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In the oil and gas industry, reservoir modeling involves the construction of a
computer model
Computer simulation is the process of mathematical modelling, performed on a computer, which is designed to predict the behaviour of, or the outcome of, a real-world or physical system. The reliability of some mathematical models can be deter ...
of a
petroleum reservoir
A petroleum reservoir or oil and gas reservoir is a subsurface accumulation of hydrocarbons contained in porous or fractured rock formations.
Such reservoirs form when kerogen (ancient plant matter) is created in surrounding rock by the presence ...
, for the purposes of improving estimation of
reserves and making decisions regarding the development of the field, predicting future production, placing additional wells, and evaluating alternative reservoir management scenarios.
A reservoir model represents the physical space of the reservoir by an array of discrete cells, delineated by a grid which may be regular or irregular. The array of cells is usually three-dimensional, although 1D and 2D models are sometimes used. Values for attributes such as
porosity
Porosity or void fraction is a measure of the void (i.e. "empty") spaces in a material, and is a fraction of the volume of voids over the total volume, between 0 and 1, or as a percentage between 0% and 100%. Strictly speaking, some tests measure ...
,
permeability and
water saturation
Water content or moisture content is the quantity of water contained in a material, such as soil (called soil moisture), rock, ceramics, crops, or wood. Water content is used in a wide range of scientific and technical areas, and is expressed as ...
are associated with each cell. The value of each attribute is implicitly deemed to apply uniformly throughout the volume of the reservoir represented by the cell.
Types of reservoir model
Reservoir models typically fall into two categories:
*
Geological models are created by
geologist
A geologist is a scientist who studies the solid, liquid, and gaseous matter that constitutes Earth and other terrestrial planets, as well as the processes that shape them. Geologists usually study geology, earth science, or geophysics, althou ...
s and
geophysicist
Geophysics () is a subject of natural science concerned with the physical processes and physical properties of the Earth and its surrounding space environment, and the use of quantitative methods for their analysis. The term ''geophysics'' som ...
s and aim to provide a static description of the reservoir, prior to production.
*
Reservoir simulation
Reservoir simulation is an area of reservoir engineering in which computer models are used to predict the flow of fluids (typically, oil, water, and gas) through porous media.
The creation of models of oil fields and the implementation of ca ...
models are created by
reservoir engineers
Reservoir engineering is a branch of petroleum engineering that applies scientific principles to the fluid flow through porous medium during the development and production of oil and gas reservoirs so as to obtain a high economic recovery. The wo ...
and use
finite difference methods
In numerical analysis, finite-difference methods (FDM) are a class of numerical techniques for solving differential equations by approximating Derivative, derivatives with Finite difference approximation, finite differences. Both the spatial dom ...
to simulate the flow of
fluids
In physics, a fluid is a liquid, gas, or other material that continuously deforms (''flows'') under an applied shear stress, or external force. They have zero shear modulus, or, in simpler terms, are substances which cannot resist any shear ...
within the reservoir, over its production lifetime.
Sometimes a single "shared earth model" is used for both purposes. More commonly, a geological model is constructed at a relatively high (fine) resolution. A coarser grid for the reservoir simulation model is constructed, with perhaps two orders of magnitude fewer cells. Effective values of attributes for the simulation model are then derived from the geological model by an upscaling process. Alternatively, if no geological model exists, the attribute values for a simulation model may be determined by a process of sampling geological maps.
Uncertainty in the true values of the reservoir properties is sometimes investigated by constructing several different
realizations of the sets of attribute values. The behaviour of the resulting simulation models can then indicate the associated level of economic uncertainty.
The phrase "reservoir characterization" is sometimes used to refer to reservoir modeling activities up to the point when a simulation model is ready to simulate the flow of fluids.
Commercially available software is used in the construction, simulation and analysis of the reservoir models.
Seismic to simulation
The processes required to construct reservoir models are described by the phrase ''
Seismic
Seismology (; from Ancient Greek σεισμός (''seismós'') meaning "earthquake" and -λογία (''-logía'') meaning "study of") is the scientific study of earthquakes and the propagation of elastic waves through the Earth or through other ...
to simulation''. The process is successful if the model accurately reflects the original
well logs, seismic data and production history.
Reservoir models are constructed to gain a better understanding of the subsurface that leads to informed well placement, reserves estimation and
production planning
Production planning is the planning of production and manufacturing modules in a company or industry. It utilizes the resource allocation of activities of employees, materials and production capacity, in order to serve different customers.Farghe ...
. Models are based on measurements taken in the field, including well logs,
seismic surveys, and production history.
