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Newsletter of SIS in Caspian region April - May 2016

Water Saturation and Free Water Level Aforementioned approach (the use of actual capillary curves for
computation of water saturation from capillary pressure model) is
Computation in Techlog* the simplest of possible approaches and its biggest advantage is
The problem of correct definition of reservoir saturation is actual at an extreme simplicity of receiving such model with a good result,
the most different stages of modeling – from petrophysics to considerably surpassing the quality of the traditional approaches in
geology and reservoir engineering. Upon that, approaches for Excel. However, Techlog allows to significantly improve this model
calculation and distribution of this major parameter are often not and to make it much more physical, therefore more precisely
coordinated between experts in practice even in the scope of one correlating with actual data on fluid saturation.
work on modeling. For example, petrophysicists use electric
(resistivity) model for saturation and obtain water saturation by
measuring on formation resistivity. Geologists cannot directly use
these data, due to an incorrectness of stochastic distribution of
saturation on a reservoir scale. They are forced to build the
generalized dependences on the height above a contact or the
absolute height of a reservoir, created on the basis of curves
approximation of water saturation from wireline. Reservoir
engineers traditionally use capillary pressure curves for model
creation of water saturation distribution which answers their
essential condition of an initial equilibrium state of model. It is clear
that different approaches when modeling the same parameter do
not improve reliability of saturation calculation, therefore it is still a
big problem in practice.
Fig. 2. Water saturation (cube) calculation in Petrel using the function
from Techlog

There is an opportunity to use more complex techniques operating


with constants in the equations for creation of more correct
saturation from capillary model in Techlog:

Fig. 1. Traditional approach of averaging of all range of capillary curves from


uniform J-function (red curve)

Techlog SHM module (Saturation Height Modeling) allows to build


a methodological and reasonable water saturation computation
from capillary pressure model which can successfully be used for
petrophysical modeling on an equal basis with resistivity model, as
well as for geological and dynamic modeling of a reservoir. For example, the PCe (entry pressure) parameter in Brooks-Corey
equation can be directly connected with Swcr = point of the
The main steps for creation of such model and a possibility of use beginning of water filtration, thus equal to Oil Water Contact (OWC)
will be shown in this article. value (Fig. 3).
The most known and simple method of water saturation distribution
is the use of J-function (Fig. 1). As this function is quite simple
mathematical averaging of the whole range of the actual capillary
curves, in many cases it cannot fully describe dependence of water
saturation on height above the free water level (FWL).
Nevertheless such function as instant and simple decision can be
received quickly in the SHM module in Techlog in the form of the
following dependence:

SW = Min(1, Max(0, 0.49 * Pow((3.14 * sqrt(PERM / POR) *


(HAFWL * (1 - 0.8) * 0.098 * (1.0 / (30 * 0.866)))), -0.29) - 0.08))

This function from Techlog is suitable to apply in the standard


Fig. 3. The relationship between specific points on capillary pressure and relative
calculator or the process manager in Petrel. For this purpose it is permeability curves with the actual start of fluids movement in a reservoir. The
enough to have the constructed cubes of porosity, permeability and possibility of predicting of FWL and OWC is shown according to capillary pressure
the height above FWL (Fig. 2). and relative permeability data

This issue has been prepared by employees of Software Integrated Solutions, Astana, Kazakhstan. Software application marks used in this publication, unless
otherwise indicated, are trademarks of Schlumberger. Certain other products and product names are trademarks of registered trademarks of their respective
companies or organizations. An asterisk (*) is used throughout this document to designate a mark of Schlumberger.
© 2016 Schlumberger. All rights reserved.
Newsletter of SIS in Caspian region April - May 2016
saturation from log model there is an opportunity to compute FWL
at which capillary (core) and resistivity (log) models will obtain the
most similar results. Such simple and effective tool allows to solve
one of the most complex challenges of geological modeling –
computation of FWL on each well individually or an average value
on a reservoir.

