Implementing default BHP constraints in WELTARG for INTERSECT

restarts using Petrel 2014

After achieving a history-match of simulation model results to observed production history, a
common next step that Reservoir Simulation Engineers take is to run a base case prediction.
One approach to running a realistic base case restart prediction in ECLIPSE and ensuring a
smooth transition from history to prediction phase is to specify the below (ONLY) at the
beginning of the restart run –

WELTARG
* BHP /
/

This simply stipulates for all wells to continue flowing at the last flowing bottom hole pressure
from the last timestep, using this value as target. This approach achieves two important
objectives –giving a smooth transition from history-match to prediction phase in well and field
production profiles, and giving a decline in well production rate, as is expected of real wells in
the field.

As is currently shown above, this is quite easy to implement in ECLIPSE. In INTERSECT, as

of version 2015.1, a defaulted 3rd item in WELTARG is not supported and migrated by the
ECL2IX migrator. The warning below will be output in the Migrator print file for both versions

WARNING Defaulted value in item 3 for control mode BHP (well XX) not supported.
while processing keyword: WELTARG

This content shows how to set this up in Field Management Strategy and the caveats to take
note of.

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1. Open Field Management, introduce wells and accept message to automatically link
associated data sets of wells to the field management strategy.

2. By default, the start date of the FM strategy is out with the date range of the production
history, and this leads to errors at the bottom of the FM-strategy. Change the start date
of the field management strategy to the last date of the observed data set. Finally set the
end date of FM-strategy as preferred e.g. end of field life.

Note: To reproduce the same behaviour as in ECLIPSE, it is important to leave the

observed data sets in the prediction FM-strategy, this is to keep the final historical rates
as constraints (limits) in the do-nothing prediction case.

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3. Next define a new static list that will include all wells in the model

4. Create a Modify Constraint Action by right-clicking on Actions in Field Management

Strategy, toggle on Create new instruction, toggle on Create new strategy. This will link
the Modify constraint action to an instruction and to a strategy.

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5. On the properties of the new Modify constraint action, select Entity list: as the Static
list created previously. Assign Constraint id: as Bottom hole pressure. In the Advanced
tab, assign Relative to: as Flowing value, assign One time: as True. See screenshot
below.

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Note: “Relative to: Flowing value” was introduced in Petrel 2014 and INTERSECT 2014.1.
As a result of the multiplier set as 1, the last flowing BHP value will be maintained and
used as the well constraint.

6. Instructions and strategy have been automatically linked from Step 4. Next insert restart
case from history-match case and open this new case with Define simulation case. On
the Strategies tab select restart date, select the newly created field management strategy.
On Results tab, access summary vectors and drop in mode of control property for all
wells. Apply and Run restart case.

7. Plot results for well and field level

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Test Petrel Project is attached. Case description –
1. ECL-HIST – ECLIPSE History Simulation Case
2. IX-HIST – INTERSECT version of History Simulation Case
3. ECL_RESTART_WELTARG – ECLIPSE restart case using WELTARG controls
4. IX_RESTART_WELTARG – INTERSECT version of restart case with Modify
constraint action

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