Schlumberger INTERSECT 2023.1

The INTERSECT 2013.1 high-resolution reservoir simulator is the answer to many of your reservoir challenges. By combining physics and performance in a fit-for-purpose reservoir simulator for your reservoir models,

the INTERSECT simulator enables modeling at the scale you need with the physics you need—fast. Reservoir engineers are provided with results that can be trusted to provide insight into understanding the progression of hydrocarbon in the reservoir at a resolution that is otherwise too costly to simulate. The outcome is improved accuracy and efficiency in field development planning and reservoir management, even for the most complex fields.

From black oil waterflood models, to thermal SAGD injection schemes, to efficient handling of unstructured grids, the INTERSECT simulator delivers a new approach to reservoir simulation for meeting your reservoir management challenges. The INTERSECT simulator reveals new insights through the efficient simulation of high-resolution models while employing robust physics to support better field development decisions. Detailed reservoir characterization, together with well and network coupling, can be honored with only minimal or no upscaling.

Key benefits using INTERSECT:

High-resolution modeling for complex geological structures

Completion configurations for complex wells.

Detailed chemical-enhanced-oil-recovery (EOR) formulations

Application of steam injection and other thermal EOR methods.

Advanced production controls in terms of reservoir coupling and flexible field management

Flexibility to script customized solutions for better modeling and field management control.

INTERSECT – What’s new in 2023.1:

Decline curve modeling

Decline curve analysis is a proven technique for replicating well performance prediction many times faster than is possible with rigorous reservoir simulation. The reservoir model is replaced by a set of decline curves that simulate the performance of each well based on either the cumulative production from the well or the simulation time. Both production and injection wells (including WAG wells) are supported. To support decline curve modeling two workflows are available:

•         Decline curve generation in which the rigorous reservoir simulation with INTERSECT is run to generate the decline curves. Decline curves can also be created elsewhere and then simply added to a Field Management decline curve analysis simulation.

•         Decline curve usage in which the rigorous reservoir simulation is replaced by the decline curves. In this workflow, the Field Management part of the simulation (including all the logic that is valid for decline curve simulation and coupled networks) stays exactly the same, and as a result this workflow allows for faster evaluation of multiple operational and development planning scenarios. The model files required to run this simulation can be automatically generated by the generation workflow or can be created elsewhere and used as input.

Multiple use cases exist for decline curve analysis and Field Management. The most common ones relate to the coupling of multiple reservoirs (either modeled using INTERSECT reservoir simulator, decline curves, or a combination of both) and multiple networks (ENS, PIPESIM, and so on), as shown below.

The silent skipping mechanism enables the use of all valid Field Management while silently skipping (information messages can be enabled using the VerbosityLevel field) invalid Field Management. This allows seamless transition between full INTERSECT simulations to decline curve analysis-based simulations. For further information, refer to the Decline curves chapter in the INTERSECT Technical Description and the DeclineCurveGenerator and DeclineCurveUsage nodes in the INTERSECT User Guide. To understand the workflows in detail, refer to the Use decline curves to evaluate different scenarios with coupled surface networks and Use decline curves and Field Management to couple multiple reservoirs examples in the Field Management workflow examples section of the INTERSECT User Guide.

Looped networks in ECLIPSE Network Simulator

ECLIPSE Network Simulator (ENS) has been extended so that the flows and pressures in a looped, non-dendritic network can be modeled. The loops are formed by specifying more than one record in the BRANPROP keyword with the same downtree node connected to different uptree nodes. This feature gives you more flexibility when modeling integrated field scenarios where the concept of loop lines is heavily employed in the networks. Examples of looped networks from PIPESIM are shown below, which can now be modeled using ENS. See the Model loop lines in network using ECLIPSE Network Simulator and oil removal example provided in the Field Management workflow examples section of the INTERSECT User Guide for a demonstration of the use of multiple loops in ENS production networks.

Support for oil removal at junction nodes in ECLIPSE Network Simulator

Considering operational and contractual requirements, a new functionality that enables oil to be removed has been introduced in ECLIPSE Network Simulator (ENS). Oil can now be removed at any non-boundary node in the network at a constant rate or at a fraction of the total in-flowing oil rate into the node using the NOILREM keyword. New summary vectors OIL_REMOVAL_FRACTION (NJORF) and OIL_REMOVAL_RATE (NJORFR) have been added for network junction nodes.

With this functionality, ENS now provides the capability to remove all three phases (oil, gas, and water) from junction nodes. Negative values are also supported, which can be used to emulate the addition of oil at a junction using this keyword. The operational logic of changing the oil removal fraction with time is demonstrated in the Network_Multiple_Loops example in the Field Management workflow examples section of the INTERSECT User Guide.

Residual oil saturation full-GPU support

The Residual oil saturation model is now supported in full-GPU. Simulations with this functionality running in GPU hardware should see the benefits of full-GPU acceleration. This feature is enabled by the ResidualOilSaturationModel node and is used to model residual oil saturation that does not vaporize in compositional models.

Threshold pressure full-GPU support

Connection threshold pressure and fault threshold pressure calculations are now supported on GPU and cases with these functionalities should benefit from full-GPU acceleration. You can use this option to prevent flow between reservoir areas that are in communication up to a permitted pressure difference.