Seismic to simulation enables the quantitative integration of all field data into an updateable reservoir model built by a team of
geologists
A geologist is a scientist who studies the solid, liquid, and gaseous matter that constitutes Earth and other terrestrial planets, as well as the processes that shape them. Geologists usually study geology, earth science, or geophysics, althoug ...
,
geophysicists
Geophysics () is a subject of natural science concerned with the physical processes and physical properties of the Earth and its surrounding space environment, and the use of quantitative methods for their analysis. The term ''geophysics'' so ...
, and engineers. Key techniques used in the process include integrated
petrophysics
Petrophysics (from the Greek πέτρα, ''petra'', "rock" and φύσις, ''physis'', "nature") is the study of physical and chemical rock properties and their interactions with fluids.
A major application of petrophysics is in studying reservo ...
and rock physics to determine the range of lithotypes and rock properties,
geostatistical
Geostatistics is a branch of statistics focusing on spatial or spatiotemporal datasets. Developed originally to predict probability distributions of ore grades for mining operations, it is currently applied in diverse disciplines including petro ...
inversion to determine a set of plausible seismic-derived rock property models at sufficient vertical resolution and heterogeneity for flow simulation,
stratigraphic
Stratigraphy is a branch of geology concerned with the study of rock layers (strata) and layering (stratification). It is primarily used in the study of sedimentary and layered volcanic rocks.
Stratigraphy has three related subfields: lithostrati ...
grid transfer to accurately move seismic-derived data to the geologic model, and flow simulation for model validation and ranking to determine the model that best fits all the data.
Rock physics and petrophysics
The first step in seismic to simulation is establishing a relationship between petrophysical key rock properties and
elastic properties of the rock. This is required in order to find common ground between the well logs and seismic data.
Well logs are measured in depth and provide high resolution vertical data, but no insight into the inter-well space. Seismic are measured in time and provide great lateral detail but is quite limited in its vertical resolution. When correlated, well logs and seismic can be used to create a fine-scale 3D model of the subsurface.
Insight into the rock properties comes from a combination of basic geologic understanding and well-bore measurements. Based on an understanding of how the area was formed over time, geologists can predict the types of rock likely to be present and how rapidly they vary spatially. Well log and
core measurements provide samples to verify and fine-tune that understanding.
Seismic data is used by petrophysicists to identify the tops of various lithotypes and the distribution of rock properties in the inter-well space using seismic inversion attributes such as
impedance. Seismic surveys measure
acoustic impedance
Acoustic impedance and specific acoustic impedance are measures of the opposition that a system presents to the acoustic flow resulting from an acoustic pressure applied to the system. The SI unit of acoustic impedance is the pascal-second per cub ...
contrasts between rock layers. As different geologic structures are encountered, the sound wave
reflects and
refracts
In physics, refraction is the redirection of a wave as it passes from one transmission medium, medium to another. The redirection can be caused by the wave's change in speed or by a change in the medium. Refraction of light is the most common ...
as a function of the impedance contrast between the layers. Acoustic impedance varies by rock type and can therefore be correlated to rock properties using rock physics relationships between the inversion attributes and petrophysical properties such as
porosity
Porosity or void fraction is a measure of the void (i.e. "empty") spaces in a material, and is a fraction of the volume of voids over the total volume, between 0 and 1, or as a percentage between 0% and 100%. Strictly speaking, some tests measure ...
,
lithology
The lithology of a rock unit is a description of its physical characteristics visible at outcrop, in hand or core samples, or with low magnification microscopy. Physical characteristics include colour, texture, grain size, and composition. Lit ...
,
water saturation
Water content or moisture content is the quantity of water contained in a material, such as soil (called soil moisture), rock, ceramics, crops, or wood. Water content is used in a wide range of scientific and technical areas, and is expressed as ...
, and
permeability.
Once well logs are properly conditioned and edited, a petrophysical rock model is generated that can be used to derive the effective elastic rock properties from fluid and mineral parameters as well as rock structure information. The model parameters are calibrated by comparison of the synthetic to the available elastic
sonic
Sonic or Sonics may refer to:
Companies
*Sonic Drive-In, an American drive-in fast-food restaurant chain
*Sonic (ISP), an Internet provider and CLEC, serving more than 100 California communities
*Sonic Foundry, a computer software company whic ...
logs. Calculations are performed following a number of rock physics
algorithm
In mathematics and computer science, an algorithm () is a finite sequence of rigorous instructions, typically used to solve a class of specific Computational problem, problems or to perform a computation. Algorithms are used as specificat ...
s including: Xu & White, Greenberg & Castagna, Gassmann, Gardner, modified upper and lower Hashin-Shtrikman, and Batzle & Wang.
