History matching is widely used to alter reservoir simulation models so that the well rate and pressure

parameters can be correspondingly compared. Dynamic reservoir parameters such as permeability and
effect of faults cannot be examined by history matching because the information is being obtained at
discrete locations that lacks the areal coverage. 1The 4D data is of importance in a reservoir description
process, since they have ability include information about pressure changes and fluid movement in the
reservoir due to depletion and injection. Therefore by monitoring fluid fronts and differentiating between
pressure and fluid saturation changes over time, we can determine water encroachment, gas-cap
formations and bypassed oil reserves.

A typical final processing product is a time-lapse difference

dataset (i.e., the seismic data from Survey 1 is subtracted from the data from Survey 2). The difference
should be close to zero, except where reservoir changes have occurred.
The ensemble Kalman filter (EnKF) is properly suited to combine the data coming from production history
and seismic data. The EnKF method was introduced by Geir Evensen in 1994 and is a Monte Carlo type
sequential Bayesian inversion method having suitability for history matching a reservoir simulation
models. The Ensemble Kalman Filter (EnKF) is a data assimilation method designed to provide estimates
of the state of a system by blending information from a model of the system with observations. It
maintains an ensemble of state estimates from which a single best state estimate and an assessment of
estimation error may be calculated. Compared to more established methods it offers advantages of
reduced computational cost, better handling of nonlinearity, and greater ease of implementation.
3

The work of Bianco (2007) is one of the first application which was successfully used EnKF to history

match a real field reservoir model and showed how the ENKF can be used to evaluate the uncertainty in
the production forecast for a given development plan for a real field model. More recently. 4Cominelli
(2009) has used EnKF to history match the simulation model and to assess the remaining uncertainty on
production forecast for a deep-water under saturated oil reservoir.

1 A.Fahimuddin, S.I.Aanonsen, J.A. Skjervheim. Ensemble Based 4D Seismic History

matching: Integration of Different levels and Types of Seismic Data. In proceedings
of the SPE EUROPEC/EAGE Annual Conference and Exhibition held in Barcelone,
Spain, June 2010. SPE 131453
2 Schlumberger dictionary, 4D Seismic-Determining changes in the reservoir over
time. [Online] Available from:
http://www.slb.com/services/seismic/seismic_acquisition/services/marine/techniques
/4d.aspx [Accessed: 3 November 2015]
3 A. Bianco, A.Cominelli, L.Dovera, G.Naevdal and B.Valles. Matching of production
history and 4D seismic data- application to the Girasol field, offshore Angola. In
proceedings of the SPE Europec/EAGE Annual Conference and Exhibition, London,
U.K. 2007. SPE 107161

4 A.Cominelli, L.Dovera, and G.Naeval. Benchmark study of ensemble Kalman

filter methodology: History matching and uncertainty quantification for a
deep water oil reservoir. In proceedings of the International Petroleum
Technology Conference, Doham Qatar, 2009. IPTC 13748