Flow simulations in channelized system with a conventional simulator: impact of grid designs
in: 2021 RING Meeting, ASGA
Abstract
Scale management during the evaluation of the petrophysical properties is vital for reservoir characterization and modeling. In channelized systems, these properties rely on the internal architecture of depositional elements. However, the reservoir modeling practice often starts by determining the grid resolution based on reservoir simulation constraints, implying ad hoc effective properties, which are not necessarily representative of the complex heterogeneity of the depositional environment. This study aims to investigate the impact of grid design that characterizes fluvial systems in reservoir models. For this purpose, surface-based models are integrated into reservoir models by generating fine-scale stratigraphic corner-point grids conformal to the geological boundaries. As a result, models preserve the primary sedimentological structures of fluvial systems: lateral accretion packages (sigmoidal in section view and crescent-shaped in map view), erosive channel base envelope, and the floodplain. Two series of flow simulations are performed by injecting water into a floodplain and into a point-bar structure and observing the differences in oil recovery profile between our generated corner-point grids and relevant rasterized Cartesian grids. We carry on a test with homogeneous petrophysical parameters to see the impact of cell geometries. Then, a test with heterogeneous petrophysical parameters associated with the geobodies is performed. This work opens avenues for (1) assessing, thanks to accurate metrics, how uncertainties in channel-based deposits propagate to the flow behavior for a given fluid type and production mechanism; (2) determining the properly petrophysical properties and geometrical parameters to effectively model heterogeneity in alluvial deposits.
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BibTeX Reference
@inproceedings{SCARPA_RM2021,
abstract = { Scale management during the evaluation of the petrophysical properties is vital for reservoir characterization and modeling. In channelized systems, these properties rely on the internal architecture of depositional elements. However, the reservoir modeling practice often starts by determining the grid resolution based on reservoir simulation constraints, implying ad hoc effective properties, which are not necessarily representative of the complex heterogeneity of the depositional environment. This study aims to investigate the impact of grid design that characterizes fluvial systems in reservoir models. For this purpose, surface-based models are integrated into reservoir models by generating fine-scale stratigraphic corner-point grids conformal to the geological boundaries. As a result, models preserve the primary sedimentological structures of fluvial systems: lateral accretion packages (sigmoidal in section view and crescent-shaped in map view), erosive channel base envelope, and the floodplain. Two series of flow simulations are performed by injecting water into a floodplain and into a point-bar structure and observing the differences in oil recovery profile between our generated corner-point grids and relevant rasterized Cartesian grids. We carry on a test with homogeneous petrophysical parameters to see the impact of cell geometries. Then, a test with heterogeneous petrophysical parameters associated with the geobodies is performed. This work opens avenues for (1) assessing, thanks to accurate metrics, how uncertainties in channel-based deposits propagate to the flow behavior for a given fluid type and production mechanism; (2) determining the properly petrophysical properties and geometrical parameters to effectively model heterogeneity in alluvial deposits. },
author = { Scarpa, Enrico AND Collon, Pauline AND Caumon, Guillaume },
booktitle = { 2021 RING Meeting },
publisher = { ASGA },
title = { Flow simulations in channelized system with a conventional simulator: impact of grid designs },
year = { 2021 }
}