HR: 1340h
AN: H23G-1690    [Abstracts]
TI: Can the Continuous Time Random Walk method be used to improve the upscaling of heterogeneous permeability fields for reservoir simulations?
AU: * Geiger, S
EM: sebastian.geiger@pet.hw.ac.uk
AF: Institute of Petroleum Engineering, Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh, EH14 4AS, United Kingdom
AU: Ahmad, F
EM: faraj.ahamad@pet.hw.ac.uk
AF: Institute of Petroleum Engineering, Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh, EH14 4AS, United Kingdom
AU: Gardiner, A
EM: andy.gardiner@pet.hw.ac.uk
AF: Institute of Petroleum Engineering, Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh, EH14 4AS, United Kingdom
AB: Upscaling a fine-scaled geological model to a coarse, but computationally efficient, flow model is a standard process in reservoir engineering. However, the upscaled permeability and porosity fields do not preserve the original heterogeneity any longer. There are also many different methods for upscaling permeability and porosity. Multi-phase flow simulations in an upscaled hydrocarbon reservoir are hence less accurate and are likely to yield wrong predictions of oil recovery and water cut. The aim of this study was to improve permeability and porosity upscaling of a turbidite reservoir analogue by applying computationally fast conservative tracer transport simulations to each upscaled realisation and analysing the resulting breakthrough curves using the Continuous Time Random Walk method. Realisations that show anomalous transport behaviour that is comparable to the original, fine-scale, base case are likely to preserve, at least on the integral scale, the heterogeneity the best. They hence should provide oil production rates and water cuts that are similar to the base case. We have confirmed this assumption by carrying out two-phase flow simulations for the base case and selected upscaled permeability and porosity fields. Upscaled permeability and porosity fields that show an anomalous transport behaviour that is comparable to the base case yield production rates and water cuts that are similar to those of the fine-scale base case. Conservative tracer transport simulations and Continuous Time Random Walk analysis is hence a very powerful yet computationally efficient tool to improve the quality of upscaling and accuracy of reservoir simulations by allowing us to discard those permeability and porosity fields that will lead to oil production rates and water cuts that are significantly different from the expected fine-scale behaviour.
DE: 1828 Groundwater hydraulics
DE: 1832 Groundwater transport
DE: 1849 Numerical approximations and analysis
DE: 1873 Uncertainty assessment (3275)
SC: Hydrology [H]
MN: 2007 Fall Meeting