Comparative study on the optimal control of smart well in oil reservoir waterflooding with uncertainty

Abstract

ABSTRACT In oil reservoir setting, an alternative for conventional wells are the smart wells having inflow control valves (ICVs). In this work, optimal control theory is implemented to investigate the performance of smart wells alongside conventional wells on an oil reservoir with permeability uncertainty and model mismatch. The performance of this scenario was compared using the Net Present Value (NPV) and Injection rates of the injector wells as perfromance indicators. The results obtained showed a better performance with smart wells irrespective of uncertainty and mismatch in the reservoir. An NPV of $4193430 was recorded for the smart well case as against its corresponding counterpart having an NPV of $3901415. Whereas for the faulted reservoir, an NPV of $314946 was obtained which is an 11% gain against the conventional well setting. This study shows that even though the rationale behind the implementation of conventional wells stems from their simple drilling process, they possess inherent limitation of sub-optimal reservoir-well contact depleting their productivity. Conversely, smart wells were shown to be better due to their enhanced monitoring and control capabilities making them suitable for reservoirs with uncertainties.