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Production forecasting using numerical simulation has become a standard in the oil and gas industry. The model construction process requires an explicit definition of multiple uncertain parameters; thus, the outcome of the modelling is also uncertain. For the reservoirs with production data, the uncertainty can be reduced by history-matching. However, the manual matching procedure is time-consuming and usually generates one deterministic realization. Due to the ill-posed nature of the calibration process, the uncertainty cannot be captured sufficiently with only one simulation model. In this paper, the uncertainty quantification process carried out for a gas-condensate reservoir is described. The ensemble-based uncertainty approach was used with the ES-MDA algorithm, conditioning the models to the observed data. Along with the results, the author described the solutions proposed to improve the algorithm's efficiency and to analyze the factors controlling modelling uncertainty. As a part of the calibration process, various geological hypotheses regarding the presence of an active aquifer were verified, leading to important observations about the drive mechanism of the analyzed reservoir. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hydrocarbon production from a gas condensate reservoir has a major concern to the petroleum industry around the world. Due to pressure decline in a reservoir, liquid drops out of solution and cause a significant reduction of well productivity. As a result, huge amount of valuable oil stays underground. The proper production management for a gas condensate reservoir minimizes or eliminates the blocking problems. Optimization of condensate recovery can be achieved through appropriate selection of production and injection rates. However, determination of the optimal rates is a complex problem, involving many factors including geological uncertainty, rock petrophysical characteristics, fluid properties, economic costs, and technical ability. In this research, nature-inspired optimization algorithms are employed to evaluate the potential of production boost. Numerical testing and comparative study revealed that investigated natural-inspired algorithms outperform widely reported in the literature optimization methods and provide a higher quality solutions. The primary concern of this research is to develop an optimal gas condensate production strategy in terms of economic efficiency by utilization of nature-inspired optimization algorithm and providing their ability to generate better quality solution than engineering approach as well as gradient optimization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Water coning is one of the most challenging problem in the petroleum industry, because it can affect the well productivity and increase production costs. The proper forecasting of the production profile is very important, but it is difficult to find the exact relationship between produced gas and water. In this study, we propose a novel mathematical model for the two-phase production forecasting of gas wells conning water. The developed model is based on the two species Lotka–Volterra model and includes a system of two ordinary differential equations. The proposed model uses the analogies of the two-phase flow in the reservoir to the natural competition processes. The developed model was applied to some real industrial examples. The results show that the model accurately trends the historical data and ensures reliable production forecast. Hence, the proposed model can be a useful tool to predict future performance of gas wells coning water. • The novel mathematical model of gas-water two-phase production is proposed. • The proposed model uses analogies to natural competition processes. • Developed solution is based on the Lotka-Volterra model. • Gas and water decline curves were constructed for four industrial examples. • Proposed model very effectively simulates the gas and water flow. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The application of Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR) techniques are encouraged by the current oil price and the growing global demand for oil. Optimizing oil production from current resources becomes a main strategic target for many oil producing companies around the world. Among EOR processes, polymer flooding is an attractive option in many reservoirs. The objective of polymer flooding is to control water mobility inside oil reservoirs to ensure high oil recovery factors. Several designing parameters are critical for the success of polymer flooding applications. Chemical concentration depends on geological features of reservoir and well pattern are crucial to make decisions for the reservoir management. In addition, identifying the time of polymer injection is also important in a project as well as slug size. The goal of this article is to evaluate the efficient polymer injection strategy based on global optimization algorithms. Authors investigated the design of polymer flooding process in terms of optimal concentration, slug size and initiation time employ nature inspired algorithms coupling with reservoir simulation. Numerical testing and comparative study show that proposed natural-inspired algorithms outperform widely reported in literature optimization methods in that it provides a higher quality solution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]