INTEGRATED RESERVOIR STUDIES: by L. Cosentino

Abstract

Integrated Reservoir Studies , by L. Cosentino. Institut Francais du Petrole Publications. Editions Technip, Paris, 2001, 336 pages, 172 figures, 10 tables. Cost: US $85 (English). The notion of conducting a reservoir study in anything other than an “integrated” fashion is anathema to most currently practising geoscientists. The raw complexity attending the interplay of reservoir architecture and dynamic reservoir processes defies a simplistic, monotonic solution to creating a reliable and accurate model affording adequate predictions of future behaviour. Necessity dictates the inclusion of many viewpoints representing several facets of geology, geophysics, reservoir and production engineering, and other disciplines to formulate a comprehensive representation of that which we cannot directly observe. And yet, despite common usage of the term, “integration” is a concept that holds very different meanings for individual practitioners. Moreover, as a business practice, the challenge of managing an integrated study is open to interpretation. Effective management of the process can yield an excellent return, but the perils of inefficient implementation are legion. It is hardly surprising, then, that the denizens of the executive suites are often loathe to sanction such enterprises. Luca Cosentino, a senior reservoir engineer and project manager with Beicip-Franlab, wades into this quagmire with a remarkably useful overview that belongs on the desk of every geoscientist, engineer and database specialist involved in integrated reservoir studies. Integrated Reservoir Studies sets out to examine the meaning of integration in the framework of “systems thinking” as espoused by Peter Senge in his 1990 bestseller, The Fifth Discipline . As such, Cosentino’s book attempts to shift the reader’s focus from the constituent parts of reservoir studies …