Determination of Optimum Well Number in One of the Iranian Oil Reservoirs Using Monte Carlo and Genetic Algorithm Models

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

Abstract

In reservoir management, the key goal is to reach the maximum economic profit. This can be achieved by the evaluation of economic parameters. One of the main factors in the economic evaluation and capital expenditure of any filed development is the number of wells necessary to reach the optimum hydrocarbon production from the reservoir. In this paper, an attempt has been made to select the optimum number of wells in one of the Iran southwest carbonate reservoirs. Uncertainty analysis has been carried out using MonteCarlo and Genetic Algorithm techniques. Both horizontal and vertical wells were analyzed, and the number of scenarios were performed to select the optimum number of wells. The best scenarios from an economic point of view were selected for field development
 

Keywords


[1]. Muskat M., Physicial Principles of oil Production, McGraw- Hill book company, Inc, 1949.##
[2]. Corrie R. D., “An analystical solution to estimate optimum number of development wells to achive maximum economical returns”, SPE 7143 ,Presented at the SPE Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition Held in New Orleans, Louisiana, 30 Sept. 3 Oct. 2001.##
[3]. Tabatabaei Nejad A., Vahidi Aleagaha A. and Salari S., “Estimating optimum well spacing in a Middle East onshore oil field using a genetic algorithm-optimization approach”, SPE Middle East oil and Gas show and Conference, pp. 11-14 Ma., Bahrain, 2007.##
[4]. Al-Herthy M., Number of development wells: a decision under uncertainty, The Engineering Economist, Vol. 55: pp. 328-349, 2010.##
[5]. Cunningham P., NPV formulas-a fast method for calculating and optimizing NPV in screening studies,.Available at http://www.omgen-ideas.com (accessed 1 Dec. 2009).##
[6] Lund M., Valuing flexibility in offshore petroleum projects, Annuals of Operations Research, Vol. 99, pp. 325- 349. 2000.##
[7]. Simpson G., Lamb F., Finch J., and Dinnie N., “The application of probabilistic and qualitative methods to asset management decision making”, Paper SPE 59455 presented at the SPE Asia Pacific Conference on Integrated Modeling for Asset Management, 25–26 Apr., Yokohama, Japan. 2000.##
[8]. Palisade., Guide to using Risk optimizer ,Simulation optimization for Microsoft Excel, Version 5. Available at http://www.palisade.com. 2008a.##
[9]. Palisade., @Risk, Risk optimizer, Available at http://www.palisade.com. 2008b##