Ing. Petróleo

Principles of Applied Reservoir Simulation

Principles of Applied Reservoir Simulation
Third Edition
John R. Fanchi

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Gulf Professional Publishing is an imprint of Elsevier 30 Corporate Drive, Suite 400,Burlington, MA 01803, USA Linacre House, Jordan Hill, Oxford OX2 8DP, UK Copyright © 2006, Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher. Permissions may be sought directly fromElsevier’s Science & Technology Rights Department in Oxford, UK: phone: (+44) 1865 843830, fax: (+44) 1865 853333, E-mail: permissions@elsevier.com. You may also complete your request on-line via the Elsevier homepage (http://elsevier.com), by selecting “Support & Contact” then “Copyright and Permission” and then “Obtaining Permissions.” Recognizing the importance of preserving what has beenwritten, Elsevier prints its books on acid-free paper whenever possible. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Application submitted. British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. ISBN 13: 978-0-7506-7933-6 ISBN 10: 0-7506-7933-6 For information on all Gulf Professional Publishing publications visit our Web site atwww.books.elsevier.com 05 06 07 08 09 10 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

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In memory of my parents, John A. and Shirley M. Fanchi

Chapter 1 Introduction to Reservoir Management
Modern reservoir simulators are computer programs that are designed to model fluid flow in porous media. Applied reservoir simulation is the use of these programs to solve reservoirflow problems. Reservoir flow modeling exists within the context of the reservoir management function. Modern reservoir management is generally defined as a continuous process that optimizes the interaction between data and decision making during the life cycle of a field [Saleri, 2002, 2005]. This definition covers the management of hydrocarbon reservoirs as well as other reservoir systems, such asgeothermal reservoirs and reservoirs that store carbon dioxide as part of a geological sequestration system. More specifically, reservoir management of hydrocarbon reservoirs is defined as the allocation of resources to optimize hydrocarbon recovery from a reservoir while minimizing capital investments and operating expenses [Wiggins and Startzman, 1990; Satter and Thakur, 1994; Al-Hussainy andHumphreys, 1996; Thakur, 1996]. The two outcomes of reservoir management in this definition – optimizing recovery and minimizing cost – often conflict with each other. Hydrocarbon recovery could be maximized if cost was not an issue, while costs could be minimized if the field operator had no desire or obligation to prudently manage a finite 1

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Principles of Applied Reservoir Simulationresource. The primary objective in a reservoir management study of hydrocarbon reservoirs is to determine the optimum conditions needed to maximize the economic recovery of hydrocarbons from a prudently operated field. Reservoir flow modeling is the most sophisticated methodology available for achieving the primary reservoir management objective for hydrocarbon reservoirs. Table 1-1 lists manyreasons for performing a flow model study. Perhaps the most important, from a commercial perspective, is the ability to generate cash flow predictions. Reservoir flow modeling provides a production profile for preparing economic forecasts. The combination of production profile and price forecast gives an estimate of future cash flow. Several of the items are discussed in greater detail in later...