Martingale control of production for optimal profitability of oil and gas fields

• US 8,560,476 B2
• Filed: 01/24/2008
• Issued: 10/15/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 08/26/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Trustees Of Columbia University In The City Of New York (Columbia University)
• Original Assignee: Trustees Of Columbia University In The City Of New York (Columbia University)
• Inventors: Anderson, Roger N., Boulanger, Albert, He, Wei, Mello, Ulisses, Xu, Liqing
• Primary Examiner(s): RIFKIN, BEN M
• Application Number:
  US12/019,347
• Publication Number:
  US 20080294387A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,091 Days
• Field of Search: 706/45
• US Class Current: 706/45
• CPC Class Codes: G01V 11/00 Prospecting or detecting by methods combining techniques covered by two or more of main groups G01V1/00 - G01V9/00
• CPC Class Codes: G01V 2210/612 Previously recorded data, e.g. time-lapse or 4D
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/04 Forecasting or optimisation specially adapted for administrative or management purposes, e.g. linear programming or "cutting stock problem" market predictions or forecasting for commercial activities G06Q30/0202

Abstract

A computer-aided lean management (CALM) controller system recommends actions and manages production in an oil and gas reservoir/field as its properties and conditions change with time. The reservoir/field is characterized and represented as an electronic-field (“e-field”). A plurality of system applications describe dynamic and static e-field properties and conditions. The application workflows are integrated and combined in a feedback loop between actions taken in the field and metrics that score the success or failure of those actions. A controller/optimizer operates on the combination of the application workflows to compute production strategies and actions. The controller/optimizer is configured to generate a best action sequence for production, which is economically “always-in-the-money.”

Claims

1. A computer-aided lean management (CALM) controller system for managing production actions in an oil and gas reservoir/field as its properties and conditions change with time with a view to increase profitability of the reservoir over its lifetime, wherein the oil and/or gas reservoir is characterized and represented as an electronic-field (“

e-field”

), the system comprising;

a plurality of applications describing a multiplicity of dynamic and static e-field properties and conditions, each application having a workflow,

wherein the plurality of application workflows are combined in a feedback loop between actions taken in the field and metrics that score the success or failure of those actions in the field; and

a martingale controller that operates on the combination of the application workflows and continuously computes production strategies and physical actions on an oil and gas reservoir/field, wherein the martingale controller is configured to generate a best temporal action sequence for production in which a future-looking real option value representing one of the actions is used as at least one basis for determining the best action sequence thereby ensuring increased profitability of the reservoir over its lifetime.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the feedback loop connects the following workflows:

4D analysis of time-lapse seismic changes for at least two 3D seismic volumes acquired at different times during the production history of the field, and their time-depth conversion, normalization, and differencing;

well log analysis looking for time-lapse changes in the same logs run over several different time intervals in wells and their time-depth conversion;

reservoir characterization of stacked reservoirs using geostatistical co-kriging;

exporting of all data, with time-stamps, into a same earth model;

3D fluid flow simulation;

3D seismic modeling to generate synthetic seismic cubes to match the 4D analysis of time-lapse seismic changes;

differencing of 4D model vs. 4D observed seismic data;

analysis of the difference-of-the-differences between the model and observed results; and

optimization that identifies changes in physical properties of the reservoirs that are required to match fluid withdrawal, pressure changes, and seismic differences.

3. The system of claim 1 comprising interacting 3D seismic modeling with statistical reservoir characterization applications, a 4D observed seismic differences application, a finite element reservoir simulator, and seismic inversion and migration codes.

4. The system of claim 3, comprising an operating framework (OF) that enables interpretation workflow to move easily among diverse vendor applications needed to complete feedback loop, wherein the interpretation workflow includes geological and geophysical field interpretations, and engineering implementations required for optimal performance by electronic oil field asset teams.

5. The system of claim 4, wherein the OF comprises a rock property data application, a 4D seismic Model, a 3D reservoir simulator, and a 4D seismic change application.

6. The system of claim 4, wherein all actions within any component application of the OF are recorded using a web-based action tracker.

7. The system of claim 4, wherein the OF includes a vendor-neutral data model with a persistent input/output data repository.

8. The system of claim 4, wherein the OF is configured to provide user-selectable access to diverse vendors'"'"' applications using automated wrappers.

9. The system of claim 4, wherein the OF comprises an event handling mechanism to make OF component applications run asynchronously.

10. The system of claim 4, wherein the OF comprises an automated meshing application to create a framework needed by the reservoir simulator to build its model from any set of stacked horizons or other geological interpretations.

11. The system of claim 1 comprising an optimizer, which provides parameter optimization services.

12. The system of claim 11 wherein the optimizer comprises a set of tools that can be deployed at any time and any place within the system.

13. The system of claim 12 wherein the optimizer comprises optimization solvers, forward simulation wrappers, and simulation data converters, each of are deployed separately for reservoir property characterization, reservoir simulation, petrophysical property characterization, and 3D seismic simulation.

14. The system of claim 11 wherein the optimizer is configured to converge on a single “

best approximation”

result that simultaneously solves for permeability variations and flow rate changes in the field.

15. The system of claim 11 that is configured to characterize multiple, sequential 4D seismic surveys;

seismic attribute volumes that vary with offset;

many repeated well logs of different types and vintages;

geostatistically-derived data volumes in both spatial and “

stratigraphic”

grids;

3D fluid saturation volumes and fluid-flow maps;

fluid-interface monitors, multiple horizons and fault surfaces and other data types.