Integrating Transient Well Test Data with Field-Wide Simulation of Fluid Flow in Heterogeneous Reservoirs

Abstract

Abstract When derived from adequate geophysical, geological, petrophysical, and dynamic data, numerical simulation of reservoir fluid flow provides a means for forecasting production under various scenarios of interest in a decisionmaking process. Routine pressure buildup tests provide flowing well and static reservoir pressure data which can be used for material balance computations and production history matching. Analytical models provided for buildup test interpretation permit estimation or characterization of wellbore damage or simulation, reservoir permeability or dual porosity parameters, and boundary effects such as faults or fluid contacts at or near the tested well. In multiwell reservoir models, features quantified by an analytical model interpretation appear to be more complex and variable. At the same time, field-wide simulations are designed to model a much larger volume of reservoir over a much longer span of time than a well test. Hence, the trends observed in the pressure buildup data are not readily usable in this context. This paper explains how to simulate pressure transient tests in a field-wide simulation model, and how a match with the test data can be used to improve the reservoir model, thereby enhancing its value as a predictive tool.