Upscaling, Gridding, and Simulating Using Streamtubes

Abstract

Summary This paper presents an innovative upscaling methodology based on a semianalytical streamtube technique. The methodology generates a coarse grid based on streamtubes and isobars, whose up-scaled properties are accurately calculated using the properties of each streamtube that constitutes the coarse block. Beyond the calculation of upscaled static properties of the grid, the methodology also calculates upscaled relative permeability curves, or pseudofunctions, using a semianalytical streamtube method to perform this without requiring any significant additional time. Tests showed that the results from the streamtube coarse grid had a good agreement with the fine grid solution. In contrast, simulations with a coarse grid upscaled with conventional techniques had a bad performance in many situations. Although this upscaling methodology is heavily based on a fixed streamtube simulation method, it provided good results even for situations in which streamtube simulation techniques are not supposed to work well, such as displacements that consider gravity and compressibility.