When the petrophysical rock model is complete, a statistical database is created to describe the rock types and their known properties such as porosity and permeability. Lithotypes are described, along with their distinct elastic properties.
MCMC geostatistical inversion
In the next step of seismic to simulation, seismic inversion techniques combine well and seismic data to produce multiple equally plausible 3D models of the elastic properties of the reservoir. Seismic data is transformed to elastic property log(s) at every trace. Deterministic inversion techniques are used to provide a good overall view of the porosity over the field, and serve as a quality control check. To obtain greater detail needed for
complex geology, additional stochastic inversion is then employed.
Geostatistical inversion procedures detect and delineate thin reservoirs otherwise poorly defined.
Markov chain Monte Carlo
In statistics, Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) methods comprise a class of algorithms for sampling from a probability distribution. By constructing a Markov chain that has the desired distribution as its equilibrium distribution, one can obtain ...
(MCMC) based geostatistical inversion addresses the vertical scaling problem by creating seismic derived rock properties with vertical sampling compatible to geologic models.
All field data is incorporated into the geostatistical inversion process through the use of
probability distribution function Probability distribution function may refer to:
* Probability distribution
* Cumulative distribution function
* Probability mass function
* Probability density function
In probability theory, a probability density function (PDF), or density ...
s (PDFs). Each PDF describes a particular input data in geostatistical terms using
histogram
A histogram is an approximate representation of the distribution of numerical data. The term was first introduced by Karl Pearson. To construct a histogram, the first step is to " bin" (or "bucket") the range of values—that is, divide the ent ...
s and
variogram
In spatial statistics the theoretical variogram 2\gamma(\mathbf_1,\mathbf_2) is a function describing the degree of spatial dependence of a spatial random field or stochastic process Z(\mathbf). The semivariogram \gamma(\mathbf_1,\mathbf_2) is hal ...
s, which identify the odds of a given value at a specific place and the overall expected scale and texture based on geologic insight.
Once constructed, the PDFs are combined using
Bayesian inference
Bayesian inference is a method of statistical inference in which Bayes' theorem is used to update the probability for a hypothesis as more evidence or information becomes available. Bayesian inference is an important technique in statistics, a ...
, resulting in a posterior PDF that conforms to everything that is known about the field.
["Incorporating Geophysics into Geologic Models: New Approach Makes Geophysical Models Available to Engineers in a Form They Can Use", Fugro-Jason White Paper, 2008.] A weighting system is used within the algorithm, making the process more objective.
From the posterior PDF, realizations are generated using a Markov chain Monte Carlo algorithm. These realizations are statistically fair and produce models of high detail, accuracy and realism. Rock properties like porosity can be cosimulated from the elastic properties determined by the geostatistical inversion. This process is iterated until a best fit model is identified.
Inversion parameters are tuned by running the inversion many times with and without well data. Without the well data, the inversions are running in blind-well mode. These blind-well mode inversions test the reliability of the constrained inversion and remove potential bias.
This statistical approach creates multiple, equi-probable models consistent with the seismic, wells, and geology. Geostatistical inversion simultaneously inverts for impedance and discrete properties types, and other petrophysical properties such as porosity can then be jointly cosimulated.
The output volumes are at a sample rate consistent with the reservoir model because making synthetics of finely sampled models is the same as from well logs. Inversion properties are consistent with well log properties because the histograms used to generate the output rock properties from the inversion are based on well log values for those rock properties.
Uncertainty is quantified by using random seeds to generate slightly differing realizations, particularly for areas of interest. This process improves the understanding of uncertainty and risk within the model.
Stratigraphic grid transfer
Following geostatistical inversion and in preparation for history matching and flow simulation, the static model is re-gridded and up-scaled. The transfer simultaneously converts time to depth for the various properties and transfers them in 3D from the
seismic grid to a
corner-point grid. The relative locations of properties are preserved, ensuring data points in the seismic grid arrive in the correct stratigraphic layer in the corner point grid.
The static model built from seismic is typically orthogonal but flow simulators expect corner point grids. The corner point grid consists of cubes that are usually much coarser in the horizontal direction and each corner of the cube is arbitrarily defined to follow the major features in the grid. Converting directly from orthogonal to corner point can cause problems such as creating discontinuity in
fluid flow
In physics and engineering, fluid dynamics is a subdiscipline of fluid mechanics that describes the flow of fluids— liquids and gases. It has several subdisciplines, including ''aerodynamics'' (the study of air and other gases in motion) an ...
.