Results
The following results will be obtained from SHM module in Techlog:
1. Simple J-function with water saturation as a function of
FWL can be build on the basis of the actual capillary
Fig.4. Thomeer function to obtain mathematical model of water saturation from
capillary pressure
curves and it can be directly transferred to Petrel for
geological or dynamic calculations;
The user can built a capillary model which describes more precisely 2. More complex functions (Brooks-Corey, Lambda,
Thomeer) on water saturation from FWL can be
all range of change in reservoir properties as a result of application
constructed with the use of additional parameters. Such
of more complex techniques which are used in Techlog. Such
model demands an extra time for construction, but
construction example is presented in Fig. 4. Actually this model is
always gives the best result at further saturation
also dependence of saturation on porosity, permeability and free modeling;
water level and can be transferred and used in Petrel with the same 3. With the aids of functions obtained from case 1 or 2 the
ease as presented earlier. saturation cube can be quickly received in Petrel;
Possibilities of creation of capillary model in the absence of 4. The table with values will be generated for the ECLIPSE
simulator when using the designated techniques and
the actual capillary curves.
instruments to work along with relative permeability
Unfortunately, there are no actual measurements of capillary (Fig. 6);
curves on a core in certain cases on fields. In Techlog there is an 5. Objects in Techlog (Fig. 7) are saved for their direct
opportunity for such fields to construct synthetic capillary model on transfer to Petrel and further use in geological and
available porosity, permeability and an actual saturation values dynamic modeling.
determined by resistivity model from wireline (Archie’s equation,
Dual Water Model and others).

Fig. 4. Table generated from Techlog for use in ECLIPSE.

Fig. 5. Water saturation and Free Water Level computation in Techlog.

Also free water level has to be set in a reservoir to solve this task.
In this case Techlog solves the inverse problem – selects such
constants in the same equation of J-function (or other above
mentioned functions) at which the saturation from capillary model Fig. 5. Capillary pressure models from Techlog database are ready to be
will coincide with the saturation calculation from resistivity model. transferred and used in Petrel.

Besides, Techlog allows to do it in the multi-well mode with known


FWL and water saturation. It significantly increases an accuracy of
the obtained function.
Free water level computation.
Inversion can be applied to obtain any following data: water
saturation, permeability, equation parameters and FWL. It means
that in the presence of the constructed capillary model and a
This issue has been prepared by employees of Software Integrated Solutions, Astana, Kazakhstan. Software application marks used in this publication, unless
otherwise indicated, are trademarks of Schlumberger. Certain other products and product names are trademarks of registered trademarks of their respective
companies or organizations. An asterisk (*) is used throughout this document to designate a mark of Schlumberger.
© 2016 Schlumberger. All rights reserved.
Newsletter of SIS in Caspian region April - May 2016

Mixed initialization option in To achieve this preservation of the equilibration saturations, the
composition is adjusted as can be seen in
INTERSECT* the Fig.2. The base case maintains the provided compositions
In addition to equilibrated and enumerated initialization, above the oil-water contact. The case with
INTERSECT 2016 allows mixed hydrostatic initialization where mixed initialization on the other hand, increases the composition of
some the lighter component in the gas zone
primary variables are initialized from the capillary-gravity model and reduces the composition of the heavier component. In the oil
and some are specified explicitly using enumeration. This option is zone the situation is reversed. This
applicable only to cases with a single fluid composition ensures that the resulting composition is consistent with the
(compositional/thermal case (critical fluids)). equilibrated saturations.

Application areas include:

 Instead of providing the data vs.depth (via ZMFVD),


the user can input composition for cells and regions
(via ZMF and NEI respectively)
 It is possible to honor Pressure/saturation and ignore
composition (via NEI) or pressure/composition and
neglect saturations (via ZMF)
 Fix ZMF, and make sensitivity on contacts and datum
 Some thermal cases that cannot be properly
equilibrated by the capillary-gravity model may be
initialized via NEI+enumerated saturations
The different cases of mixed initialization are performed in the
following manner:
Case 1: EQUIL+ZMF
In this case the pressure and saturations are initialized via
equilibration. After this, user defined total mole fractions are flashed
to the current pressure and temperature. In this case, the
equilibrated saturation will potentially be overwritten (apart from
Fig. 1. Initial saturation distribution in 3D: Base_Case (left) and
water saturation) to ensure consistency with the provided Mixed_Initialization (right)
composition data and the calculated pressure and temperature.
Case 2: EQUIL+NEI
Similarly to Case 1 pressure and saturations are initialized via
equilibration and user defined total mole fractions are flashed to the
current pressure and temperature. An attempt is then be made to
match the oil, water and gas saturations calculated from the
capillary-gravity equilibration by adjusting component
compositions.
Case 3: EQUIL+ZMF+enumerated saturations
This case is similar to Case 1 with the exception that the saturations
are enumerated. As such saturation initialization from the capillary-
gravity model is skipped. However, hydrocarbon saturations are
still subject to change whereas water saturation is kept.
Case 4: EQUIL+NEI+enumerated saturations
This case is similar to Case 2 with the exception that the saturations
are enumerated. This will therefore be treated similarly to Case 2
with saturation initialization from the capillary-gravity model being
skipped. Hydrocarbon and water saturation will be honored.
As it can be seen from the Fig.1, for the base case (compositional
critical fluid and ZI is defined), the post initialization flash changes Fig. 2. Initial saturation and mole fraction profiles
the saturations so much so that the position of the gas-oil contact
is no longer identifiable in this case. This is because the specified
composition is inconsistent with the oil and gas saturations
obtained from the capillary-gravity equilibration model. For mixed
initialization however, the clean interface between the oil and the
gas which was calculated from the equilibration can be identified.
This issue has been prepared by employees of Software Integrated Solutions, Astana, Kazakhstan. Software application marks used in this publication, unless
otherwise indicated, are trademarks of Schlumberger. Certain other products and product names are trademarks of registered trademarks of their respective
companies or organizations. An asterisk (*) is used throughout this document to designate a mark of Schlumberger.
© 2016 Schlumberger. All rights reserved.
Newsletter of SIS in Caspian region April - May 2016

Rod Pump Module in PIPESIM*


Sucker Rod pumps are the most widely used artificial lift
method in the world because of its simple structure, flexibility and
longevity. Therefore, the ability to design and diagnose this type of
artificial lift is always of high interest.
PIPESIM Sucker Rod Pump Design and Diagnostic offers options
in equipment selection and design control specification so you can
conduct various optimal design scenario studies. You also can
perform a design study based on your experience and
assumptions. For diagnostics, the combination of neural network
technology and comprehensive analysis provides you with more
Fig.2. Rod Pump Design and Optimization
detailed and rigorous diagnostics analysis. The module comprises
the following main parts: Rod Pump Diagnostics with Dynamometer Card
 Equipment Database The diagnostic technology of the rod pump system is based on the
 Rod Pump Design and Optimization principle of treating the rod as a downhole dynamic signals conduct
 Rod Pump Diagnostics with Dynamometer Card line and the pump as a transmission device. The working condition
of the pump (loading change on the plunger) is transmitted to
Equipment Database
surface via rod in forms of a stress wave that is received by the
The equipment database in the Rod Pump module includes dynamometer. By building the wave equation with a damping
Pumping Unit data, Rod data, and Pump data. You can browse the coefficient, the dyno.card of each cross section of the rod and
data in the database. You can add, modify, or delete any pump can be deduced. The whole well working condition can be
equipment data that you entered. analyzed and judged.
The traditional pump dyno.card recognition method is to use a
numerical value to represent dyno.card according to a particular
specification. Experience shows that the simple specification
cannot classify the dyno.card properly. In the RP module, an NN
(Neural Network) method is introduced. It contains a three level
neural network technology for the dyno.card diagnostic.
Because of the complexity of the rod pump system, the use of the
dyno.card to recognize the pump working condition is not enough.
You also need a good understanding of loading the rod and the
balance of the pump unit. Comprehensive analysis is added in the
Rod Pump diagnostic module by adding the neural network
technology. This method produces a more rigorous and
Fig.1. Pumping Unit Database comprehensive judgment of the working condition of the well.
Rod Pump Design and Optimization This module provides the following types of diagnostic analysis
The optimization and design in Rod Pump includes the optimization based on the dynamometer card data:
of the swabbing parameters — such as pump diameter, stroke, and
 Plunger Operation Condition
frequency of stroke — and the selection of the swabbing equipment
 Stress Analysis of Rod String Torque Plots and
— such as the structure of the rod. Diversity in the optimization
Pumping Unit
target with various influence factors and the continuity of the
 Balance Condition
changing of design parameters results in a complex design
 Multiple Dyno. curves at various sections of rod string
process. There are three design methods in Rod Pump:

