Reduced Order Models for Rapid EOR Simulation in Fractured Carbonate Reservoirs

Agada, Simeon Sani; Geiger, Sebastian; Elsheikh, Ahmed H.; Mackay, Eric James; Oladyshkin, Sergey

doi:10.2118/173205-ms

SPE Reservoir Simulation Symposium 2015

DOI: 10.2118/173205-ms

|View full text |Cite

Reduced Order Models for Rapid EOR Simulation in Fractured Carbonate Reservoirs

Simeon Sani Agada¹,

Sebastian Geiger²,

Ahmed H. Elsheikh³

et al.

Abstract: Conventional simulation of fractured carbonate reservoirs is computationally expensive because multiscale heterogeneities and fracture-matrix transfer must be taken into account. The computational requirement increases exponentially when multiple simulation runs are required for sensitivity analysis and quantification of the uncertainty range. This can be prohibitive, especially for giant carbonate reservoirs. Yet, sensitivity analysis and uncertainty quantification are particularly important to analyse, deter… Show more

Help me understand this report

Search citation statements

Order By: Relevance

Paper Sections

Select...

Citation Types

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Year Published

2017

2021

Publication Types

Select...

Other2

Relationship

Self Cite0

Independent2

Authors

Journals

Cited by 2 publications

References 100 publications

(112 reference statements)

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

Uncertainty Quantification for Foam Flooding in Fractured Carbonate Reservoirs

Almaqbali¹,

Spooner²,

Geiger³

et al. 2017

Day 2 Tue, February 21, 2017

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

When simulating foam floods, uncertainties exist in both the foam and reservoir parameters however the combination of these uncertainties are rarely incorporated in forecasting. Foam flooding is an effective enhanced oil recovery method that controls mobility, reduces gas relative permeability, delays gas breakthrough and helps improve sweep efficiency. Thus it is often used in highly heterogeneous reservoirs where significant subsurface uncertainties exist. Foam uncertainties exist as (a) foam stability is controlled by a number of factors such as critical water and surfactant concentrations, brine salinity, and oil saturation which are unknown in the subsurface spatially and (b) foam flood simulation requires the accurate description of multiple parameters used in the foam flood models which are unknown. This study quantifies and compares the impact of uncertainties associated with foam model parameters with the heterogeneity of a fractured carbonate reservoir, an analogue to the highly prolific Arab D formation. Foam model parameters are not known a-priori but can be tuned to experimental data, which ideally represent a range of foam regimes and reservoir conditions. Geological heterogeneities in fractured carbonate reservoirs are complex and include, matrix wettability, fracture density/orientation and initial saturation distribution. To quantify uncertainties geological uncertainties in fractured carbonate reservoirs, an automated framework was used to history match the production response of a fractured carbonate field by varying geological parameters. This accounts for the geological uncertainties during a waterflood, which are then combined with foam uncertainties from experimental analysis in the optimisation step, by optimising the mean response of the model to foam flooding across a range of geological and foam scenarios. Our workflow used a combination of Particle Swarm Optimisation for history matching and manual optimisation, the final results of which show a wide range of possible impacts of foam flooding from different but equally well matched reservoirs. The novelty of our work is that it demonstrates how parameters that control foam stability and hence effectiveness in mobility control are related to both foam properties and geological uncertainty. Carrying these uncertainties into foam model properties from core to field scale will translate into considerably more robust estimates of uncertainty when predicting field-scale recovery compared to simulations that only consider uncertainty in the reservoir model.

show abstract

Uncertainty Quantification for Foam Flooding in Fractured Carbonate Reservoirs

Almaqbali¹,

Spooner²,

Geiger³

et al. 2017

Day 2 Tue, February 21, 2017

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

Numerical Simulations of Surfactant Flooding in Carbonate Reservoirs: The Impact of Geological Heterogeneities Across Scales

Pola¹,

Geiger²,

Mackay³

et al. 2021

Day 4 Thu, October 21, 2021

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

We demonstrate how geological heterogeneity impacts the effectiveness of surfactant-based enhanced oil recovery (EOR) at larger (inter-well and sector) scales when upscaling small (core) scale heterogeneity and physicochemical processes. We used two experimental datasets of surfactant-based EOR where spontaneous imbibition and viscous displacement, respectively dominate recovery. We built 3D core-scale simulation models to match the data and parameterize surfactant models. The results were deployed in high-resolution models that preserve the complexity and heterogeneity of carbonate formations in the inter-well and sector scale. These larger-scale models were based on two outcrop analogues from France and Morroco, respectively, which capture the reservoir architectures inherent to the productive carbonate reservoir systems in the Middle East. We then assessed and quantified the error in production forecast that arises due to upscaling, upgridding, and simplification of geological heterogeneity. Simulation results showed a broad range of recovery predictions. The variability arises from the choice of surfactant model parameterization (i.e., spontaneous imbibition vs viscous displacement) and the way the heterogeneity in the inter-well and sector models was upscaled and simplified. We found that the parameterization of surfactant models has a significant impact on recovery predictions. Oil recovery at the larger scale was observed to be higher when using the parametrization derived from viscous displacement experiments compared to parameterization from spontaneous imbibition experiments. This observation clearly demonstrated how core-scale processes impact recovery predictions at the larger scales. Also, the variability in recovery prediction due to the choice of surfactant model was as large as the variability arising from upscaling and upgridding. Upscaled and upgridded models overestimated recovery because of the simplified geology. Grid coarsening exacerbated this effect because of the increased numerical dispersion. These results emphasize the need to use correctly configured surfactant models, appropriate grid resolution that minimizes numerical dispersion, and properly upscaled reservoir models to accurately forecast surfactant floods. Our findings present new insights into how the uncertainty in production forecasts during surfactant flooding depends on the way surfactant models are parameterized, how the reservoir geology is upscaled, and how numerical dispersion is impacted by grid coarsening.

show abstract

scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.

Contact Info

hi@scite.ai

10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614

Henderson, NV 89052, USA

Blog Terms and Conditions API Terms Privacy Policy Contact Cookie Preferences Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information

Made with 💙 for researchers

Part of the Research Solutions Family.

Reduced Order Models for Rapid EOR Simulation in Fractured Carbonate Reservoirs

Cited by 2 publications

References 100 publications

Uncertainty Quantification for Foam Flooding in Fractured Carbonate Reservoirs

Uncertainty Quantification for Foam Flooding in Fractured Carbonate Reservoirs

Numerical Simulations of Surfactant Flooding in Carbonate Reservoirs: The Impact of Geological Heterogeneities Across Scales

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About