A General Purpose Controller for Coupling Multiple Reservoir Simulations and Surface Facility Networks

Abstract

A General Purpose Controller for Coupling Multiple Reservoir Simulations and Surface Facility Networks Kassem Ghorayeb; Kassem Ghorayeb Schlumberger Search for other works by this author on: This Site Google Scholar Jonathan Holmes; Jonathan Holmes Schlumberger Search for other works by this author on: This Site Google Scholar Richard Torrens; Richard Torrens Schlumberger Search for other works by this author on: This Site Google Scholar Balraj Grewal Balraj Grewal Schlumberger Search for other works by this author on: This Site Google Scholar Paper presented at the SPE Reservoir Simulation Symposium, Houston, Texas, February 2003. Paper Number: SPE-79702-MS https://doi.org/10.2118/79702-MS Published: February 03 2003 Cite View This Citation Add to Citation Manager Share Icon Share Twitter LinkedIn Get Permissions Search Site Citation Ghorayeb, Kassem, Holmes, Jonathan, Torrens, Richard, and Balraj Grewal. "A General Purpose Controller for Coupling Multiple Reservoir Simulations and Surface Facility Networks." Paper presented at the SPE Reservoir Simulation Symposium, Houston, Texas, February 2003. doi: https://doi.org/10.2118/79702-MS Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Reference Manager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All ContentAll ProceedingsSociety of Petroleum Engineers (SPE)SPE Reservoir Simulation Conference Search Advanced Search AbstractIntegrated surface-subsurface modeling has been shown to have a critical impact on field development and optimization. Integrated models are often necessary to analyze properly the pressure interaction between a reservoir and a constrained surface facility network, or to predict the behavior of several fields, which may have different fluid compositions, sharing a common surface facility. The latter is gaining a tremendous significance in recent deepwater field development.These applications require an integrated solution with the following capabilities:To balance a surface network model with a reservoir simulation model in a robust and efficient manner.To couple multiple reservoir models, production and injection networks, synchronising their advancement through time.To allow the reservoir and surface network models to use their own independent fluid descriptions (black oil or compositional descriptions with differing sets of pseudocomponents).To apply global production and injection constraints to the coupled system (including the transfer of re-injection fluids between reservoirs).In this paper we describe a general-purpose multi-platform reservoir and network coupling controller having all the above features. The controller communicates with a selection of reservoir simulators and surface network simulators via an open message-passing interface. It manages the balancing of the reservoirs and surface networks, and synchronizes their advancement through time. The controller also applies the global production and injection constraints, and converts the hydrocarbon fluid streams between the different sets of pseudo-components used in the simulation models. The controller's coupling and synchronization algorithms are described, and example applications are provided. The flexibility of the controller's open interface makes it possible to plug in further modules (to perform optimization, for example) and additional simulators.IntroductionThe recently published literature shows the need for a comprehensive integrated modeling solution for coupling multiple reservoir simulations and surface facility networks.1–6 This need is emphasized by recent deepwater oil and gas field development where, typically, wells from different reservoirs flow through pipelines to a shared surface facility platform before being transported by a pipeline to the sale point. Surface/subsurface coupling involves several issues including:The coupling mode of the surface and subsurface models: explicit or implicit. This has previously been described for the case of a single reservoir simulation coupled to a surface network model.7–10The application of global production and injection/reinjection constraints to a coupled system of multiple reservoirs.11The use of different PVT models (black oil models and compositional models having different sets of pseudocomponents) in the coupled reservoirs and the surface network model.3,12Time step synchronisation and coupling scheme in the case of multiple coupled reservoirs.11The surface/subsurface coupling location: whether to couple at the well head or at the reservoir level (with various degrees of overlapping).13Litvak and Darlow7 and Litvak and Wang14 used an implicit scheme to couple a compositional reservoir model with a surface network. In this mode, the equations describing multiphase fluid flow in the reservoir, the well inflow relationship, the well tubing model and the surface facility model are solved simultaneously. Treating the wellheads and nodes of the surface pipelines equivalently to additional grid blocks of the reservoir model, the complete system of equations is linearized and the resulting linear system is solved to obtain the updated values of the solution variables at each Newton iteration. Keywords: control target, production rate, newton iteration, time step, reservoir, artificial intelligence, wellstream, reservoir simulation, controller, constraint Subjects: Reservoir Simulation This content is only available via PDF. 2003. Society of Petroleum Engineers You can access this article if you purchase or spend a download.