) if the implementation plan or the constraints cannot be changed or optimized, determining if the mechanism representing the process that is active in the reservoir field can be changed, and
(e) if the mechanism can be changed which represents a new development plan or new mechanism, revising an implementation plan of the new mechanism to create a new implementation plan and re-running the model in the simulator thereby generating still another production forecast.

2 more elements

A computer-implemented method for performing an economics and risk analysis study, comprising the steps of:

(a) in response to a reservoir development plan generated from a production and reserves forecast, evaluating a set of economics which is associated with said reservoir development plan by generating, responsive to the reservoir development plan, a reservoir production schedule and a reservoir injection schedule and a facility and well schedule,
(b) in response to a set of facilities requirements which includes processing and drilling workover plans, generating a capital cost model and an operating cost model associated therewith,
(c) in response to a set of environmental considerations, generating special project costs,
(d) providing, in a plan economic profile, an economic profile and a cash flow summary for the reservoir development plan in response to the reservoir production schedule, the reservoir injection schedule, the facility and well schedule, the capital cost model, the operating cost model, and the special project costs,
(e) determining, in a development and operating risk decision, whether there are significant development and operating risks associated with the reservoir development plan in response to a set of reservoir risk factors,
(f) if there are significant development and operating risks associated with the reservoir development plan, making adjustments to a set of production forecast schedules and returning to step (d) which provides the plan economic profile and the cash flow summary for the reservoir development plan that produces an estimate of risk associated costs, and
(g) if there are no significant development and operating risks associated with the reservoir development plan, determining if there is a reservoir performance risk relating to a character and a nature of the reservoir that has not been established from history matching and geologic studies.

4 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Intergrated reservoir optimization

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Intergrated reservoir optimization

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Abstract

Claims42