Memory usage enhancements for AIM_IMPES compositional simulations in full-GPU

Efforts have been made to reduce the GPU memory footprint for compositional simulations using the AIM_IMPES time discretization method. This enables larger models to fit into GPU card memory and run.

GPU support for compositional flash statistics

Compositional flash statistics and failure reports have a new look and now report for both CPU and GPU simulations.

CO2 storage workflow examples

A new set of workflow examples dedicated to CO2 storage is now available that illustrates the current capabilities in both isothermal and thermal frameworks in saline aquifer environments. The workflow examples include the effects of advanced physics such as solubility, gas and water phase property correction, hysteresis, and diffusion. For thermal simulations, Joule-Thomson effects are also demonstrated. Alongside the physics, the examples include suggested output and case settings along with a discussion of key results. CO2 storage is a complex subject, and the examples are intended to reduce the entry barrier for reservoir engineers at all levels of expertise.

For more information, refer to CO2 storage in the Reservoir Simulator workflow examples section of the INTERSECT User Guide.

Support for AIM_IMPES and IMPES in isothermal component solubility in water simulations

The time discretization methods AIM_IMPES and IMPES are now supported alongside FULLY_IMPLICIT on isothermal simulations with component solubility in water (CSIW). Particularly for large cases of CO2 storage in saline aquifers, AIM_IMPES is expected to enhance performance and reduce memory requirements, because most of the cells will only experience pressure changes, while saturation changes typically occur near the injection wells and up to the reach of the gas plume.

Solid phase for isothermal CSIW models

You can now use the solid model in isothermal simulations with component solubility in water (CSIW). This allows better support for CCS workflows where CO2 dissolution in water and, at a later stage, mineralization of the dissolved CO2 are the two main carbon storage mechanisms. Additionally, you can now use isothermal models including solid phase alongside the natural variable well model.

Usability improvements for Ezrokhi calculations in isothermal CSIW

Water surface density and water molecular weight values are now optional when specifying Ezrokhi for density calculations in isothermal CSIW. When omitted, appropriate values are calculated internally by considering a mole fraction weighted average of water and salt component(s) molecular weights.

Aqueous properties validation in thermal simulations

Improvements have been made to the validation of aqueous properties in thermal simulations for the density and viscosity Ezrokhi coefficients, commonly used in CO2 storage simulations. These coefficients are now validated in terms of the first and second derivative of density and viscosity curves with temperature for three different compositions: water- lean, water-even, and water-rich. Warnings are also issued if the resulting density or viscosity goes beyond preset limits compared to the pure water density or viscosity. If you experience convergence issues at later times during the simulation, these warnings can help you to validate the Ezrokhi coefficients.

Improved near-critical fluid behavior for combined phase labeling method

The phase labeling method COMBINED (set using the PhaseLabelMethod field in the CompositionalFluidModel node) has been extended to allow compatibility with the CriticalMixingLimits node. By using a combination of critical temperature and saturation pressure to decide on phase labeling, these functionalities improve the description of components such as CO2 at low temperatures while providing a smooth transition of oil and gas relative permeabilities for near-critical fluids.

The phase labeling method SATURATION_POINT set using the PhaseLabelMethod field in the CompositionalFluidModel is no longer allowed in simulations where the CriticalMixingLimits node is active. It is recommended instead to set the PhaseLabelMethod field to COMBINED. This will produce more accurate phase labeling and improve convergence when simulating fluids at near critical conditions.

Support for mass variable well model in isothermal cases with CSIW and brine

The mass variable well model is now supported on isothermal cases with component solubility in water and with brine components and is now the default option if the UseNaturalVariableWellModel field in the AllWellCalculationOptions node is not set or is set to FALSE.

Report inline expressions for Initial3DReport and Recurrent3DReport

The Initial3DReport and Recurrent3DReport nodes now support inline expressions. You can specify an inline expression with the existing SelectedProperties field and the add_property() command.

New ‘standard’ preset for reporting

A new preset that aims to serve as a single setting to produce adequate reporting for most use cases has been introduced to the ReportMgr node in Field Management. You can activate this feature by setting the ReportingLevel field to STANDARD. Compared to the MINIMAL preset, it generates additional summary reporting on FieldProperties, GroupProperties, and WellProperties, while also enabling Initial3DReport and Recurrent3DReport with curated properties. Restarts are also generated with the new STANDARD preset.

Print FM tree to PRT file

The FieldManagementStandardReport node now prints an active FM tree in the PRT file when the TreeOutputVerbosity (0, 1, 2, 3), TreeOutputFrequency (OFF, ONCE, TIMESTEP, or REPORT_TIME), and TreeOutputPeriod fields are used. These trees include information on active strategies (including any instructions, actions, and entities on which these actions can trigger) and controls at requested timesteps. This report provides a summary of the whole Field Management structure present in a simulation model, which can be extremely useful for analysis.

Average rate property reporting

Aliases and associated labels have been added for the various average rate properties on fields, wells, groups, and (where appropriate) completions. These average rate properties are similar to the corresponding rate properties but include the uptime fraction. See the Field, group, well and connection properties section of the INTERSECT User Guide for a complete list of average properties.

Total mass rate reporting

A new reporting property, TOTAL_MASS_RATE, has been added for fields, groups, and wells. This reports the sum of all phase mass rates (oil, gas, water, and solvent).