Distinguished Lecturer – How to Design a Good Reservoir Model

Title: How to Design a Good Reservoir Model
Speaker: Mark Bentley, TRACS International & Heriot-Watt University
Time: Oct, March 14, 2021, 2:00PM-3:00PM
Location: Zoom Meeting, please see the registration information below.

Abstract:

The difference between good models and bad models is an issue of model design

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How can you tell the difference between a ‘good’ reservoir model and a ‘bad’ one?

Reservoir and simulation modelling capability has become a mainstream activity in petroleum engineering yet the models themselves often tend to disappoint.  Crucially, models and forecasts tend to be optimistic.

This talk draws on experiences accumulated over the last 25 years from working with international and national oil companies and draws out common themes - reasons why some modelling and simulation outcomes are ‘good’, and others are ‘bad’. The over-riding theme is model design, and it will be argued that many of the errors in modelling are made before anyone logs on.  It’s not the capability of the software, it’s the design choices made.

The following design issues will be identified and optimal approaches recommended, concerning:

• model purpose, and the balance of simplicity vs. complexity in modelling
• imperfect data and concept-based modelling – “if you can sketch it, you can model it”
• taking a fluid-centric view of the need for detail: reservoir modelling, rather than geological modelling;
• the scale transition, searching for the 'lost heterogeneity'

The points above will be illustrated with a case study from a mature oil field undergoing waterflood, in which a decision on infill drilling needed to be made.

Biography:

Mark has been in the industry since 1986, initially as a production geologist with Shell where he first started learning about reservoir modelling.  He has spent the subsequent 22 years training and consulting around the world with colleagues at TRACS.  His specialist technical fields are reservoir modelling and scenario-based approaches to handling uncertainty.

Mark is a frequent contributor at conferences and co-author of the textbook ‘Reservoir Model Design’. In 2018 he took up the Chair in Mature Field Management at Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh.

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