An intermediate stratigraphic grid ensures that important structures are not misrepresented in the transfer. The stratigraphic grid has the same number of cells as the orthogonal seismic grid, but the boundaries are defined by stratigraphic surfaces and the cells follow the stratigraphic organization. This is a stratigraphic representation of the seismic data using the seismic interpretation to define the layers. The stratigraphic grid model is then mapped to the corner point grid by adjusting the zones.
Using the porosity and permeability models and a saturation height function, initial saturation models are built. If volumetric calculations identify problems in the model, changes are made in the petrophysical model without causing the model to stray from the original input data. For example, sealing faults are added for greater compartmentalization.
Model validation and ranking
In the last step of seismic to simulation, flow simulation continues the integration process by bringing in the production history. This provides a further validation of the static model against history. A representative set of the model realizations from the geostatistical inversion are history matched against production data. If the properties in the model are realistic, simulated well bottom hole
pressure
Pressure (symbol: ''p'' or ''P'') is the force applied perpendicular to the surface of an object per unit area over which that force is distributed. Gauge pressure (also spelled ''gage'' pressure)The preferred spelling varies by country and e ...
behavior should match historical (measured) well bottom hole pressure.
[Castoro A., de Groot L. , Forsyth D., Maguire R., Rijkers R., Webber R., "Accurate Reservoir Modelling Through Optimized Integration of Geostatistical Inversion And Flow Simulation. A North Sea Case Study", Petex, 2008.] Production flow rates and other engineering data should also match.
Based on the quality of the match, some models are eliminated. After the initial history match process, dynamic well parameters are adjusted as needed for each of the remaining models to improve the match. The final model represents the best match to original field measurements and production data and is then used in
drilling
Drilling is a cutting process where a drill bit is spun to cut a hole of circular cross-section in solid materials. The drill bit is usually a rotary cutting tool, often multi-point. The bit is pressed against the work-piece and rotated at ra ...
decisions and production planning.
See also
*
Extraction of petroleum
Petroleum is a fossil fuel that can be drawn from beneath the earth's surface. Reservoirs of petroleum was formed through the mixture of plants, algae, and sediments in shallow seas under high pressure. Petroleum is mostly recovered from oil dri ...
*
Petroleum engineering
*
Computer simulation
Computer simulation is the process of mathematical modelling, performed on a computer, which is designed to predict the behaviour of, or the outcome of, a real-world or physical system. The reliability of some mathematical models can be dete ...
*
Reservoir simulator
Reservoir simulation is an area of reservoir engineering in which computer models are used to predict the flow of fluids (typically, oil, water, and gas) through porous media.
The creation of models of oil fields and the implementation of calc ...
*
Rise in Core
The rise in core (RIC) method is an alternate reservoir wettability characterization method described by S. Ghedan and C. H. Canbaz in 2014. The method enables estimation of all wetting regions such as strongly water wet, intermediate water, oil ...
References
Further reading
*"Building Highly Detailed, Realistic 3D Numerical Models of Rock and Reservoir Properties: Rigorous Incorporation of All Data Reduces Uncertainty", Fugro-Jason White Paper, 2008.
*Contreras, A., Torres-Verdin, C., "AVA sensitivity analysis and inversion of 3D pre-stack seismic data to delineate a mixed carbonate-siliciclas tic reservoir in the Barinas-Apure Basin, Venezuela".
*Contreras, A., Torres-Verdin, C., Kvien, K., Fasnacht, T., Chesters, W., "AVA Stochastic Inversion of Pre-Stack Seismic Data and Well Logs for 3D Reservoir Modeling", EAGE 2005.
*Pyrcz, M.J. and Deutsch, C. Geostatistical Reservoir Modeling, New York: Oxford University Press, 2014, 448 pages.
*Jarvis, K., Folkers, A., Saussus, D., "Reservoir compartment prediction of the Simpson field from the geostatistical inversion of AVO seismic data", ASEG 2007.
*Leggett, M., Chesters, W., "Joint AVO Inversion with Geostatistical Simulation", CSEG National Convention, 2005.
*Sams, M., Saussus, D., "Comparison of uncertainty estimates from deterministic and geostatistical inversion", SEG Annual Conference, 2008.
*Soni, S., Littmann, W., Timko, D., Karkooti, H., Karimi, S., Kazemshiroodi, S. "An Integrated Case Study from Seismic to Simulation through Geostatistical Inversion", SPE 118178.
*Stephen, K., MacBeth, C. "Reducing Reservoir Prediction Uncertainty by Updating a Stochastic Model Using Seismic History Matching", SPE Reservoir Evaluation & Engineering, December 2008.
*Zou, Y., Bentley, L., Lines, L. "Integration of reservoir simulation with time-lapse seismic modeling", 2004 CSEG National Convention.
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