Mixed multiscale finite elements and streamline methods for reservoir simulation of large geomodels

Abstract

We present a new approach to reservoir simulation that gives accurate resolution of both large-scale and fine-scale flow patterns. The method uses a mixed multiscale finite-element method (MMsFEM) to solve the pressure equation on a coarse grid and a streamline-based technique to solve the fluid transport on a fine-scale subgrid. The MMsFEM is based on the construction of special approximation velocity spaces that are adaptive to the local properties of the differential operator. As such, MMsFEM produces a detailed subgrid velocity field that reflects the impact of the fine-scale heterogeneous structures. By combining MMsFEM with rapid streamline simulation of the fluid transport, we aim towards a numerical scheme that facilitates routine reservoir simulation of large heterogeneous geomodels without upscaling. The new method is applied to two different test cases. The first test case consists of two (strongly) heterogeneous quarter five-spot problems in 2D. The second test case is a 3D upscaling benchmark taken from the 10th SPE Comparative Solution Project, a project whose purpose is to compare and validate upscaling techniques. The test cases demonstrate that the combination of multiscale methods and streamlines is a robust and viable alternative to traditional upscaling-based reservoir simulation.