..

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A. S. Odeh, SPE-AIME,Mobil Research& DevelopmentCorp.

Introduction
Reservoir simulation is based on well known reservoir Basic Analysis
engineering equations and techniques — the same If a reservoir is fairly homogeneous, average values
equations and techniques the reservoir engineer has of the reservoir properties, such as porosity, are ade-
been using for years. quate to describe it. The average pressure, time, and
In generai, sirmukition .e.w.. .- Lie representation
.-f m-c tO production behavior of such a reservoir under a solu-
. .
of some process by either a theoretical or a physical tion gas drive, for ---+
~Acwy.-,
nre
--
MNTI-MUycalculated
model. Here, we limit ourselves to the simulation of by the familiar methods’ of Tamer, Muskat, or Tracy.
petroleum reservoirs. Our concern is the development All of these methods use the material balance equa-
and use of models that describe the reservoir perform- tion normally referred to as the MBE. A simple ex-
ance under various operating conditions. pression for the oil MBE is the following
Reservoir simulation itself is not really new. Engi-
(cumulative net withdrawal in STB) = (original
neers have long used mathematical models in per-
oil in place in STB) — (oil remaining in place
forming reservoir engineering calculations. Before the in STB)
development of modem digital computers, however,
the models were relatively simple. For example, when The cumulative net withdrawal is the difference be-
calculating the oil in place volumetrically, the engi- tween the oil that leaves the reservoir and the oil that
neer simulated the reservoir by a simple model in enters it. In this basic analysis, there is no oil entering
which average values for the porosity, saturation, and the reservoir since the boundaries are considered im-
thickness were used. permeable to flow. Thus, the MBE reduces to its
Although simulation in the petroleum industry is simplest form. Such a reservoir model is called the
not new, the new aspects are that more detailed reser- tank model (Fig. 1). It is zero dimensional because
voir features, and thus more accurate simulations, rock, fluid properties, and pressure values do not vary
have become practical because of the capability af- from point to point. Instead, they are calculated as
forded by the computers now available. The more de- average values for the whole reservoir. This tank
tailed description, however, requires complex mathe- model is the basic building block of reservoir simu-
matical expressions that are difficult to understand, lators.
and this difiicuhy has caused some engineers to shy Now let us consider a reservoir represented by a
away from using simulators, and others to misuse sandbar. Let the two halves of the sandbar vary in
them. lithology. The sandbar as a whole cannot be repre-
We in the petroleum industry are in the reservoir sented by average properties, but each half can. Thus,
simulation revolution. As time goes on, simulators will the sandbar consists of two tank units, or cells, as they
be used more and more, so a basic understanding of are normally called. The MBE describes the fluid
. ..
reservolr modelmg is esseiitia,. “ ‘ The engineer! espe- behavior in each ceU as in the previous tank model.
.,M. . . . ~] te~ of the MBE is
cially, must become competent in setting up simula- However, the net wl,,,d,~.v-. .+...-
tion problems, in deciding on appropriate input data, more complicated because there can be migration of
and in evaluating the results. fluid from one cell to another, depending on the aver-
. 7-Z3t- 1383
age pressure values of the two cells. This fluid transfer several two-dimensional geometries, the most popu-
between the two cells is calculated by Darcy’s law. lar of which is the horizontal (x-y) geometry; but the
The MBE, together with Darcy’s law, describes the vertical (x-z) and the radial (r-z) geometries are also
behavior of each cell. This model is not a zero-dimen- used quite often.
sional reservoir simulator since reservoir parameters Simulators can be classified also according to the
may vary between the two cells. Instead it is a one- type of reservoir or process they are intended to simu-
dimensional model, because it consists of more than late. There are, for example, gas, black oil, gas con-
one cell in one direction and of only one cell in the densate, end miscible displacement reservoir simulat-
other two directions (Fig. 2). ors. Moreover, there are one-, two- and three-phase
This analysis can be extended to reservoirs where reservoir models. Furthermore, any of these simula-
properties as well as pressure values vary in two tors may or may not account for gravitational or
dimensions, and to others where the variation occurs capillary forces. It is not enough to choose the proper
in three dimensions. The simulators representing these simulator with respect to dirnensionality; the simu-
reservoirs are called, respectively, two-dimensional lator must represent the type of hydrocarbon and the
and three-dimensional simulators, as illustrated in fluid phases present.
Figs. 3 and 4. Thus, a two-dimensional reservoir simu-
lator consists of more than one cell in two dimensions Simulation Steps

