The Relationship between Channelized Deep-Water Reservoir Architecture and Recovery from Petroleum Reservoirs

Larue, D.K., and F. Friedmann, Chevron Petroleum Technology Company, La Habra CA

Abstract

In a typical reservoir modeling workflow, the stratigrapher defines the architecture of the petroleum reservoir and provides constraints and insights on its permeability distribution. A geologic model-builder or geo-statistician then constructs a 3-D geologic model that simplifies by necessity the fine scale heterogeneity perceived by the stratigrapher. Subsequently, a reservoir engineer performs flow simulations. Commonly, little feedback is provided to the stratigrapher about flow simulation results. As a result, stratigraphers usually do not have a clear idea how their interpretations influence the flow simulation. The situation is further confounded because geologic models are typically upscaled, such that models that are flow simulated only vaguely resemble the original geologic models, which are themselves simplifications of the stratigraphers' original concept about the reservoir. Certainly, when stratigraphers see the flow simulation results of a model, they can't help but wonder what the results would have been had they changed their interpretation slightly, or greatly. We have had the opportunity to study multiple feedback loops, numbering in the hundreds, between definition of reservoir and permeability architecture, model building, and flow simulation for both conceptual and field-based models for channelized and sheet-like reservoirs. Some results of our investigations are presented here for channelized deep-water reservoirs.