Evaluation of intelligent wells in model-based closed-loop reservoir development and management

Abstract

The work proposal is to evaluate the use of intelligent wells in model-based closed-loop field development and management. The evaluation will consider uncertainty reduction, model updating and production optimization in cycles for improved decision-making. The application is on a carbonate reservoir with high gas content, such as those found in the Brazilian pre-salt. During the development phase, the focus of the closed-loop is on how to incorporate the information collected in each cycle to optimize which wells of the next cycle will receive Advanced Well Completions (AWC) and their positions (AWC design). In the management phase, the focus of the closed-loop is to optimize control rules to operate control valves in production and injection wells (AWC control). The cycle duration will be optimized to reflect the advantages of using this technology. The study will be conducted on UNISIM-II-D (Correia et al., 2015), a benchmark case which represents a carbonate reservoir with pre-salt features. The advantage of using a benchmark model where the real answer is known is the ability to collect data at each cycle, allowing the development of model-based closed-loop methods. The main objectives of this project are: · To study the application of intelligent wells in carbonate reservoirs with high gas content, aiming to improve oil recover and reduce water and gas production. · To apply the closed-loop field development and management concept to maximize the value of intelligent well technologies. · To generate methodologies and techniques focusing on decision analysis and on the selection of exploitation strategies, integrated with reservoir characterization and history matching, using closed-loop reservoir development and management. (AU)