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and of one cell in the thhxi dimension. And a three- Preparation of Data
dimensional simulator consists of more than one cell After the type of model to use in a study has been
in all of the three dimensions. selected, the next step is to divide the reservoir into a
Regardless of the number of dimensions used, the number of cells, as illustrated in Figs. 2 through 4.
MBE is the basic equation describing the fluid be- This is accomplished by laying out a grid system for
havior within a cell; and Darcy’s law describes the the reservoir. In a two-dimensional study, the grid is
interaction between the cells. In one-, two-, and three- established by drawing lines on a map of the reser-
dimensional models each cell, except the boundary voir. All grid lines must extend across the reservoir.
cell, interacts respectively with 2, 4, and 6 cells. Since Each cell is identified by its x, y, z coordinates. Then
a simulator can consist of hundreds of cells, keeping the flow conditions around the perimeter of the res-
account of the MBE for each cell is a formidable ervoir are established. Normally the reservoir bound-
bookkeeping operation ideally suited to digital com- ary is considered sealed, but influx or efflux at an
~utation. But we emphasize once again that the prin- assigned pressure or rate may also be specified.
m. .
ciples and equations used in reservoir simulation are . .. -following
1rie next s’fip is to ass:gn the - for each
not new. They only appear so because of the complex- celk rock properties, geometry, initial fluid distribu-
ity of the bookkeeping. tion, and fluid properties. The rock properties consist
of specific permeability, porosity, relative permeabili-
Types of Reservoir Skmihiiim Cj ~d ~~m~e&~.e$~Apillary pressure. The Cell geome-
There are several types of reservoir simulators. Choice try includes the depth, thickness and locations of
of the proper simulator to represent a particular res- wells. Usually the wells are assumed to be located at
ervoir requires an understanding of the reservoir and the centers of ‘&e cells in which *Aeyfal!a The initial
a careful examination of the data available. A model fluid distribution consists of the oil, water and gas
that fits Reservoir A may not be appropriate for Res- saturations at the beginning of simulation. Also, the
ervoir B, in spite of apparent similarities between average pressure of the cell at that time is assigned or
Reservoirs A and B. A reservoir model is useful only calculated from known data. Fluid properties are
when it fits the field case. specitied by the usual PVT data. In addition, for each
One basis for classif@g models, as discussed ear- well it is necessary to provide a production schedule
lier, is the number of dimensions. The two-dimen- and a productivity index or a skin value (i.e., damage
sional model is the most commordy used. There are or ,improvement).

/
Flow

5TY?l--
Fig. 24ne-dimensional simulator.

Flow

Fig. l—Tsmk model. Fig. 3-Two-dimensional simulator.

JOURNAL OF PETROLEUM TECHNOLOGY

 The engineer should scrutinize carefully these basic the reservoir.
data for consistency and accuracy. For example, if
Mathematical Considerations
pressure buildup data are available on a well, the
permeability-thickness product of the cell where the Derivation of Equations
well is located and the flow rate assigned to the well, For the engineer to adequately understand reservoir
should be compatible with the buildup data. The time simulation, he should be acquainted with the equa-
spent in examining the basic data is well spent, for it tions used. These are basicaUy material balances about
can lead to fewer simulation runs. Moreover one must cells for each phase, and Darcy’s law, which describes
always remember that the answer is only as good as the interactions between cells. For illustration, we
the input data. derive here the fundamental equations for a black oil
system. and exp!ain thei: physical significance.
History Matchfng and Performance Predktion For the sake of simphclty, consider a cdl in a one-
The rn-fi ~urpose of reservoir simulation is to prediCt dimensional reservoir simulator, as shown in Fig. 5.
the rate of hydrocarbon recovery for dtierent meth- Tine sane mia!jjsis is applicable to a cell in two- and
.*
ods of field operation. d adeq-ua .-.-LG CI,.J
~eiu
A+. ex!st~
-a~ th.me-dimensional models. (An expression for the oil
reasonably accurate performance predictions can be material balance of the cell was given eariier.)
made. If data are incomplete or suspect, simulators (Oil volume entering the ceU during a time incre-

