Well Segmentation

Conventional well models treat the entire wellbore as a single entity, averaging all the
fluid properties in the well bore. This means that, for example, if an upper zone is flowing
gas and a lower zone is flowing water, the density assumed in calculating the pressure
drop in the wellbore will be incorrect.
The default segregated well model in ECLIPSE100 and ECLIPSE 300 improves on this
by treating the fluid from each flowing connection separately.
However, neither an average nor a segregated well model can account for:
Frictional pressure drops, which are dominant in horizontal wells
Devices such as valves, pumps, etc.
Multiple flow paths, such as those that arise from flow behind tubing or multi-lateral
wells
For these effects, you need to use the multi-segmented well model. This divides the
wellbore into segments, much like the reservoir is divided up into grid-cells.
FrontSim does not support the segregated or multi-segmented well models. Multi-lateral
or horizontal wells, or wells with large amounts of cross flow, are likely to give different
results from FrontSim than from ECLIPSE 100 or ECLIPSE 300. FrontSim does have a
simpler well bore friction model for use with horizontal wells, but Petrel 2007.1 does not
generate data for this option.

Overview of How to set up multi-segmented wells:

1. In the Processes pane, Open Well engineering and then open the Define well
segmentation process
2. Add a well, or folder of wells, from the Input pane to the list using the Add well or
folder.
3. Define the segmentation parameters as appropriate.
4. Repeat steps 2 & 3 for as many additional wells or well folders as required. Note that
parameters are initialized to the previous well/folder added, and that if a well appears
twice, the last occurrence will be used.
5. Click OK to finish the process.
6. To use the well segmentation process in simulation, insert the segmentation set into
the drop site on the Strategies tab of the Define simulation case process.
Adding wells to well segmentation:
How to add a well to well segmentation:
1. Select the well from the Input pane.
2. Click the blue arrow on the left hand side of the wells list in the Define well
segmentation dialog.
How to remove a well from well segmentation:
1. Select the well in the list.
2. Click the red cross on the left hand side of the wells list in the Define well
segmentation dialog, OR press the DELETE key.
A well may appear in the list more than once, either explicitly or, more likely, as a
member of a folder. In this case, when exported to the simulator, it will use the
segmentation parameters for the last or lowest appearance in the list.
Thus, a set of default parameters can be defined for the Wells folder, to apply to all wells,
and then over-ridden by including particular wells or well folders further down the list.
Move wells up and down the list by selecting them and using the up and down
arrows on the left hand side of the wells list in the Define well segmentation dialog.

Pressure drop model

There are four main contributors to the pressure drop in the wellbore that can be modeled:
Hydrostatic: the pressure drop due to the weight of the fluid. This is always included in
the calculation.
Phase slip: if this is enabled, fluids are allowed to flow at different velocities, including
in opposite directions. This gives an improved representation of phase segregation at low
flow rates, especially when the well is shut in.
Friction: pressure drop due to friction between the fluid and the tubing or casing. The
roughness of the tubing or casing is entered as a parameter of the casing or tubing.
Acceleration: accounts for the pressure drop caused by acceleration of the fluids
Alternatively, the pressure drop in segments at particular inclinations may be modeled
using a flow performance table. (Flow performance tables for devices are defined in the
Make development strategy process using rules, as they vary with time).
How to use a flow performance table to model the pressure drop in a segment:
1. Calculate the flow performance table in a program such as PIPESIM and export in
ECLIPSE VFP format
2. If you do not already have a folder in the Input pane in Petrel, create one by selecting
Insert new folder from the toolbar menu. Double-click the inserted folder and rename it
in the Info tab.
3. Right-click on the folder and select Import (on selection) from the context menu.
4. Select the VFP file from the Import file dialog and press OK.
5. In the Define well segmentation process, select the well or well folder to use the table
in.
6. In the Flow performance tables list, select to Append item in the table to add a row
to the flow performance tables list.
7. Define the range of inclination through which to use the table. Angles should be
between 0 and 180 degrees, with 90 being horizontal and 0 being downward
8. Select the flow performance table in the Input pane, and click the blue arrow button in
the table:

Petrel 2007.1 assumes that tables used in this way include both the frictional and
hydrostatic pressure drops. If the table only includes the frictional pressure drop and you
want ECLIPSE to calculate and add the hydrostatic pressure drop, after exporting your
model use the Keyword editor to edit the WSEGTABL keyword and change item 5 from
FH to F-
When the flow is in the opposite direction to that assumed when calculating the table, the
simulator reverses the flow for horizontal segments, and uses the minimum flow rate
(to approximate a hydrostatic only pressure drop) for vertical or inclined segments.
Petrel treats segments between 45 and 135 degrees as horizontal (reversing the pressure
drop) and other segments as vertical.
Flow paths and Segments
Petrel analyzes the well completions to determine the path along which fluid will flow.
The flow path may be displayed in the well section window by pressing the toggle flow
path display button on the Well completion design or Define well segmentation function
bar.
If a well segmentation set is selected for display on the input tree, and the well being
viewed is included in that segmentation set, then the display of well segments will
override display of the flow path. The segments are displayed along the flow path, so the
display is very similar: the main difference being that the flow path stops at the well head,
whereas the segmentation stops at the bottom hole pressure reference depth, and
obviously that the segmentation display shows the segments:

