Evaluation of Ensemble Smoother with Multiple Data Assimilation and Evolutionary Algorithm for History Matching Process Optimization

Abstract

Abstract History matching is a challenging reverse problem due to the inherited uncertainty from Earth modeling. History matching process mandates building one or more sets of representative reservoir models with minimum misfit between the reservoir models and observed field data. There are several commercial assisted history matching tools and workflows to facilitate and orchestrate this process. This paper provides performance assessment and process evaluation between two of the commonly used optimization algorithms: the Evolutionary Algorithm (EA) and the Ensemble Smoother with Multiple Data Assimilation (ES-MDA) in an automated and closed loop workflows. The workflow starts with a parametrization step to identify and quantify the static and dynamic uncertainties in the reservoir model. The objective function is then constructed to guide and measure the convergence of the optimization process. The workflow is then executed to start the model calibration and history matching process. The algorithms, EA and ES-MDA, take different routes during the optimization process. EA works by selecting the best cases (i.e. most fitting genes that resulted in a minimum misfit) in each cycle, and generates a number of simulation cases (new generation) based on the predefined gene selection criteria. The iterative ES-MDA algorithm maintains the same number of simulation cases in each iteration (as many as in the initial Ensemble) throughout the assimilation process. The EA and ES-MDA optimization algorithms have their advantages and disadvantages to the history matching process. For instance, both workflows preserve the geological consistency with the dynamic reservoir models. The automation that both workflows provide incorporates G&G (Geological and Geophysical) workflows to capture, and carryover the static uncertainty to ensure consistency throughout the history matching process. In addition, in both cases, multiple simulation models are generated to cover reservoir static and dynamic uncertainties, which are crucial to the predictive capabilities of the history matched models. Both algorithms, as known, are stochastics in nature (i.e. cannot guarantee one deterministic solution) and, therefore. the results are highly dependent on the initial ensemble. EA is highly effective in searching the solution space, it requires a large number of simulation runs to converge a solution. On the other hand, ES-MDA does not exceed the number of initial ensembles in each iteration regardless of the number of iterations. This paper presents an automated workflow that leads to multiple reliable history matched simulation models. All of the generated models are geologically consistent and capture all model uncertainties that are needed to be preserved and carried forward in prediction. Moreover, this helps in updating the models seamlessly whenever new data is available by simply re-running the workflow with the model updates.