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may be used only to compare semi-quantitatively the ment At, in STB) minus (oil volume leaving the ceU
results of dtierent ways of operating the reservoir. In during the same time increment, in STB) equals (the
either case, the accuracy of the simulator can be imp- change in oil volume in the ceU, in STB).
roved by history matching. Volume of oil entering the cell during At, in STB,
The first step in a history match is to calculate res- equals QinAt.
ervoir performance using the best data available. The Volume of oil leaving the cell during At, in STB,
results are compared with the field recorded histories equals (At + dA~.
of the wells. If the agreement is not satisfactory, such Change in volume of oil in the cell during At, in
data as permeability, relative permeabiUty, and po- STB, equals
ro@ are va~~ed from one computer run to another
until a match is achieved. The s&ndator is then used
to predict performance for alternative plans of oper-
ating the reservoir. where Qi. is the average flOWmte of ofl into the cell
The behavior of the reservoir is influenced by many during At in STB/unit time, Q..t is the avenge flow
factors — permeability, porosity, thickness, satura- rate of oil leaving the cell to its neighbors during At
tion distributions, relative permeability, etc. — that in STB/unit time, and QOis the oil production rate
are never known precisely aU over the reservoir. What from the cell, if it contains a well, in STB/unit time;
the engineer arrives at is only a combination of these AxAyh@.
variables, which results in a match. ‘T’is colmbiiation represents the volume of oil in the cell at
l?.
is not unique, so it may not represent precisely the any time, n+ 1 refers to the end of the time step, and
condition of the reservoir. When the simulator, after n to the beginning.
a match, is used to predict, it is not certain that the Substitution in the oil MBE, after dividing through
physical picture of the reservoir described in the simu- by At, gives
lator will give predictions sufficiently close to the ac-
tual reservoir performance. In generaI, the longer the
matched history period, the more reliable the pre-
dicted performance wiU be. It behooves the engineer
Qin – Qcmt – go = %w’)w%)rnl
.,. . . . . . . . . . (1)
to monitor periodically the predicted vs the actual
performance and to update his physioal picture of However, by Drircy’s&.w, assuming the flaw to be

Qout
Flow

Qin

Fig. 4-Three-dimensional simulator. Fig. 5-Cell in a one-dimensional simulator.

. 1385
from left to right as shown in Fig. 5, average value for @o—i.e., at the (n+ %2 )-time level—
while the forward difference method uses @. at the
beginning of the time step — i.e., at the n-time level.
The implicit method is the most stable of the three.
and The time at which hkJBop~ is evaluated was left un-
specified. Most authors use the n-time level, but some
use the (n+ 1)-time level. This will be discussed later.
Similar derivations can be made for the water and
gas. The water and gas equations in vector notation
where Ayh is the cross-sectional area of the cell, Ax
form are, respectively,
is the length of the cell, 00 is the flow potential in the
oil phase, i refers to the cell of interest, 1—1 refers to
the left-hand neighbor, and i+ 1 refers to the right-
hand neighbor. The flow potential @oequals pressure
and
plus capillary pressure plus gravitational potential,
and its Id$eat the (n+ 1)-time level is explained later.
Substituting Eq. 2 in Eq. 1 and dividing through by v ‘ (Afv@g) + v “ O&AJv%)

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AyAx gives
1 hko *“+’ + V ● (R,,oA,oV@t.) – *Y
——
[(
Ax p.. B.
Oi-1 –*F

Ax )
.— hko
/.LO
Ba

where in Eq. 6 the gas dissolved in the oil and water

is accounted for.
Eqs. 4b, 5, and 6 are the MB eqiaaticms for three-
phase immiscible flow in a black oil system, and were
Eq. 3 is rearranged to give derived by Muskat.3 Written in difference form, these
are virtually the only equations used in the most com-
mon type of simulation, that of a black oil reservoir.

@y
—
@ —— Method of Solution

( Ax
%
)1 AxAy
qo
Eq. 4 and its comparable forms for the water and gas
give the relationships, for each cell, among pressure;
S*[(*)”+l-(*)”] , ~ (4) and oil, water, and gas saturations; and time. If there
.- are m cells, then we have m equations for each phase,
giving a tdai of 3m equations. The solution of these
where A = * , and the subscripts i+% and i —1% equations is the major chore of reservoir simulation.
~B
Two methods of solution are generally used; these
indicate that the quantity is evaluated as an average are the implicit-implicit” 3 and the implicit-explicit.”
for the (i+ 1, i) and (i, i – 1) cells, respectively. DiEer- They are similar in one respect. Given a value for the
ent investigators use different averaging techniques. saturations and pressure at each cell at the beginning
The upstream value for A is the most commonly used. of a time step, new saturations and pressure values
Eq. 4 is the oil mass balance equation in one di- are found at the end of the time step. These values in
mension, in difference form, which is used in the simu- turn represent the starting point for the next time step.
lation calculations. In two and three dimensions, y- This stepwise process is continued until the desired
and z-&ection terms identical with the x-direction amount of time elapses.
term are added. The implicit-implicit”’ method solves Eqs. 4 and
Eq. 4 may be written in differential form as the difference forms of Eqs. 5 and 6 directly. The
solution usually involves an iterative procedure. Cap-
a+. qo _ a +JW’
& Ao~
() –—–—
AxAy 2t ()
—
B.
. . (4a) illary pressure occasionally tames instability prob-
lems.* The implicit-implicit method overcomes the
problem by expressing saturation as a function of cap-
and in vector notation as
illary pressure. To start the calculations, values of
saturations are assumed, and the pressures in the oil,
.~,ater, ~d gas phasesarecalculated. These calculated