 Specify the flowrate - used to meet the requirement of


the production allocation of each well
 Specify the intake pressure
 Specify the dynamic fluid level - used to improve the
pump volumetric efficiency which affects the whole
system efficiency
These methods are based on the principle of equivalent intensity,
which re-designs the rod, pump, and pump depth without taking
into account of the current rod pump system. The rod material can
be redesigned as either a common rod or a weighted rod. The
optimized solution ensures the stress percentages on the top side Fig.3. Rod Pump Diagnostics with Dynamometer Card
of each rod section are equal.

This issue has been prepared by employees of Software Integrated Solutions, Astana, Kazakhstan. Software application marks used in this publication, unless
otherwise indicated, are trademarks of Schlumberger. Certain other products and product names are trademarks of registered trademarks of their respective
companies or organizations. An asterisk (*) is used throughout this document to designate a mark of Schlumberger.
© 2016 Schlumberger. All rights reserved.
Newsletter of SIS in Caspian region April - May 2016

Recommendations on Working with


Seismic Data in Petrel*
1) ZGY format
When dealing with 3D seismic data it is recommended to use
ZGY format.
3D seismic formats supported by Petrel include: SEG-Y, ZGY,
integer formats and compressed ZGY. The standard format for
seismic data is SEG-Y, a binary format in which seismic traces are
stored sequentially. This makes SEG-Y slow to work with. The
accuracy and resolution is controlled by the bit size, inline and
crossline spacing (3D)/trace spacing (2D). ZGY is the format that
is recommended to use in Petrel. It is the seismic format with
Fig.2. Seismic Settings Tab in System Settings
optimized performance provided by changing trace representation
of the data to bricks. The difference between SEG-Y and ZGY is Also remember to use recommended graphic card hardware and
that in ZGY information is read into memory by bricks rather that driver. For current Petrel version system requirements are as
traces and stored in cache. Depending on the resolution brick size below:
changes: 32-bit data is full resolution, 8-bit data is minimum
resolution. There are several ways to convert SEG-Y to ZGY:
realize data, compress or load SEGY as ZGY.
2) Seismic cache
Seismic cache affects performance when working with large
amounts of 2D and 3D seismic data and horizon interpretation.
Seismic cache is the amount of memory available to Petrel to hold.
By default, only data displayed in Petrel windows consumes
seismic cache. But the user can prefetch data to cache, to get the
faster access to it. It is recommended to set seismic cache size as
2/3rd of the available physical memory, and prefetch to cache when
3D visualization intensive workflows are planned. To set seismic
cache go to File>System>System Settings>Seismic Settings tab:

Fig.3. System and Driver Requirements for Petrel

4) Additional recommendations

Fig.1. Seismic Settings Tab in System Settings Close all unused windows, as they consume memory.

To prefetch data to cache RMB on seismic and choose Prefetch If the seismic data is larger than seismic cache size, either crop the
to cache from the drop down menu. area of interest or reduce the size of the data (by compressing or
realizing).
Also, when working with large seismic data it is useful to free
memory from time to time. It can be done here: File>System>Free Also, seismic visualization styles can be changed:
Memory or by pressing the icon:  Bilinear interpolation method instead of smoothing.
3) Graphics Memory and Seismic Texture Cache  Reduced number of annotations.
 Decrease time to wait for data.
Geobodies, points, polygons, light tool, well trajectories, surfaces,
 Apply decimation while dragging.
horizons visualization are dependent on graphics memory. Texture
cache size represents amount of texture memory that can be
cached on the GPU for seismic volume interpretation. For geobody
interpretation workflows increase the value to render as much data
as possible.
This issue has been prepared by employees of Software Integrated Solutions, Astana, Kazakhstan. Software application marks used in this publication, unless
otherwise indicated, are trademarks of Schlumberger. Certain other products and product names are trademarks of registered trademarks of their respective
companies or organizations. An asterisk (*) is used throughout this document to designate a mark of Schlumberger.
© 2016 Schlumberger. All rights reserved.

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