ECLIPSE supports only a tree like structure for the flow path loops are not supported.
A single well may have two flow paths to surface: flow up the tubing, and flow behind
the tubing in the annulus. Petrel 2007.1 does not support more than one tubing at a time
in the well. Wells with more than one flow path to surface are modeled as two separate
wells in the simulator.
Multiple well bores in Petrel may be connected together to form a single multi-lateral
well; either by creating them in Petrel using the Well path design process, or by
specifying them as laterals when importing the well path see Formats for Well data. A
multi-lateral well will be modeled as a single well in the simulator.
Segmentation Parameters
The segmentation parameters are used to control how the well is divided up into
segments. Generally speaking, the more segments you use, the more accurate the model
of the well (up to a point) but the slower your simulation will be. Segments are always
created to represent devices such as valves, pumps, measuring devices, etc.
The parameters are:
Segment up to (TVD)
This sets the depth in the well below which segments will be created. The pressure drop
above this depth may be modeled with a flow performance table, assigned using a rule in
the Define development strategy process.
This depth is also the Bottom Hole Pressure (BHP) reference depth. To ensure that
all BHPs reported by the simulator are reported at a common datum, set this depth the
same for all wells.
If a branch of a multi-lateral joins the well above the specified depth, Petrel will
generate an error message when exporting the well to the simulator.
If this depth is not set, Petrel will segment up to the top change in flow path diameter,
typically the bottom of the production tubing, or the top point at which a device exists, or
the top point at which a lateral joins the well bore. Note that if the tubing extends below
the top perforation or multi-lateral join, the BHP reference depth may be set below the
top segment in a true vertical depth sense, although it is nearer the wellhead along the
flow path:

Maximum delta TVD

This sets the maximum vertical distance between two segment nodes. The hydrostatic
pressure drop is governed by the vertical distance, so this parameter may be set to ensure
the hydrostatic pressure drop in a segment is not too large.
Maximum delta inclination
This sets the maximum difference in inclination between segments. It can be used to
ensure additional segments are created in sections of the wellbore with high curvature.
Create segment when inclination crosses horizontal
Undulations in the wellbore can create U-bends, which act as traps for high density
fluids, such as water, that can prevent flow of lighter fluids such as gas or light oils.
Ensuring segment boundaries at this points allows this effect to be modeled accurately
Segment per cell within a perforation
This creates a separate segment for each grid cell that connects to the wellbore. This
allows more accurate modeling of flow from the grid into the well. However, it can create
many more segments.
If this option is enabled, all other parameters are ignored within perforations.

Maximum segment length within a perforation

If the segment per cell within a perforation option is disabled, this parameter sets the
maximum length along the wellbore of a segment within a perforation.
Minimum segment length outside perforations
This sets the minimum length of a segment outside perforations.
This constraint may be violated if the distance between two completion items such as
valves is less than this value.
The minimum segment length within a perforation is set by cell size, since no cell may
connect to more than one segment.
Maximum segment length outside perforations
This sets the maximum length of a segment outside perforations.
Technical Documentation and known issues
This section describes some of the technical details regarding segment generation nodes
and their subsequent export. It also details current known issues with creating, visualizing
and exporting segments.
Terminology. A fixed segment node is a node that represents a connection or change in
topology. Examples are connection nodes that are connected to the reservoir and generate
COMPSEGS/COMPSEGL keywords, the node at the end of tubing where diameter
changes and device nodes that represent (for example) a choke in a valve. These nodes
are will always exist (except under exceptional circumstances where branch nodes are
very close)
Segment display. For speed we do not calculate connection properties when generating
multi-segmented wells segments for display. Therefore it is possible in the well section
window to get segment nodes for cells that do not flow. When exporting the case, we
calculate these properties and only generate segments for cells that will flow. It is
therefore possible for the number of segments written to the deck to be less than the
number shown on the well section window.
Open hole properties. Open hole wells now have default properties for diameter (7.5"),
roughness (0.006") and skin (0.0). These values may be overridden on the Global
completion settings Properties tab or individually via a well's Completions settings.
Convergence issues. If your segmented wells have trouble converging, try adding
WSEGITER to the deck as a User keyword using the Keyword Editor. This forces the use
of a more expensive but more robust algorithm in Eclipse, which should enable quicker

convergence, resulting in less time steps. No additional parameters are required - see the
Eclipse documentation for more information.
Accounting for segments roughness when behind tubing. If a segment is in annulus and
we have coincident tubing then, to account correctly for roughness, we export the
Hydraulic (or Equivalent) diameter and the diameter-weighted-average roughness of the
casing and tubing. These values are used by Eclipse to calculate the Fanning friction
factor.
Known issues
If properties of segments (diameter or roughness) change over time, these will not be
reflected in the exported deck. The segment properties will reflect the completion item
that originally generated the segment. This issue will be addressed in a future release.
If a cell is connected to more than one branch of a well (for example, at an open hole
lateral kick off), we currently only export the connection for one of the branches.
Roughness cannot currently be set for valves or pumps. Instead they inherit the
roughness from their associated tubing.
The default roughness for casing and tubing pre-2007.1 was 0.0077" which is
unrealistic. Although casing and tubing roughness could be set prior to 2007.1, the values
were never used. We have taken the decision to auto-correct this value on project import
to the PVTi default of 0.0006". This conversion will only take place the first time a pre2007.1 project is loaded.