These three forms of the MBE are used inter- pressures result in new capillary pressures, which are
changeably in the literature. Because of its compact- used to calculate saturations. These are compared
ness, Eq. 4b is the most commonly used. with the assumed values, and if necessary the calcula-
In deriving Eq. 4 we used the value of % at the tions are repeated.
(n+ 1)-time level, i.e., at the end of the time step. Using the fact that the oil, water, and gas satura-
This diflerencing technique is called the implicit2 or tions add up to one, we can manipulate the three MB
backward difference method and is the most com- “For definition, refer to the section on Computetionel Consid-
monly used. The Crank-Nicholson methodz uses an eration.

JOURNAL OF PETROLEUM TECHNOLOGY

. .

equations in such a way as to result in a pressure only Steps 1 and 2 and then 5 are executed, are called
equation. The pressure equation in symbolic form mixed. 7 Mixed methods are extensively used because
and vector notation is they require less computer time.
One criterion for dete rmining the compatibility of
Zp
v “ k,up –
q’=c’-z ‘ “ “ “ “
(7) the pressure and saturation values is the material bal-
ance error. One form of the material balance is the
.&,KeKe).~ is the total effective mobility of the three summation of the stock tank oil at the beginnimg and
phases, q’ is the total production, and c’ is the total at tiie end of the time step. The ditlerence between
effective compressibili~. (Capillary and gravity forces the values should be equal to the totai production dtii-
have been neglected.) In the implicit-explicit’ method, ing the time step. The incremental error is calculated
at any given time, the pressure equation @q. 7) is by the following equation.
solved first, giving the pressure distribution at each
cell. Then the saturations are determined from the incremental MBE error =
solution of the three MB equations.
To illustrate the method of solving Eq. 7 we write
it in difference form in one dimension. We also assume
that k’ = c’ = 1, and that q* = O. The implicit dif-

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ference formulation’ is
where V is the volume of the cell and the summation
is taken over the m ceils.
Some authors use cumulative MBE error, which is
given by the following equation.
where i, i — 1, and i+ 1 refer to the cell of interest and
its two neighbors, and n refers to the time level. Eq. cumulative MBE error =
8 gives P ~“, the pressure tO be dete~ed> as a finc-
tion of two unknowns PY1 and P U. TM We cannot
solve for p ~1 with this equation alone. For this reason
initial oil in place
-! [v’@ln:_l.
cumulative total production
we call this an implicit equation in pressure. However,
similar equations can be written for all cells, resulting A low value for MBE error is a necessary but not
in m equations with m unknowns. a sufficient criterion for a correct solution. In essence,
Several methods have been devised to solve the m low error indicates that the total oil in the reservoir at
pressure equations. The simplest are tbe relaxation time n+ 1 is correct, but it does not guarantee that
techniques.’ The pressures at i– 1 and i+ 1 are as- the oil is distributed properly.
sumed, and the pressure p~l is calculated. This tnal- Computational Considerations
and-error process is repeated at each point in turn
Computing Time
until a sufficiently accurate solution to the m equa-
tions is found. Given this pressure solution, we then For a given computer, the time required for a par-
solve explicitly for the saturations, using the three ticular reservoir simulation depends primarily upon
MB equations. (1) the number of cells, and (2) the number of time
The coeflkients ~’ and CTcontain effeCtiVeperme- steps.
~~i~te$, @-e~i~e~3 and fo~ation volume factors, SO The computing time required for a time step is
they are functions of saturation and pressure. Until proportional to the number of mesh points. Doubling
now we have ignored this fact. However, if we want the number of mesh points approximately cioutiles the
to account for i.hs“ ~eYwL,uw..- computer time per time step.
‘ --”dI=n”Yy which is sometimes The ~ti,m&r Of time stepsrequired to simulate an
necessary due to instability, then an iterative method
is used. The method is summarized by the following ~~assigned number of years dep-nds on the allowed
steps, which are symbolically correct. In actuality the length of the time step At. The maximum value At
calculations are more involved. 7 may take is a function of the volume and shape of the
1. Begin with known pressure and saturation dis- cell. In a two-dimensional horizontal model, for ex-
tribution at time n and, using the pressure equation, ample, the cell volume is AXAy times thickness, and
and the values for ATand CTcalculated from the sat- the shape is given by the ratio of Ax/Ay, where Ax
uration distribution and the pressure values at time and Ay are the horizontal dimensions of the cell. The
n, solve for pressures at time n+ 1. allowed time step decreases as AX and Ay decrease,
2. Solve for the saturation diSifibiitiOtl at time n + 1 IAX
using the three MB equations. and as 1’ incieases. For example, the ‘d-
Fy –
3. Using the new saturations and the pressures cal-
culated in Step 1, recalculate & and cT vaiues. Iowed At in a simulation study in which AX = Ay =
4. Repeat Steps 1 through 3 until the convergence 300 ft will be about four times the Al if AX = Ay =
criterion is achieved. In repeating Step 1, the values 150 ft.
Of& and c’ Of Step 3 are used.
5. Proceed with the next time step. Instability
Methods that cycle between pressure and satura- Numerical techniques do not yield exact solutions.
tion equations-are called fully implicit or iterative,’ There is an error associated with the answers. This
whereas those that do not, and in which essentially error sometimes grows very rapidly, causing the solu-

1387
 . .

tion to “blow up”; in other words, the solutions be- only the effect of the time-step size. This is done by
come ph ysicaiiy ‘-mrea!istic. The most common cause rerunning the simulation with reduced time steps and
of this instability is excessively large changes in sat- compa~ng ~~e ~e~u!t~.The time stepisreduced until
urations and pressures during the time step. Usually further reduction does not change the results signifi-
this may be remedied by reducing the size of the cantly, thus indicating that the best solution has been
time step. obtained for the chosen sizes of the cells.

Nnmerfctd Dispersion Acknowledgment

This is an inherent property of digital simulation. It I should liie to thank G. L. Smitt, J. W. Watts and
is due to the representation of the reservoir by cells in J. E. Walraven for helpful comments, and Mobil Re-
which properties are averaged. When a saturation search & Development Corp. for permission to pub-
front enters the ceil, it is S~ir3Xl out over the cell to lish this paper.
arrive at average satmdicm values. Numerical disper-
sion can be minimized by decreasing the dimensions References
of the cells. However, this leads to increased com- 1.Craft, B. C. and Hawkins, M. F., Jr.: Applied Petroleum
puter time. Reservoir Engineering, Prentice-HallInc., EnglewoodCliffS,
N. J. (1959).
2. Smith, G. D.: Numerical Solution of Partial Differential

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Validity of Solution Equations, Oxford U. Press, Inc., New York (1965).
3. Muskat, M.: Physical Principles of Oil Production, Mc-
Once a simulation run has been made, the question Graw-Hill Book Co., Inc., New York (1949 ).
ansex “How good is the solution?” Small MBE error 4. ~hss, Jim, Jr., Peacemen, D. W. and Rachford, H. H.,
indkates that the total fluid volumes are correct, but “ “A Method for Calculating Multi-Dimensional lm-
~ncible Displacement”, Trans., AIME ( 1959) 216, 297-
does not guarantee that the fluid distribution is valid.
If the resulting fluid distribution is questionable, a 5. ~oa~, K. H., Nielsen, R. L., Terhune, M. H. and Weber,
systematic analysis is needed. Variables that influence “ “Simulation of Three-Dimensional, Two-Phase
Fiow ;n Oil and Gas Reservoirs”, Sot. Pet. Eng. J. (Dec.,
the saturation distribution are the time step size At, 1967) 377-388.
and the cell dimensions ~ and Ay. For a correct 6. Fagin, R. G. and Stewart, C. H., Jr.: “A New .Approach
to the Two-Dimensional Multiphase Reservor Sumdator”,
mathematical analysis, the sensitivity of the results to Sot. Pet. Eng. J. (June, 1966) 175-182.
ti, Ay, and At should be examined. A change in Ax, 7. Blair, P. M. and Weinaug, C. F.: “Solution of. Two-Phase
Ay values may require a major revision of the data, Flow Problems Using Implicit Difference Equations”, paper
SPE 2185 presented at SPE 43rd Annual Fall Meeting,
which is not practical. A common practice is to study Houston, Tex., Sept.29-Ott. 2, 1968. JPT

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JOURNAL OF PETROLEUM TECHNOLOGY