Upscaling of Geocellular Models for

Flow Simulation



Louis J. Durlofsky


Department of Petroleum Engineering, Stanford University
ChevronTexaco ETC, San Ramon, CA
2
Acknowledgments
Yuguang Chen (Stanford University)
Mathieu Prevost (now at Total)
Xian-Huan Wen (ChevronTexaco)
Yalchin Efendiev (Texas A&M)
(photo by Eric Flodin)
3
Issues and existing techniques
Adaptive local-global upscaling
Velocity reconstruction and multiscale solution
Generalized convection-diffusion transport model
Upscaling and flow-based grids (3D unstructured)
Outstanding issues and summary
Outline
4
Requirements/Challenges for Upscaling
Accuracy & Robustness
Retain geological realism in flow simulation
Valid for different types of reservoir heterogeneity
Applicable for varying flow scenarios (well conditions)
Efficiency
Injector
Producer
Injector
Producer
5
Existing Upscaling Techniques
Single-phase upscaling: flow (Q /Ap)
Local and global techniques (k k
*
or T
*
)

Multiphase upscaling: transport (oil cut)
Pseudo relative permeability model (k
rj
k
rj
*
)
Multiscale modeling
Upscaling of flow (pressure equation)
Fine scale solution of transport (saturation equation)

6
Local Upscaling to Calculate k
*

Local BCs assumed: constant pressure difference
Insufficient for capturing large-scale connectivity in
highly heterogeneous reservoirs
or
Local Extended Local
Solve V(kVp)=0 over local region
for coarse scale k
*
or T
*


Global domain
7
A New Approach
Standard local upscaling methods unsuitable for
highly heterogeneous reservoirs
Global upscaling methods exist, but require global
fine scale solutions (single-phase) and optimization
New approach uses global coarse scale solutions to
determine appropriate boundary conditions for local
k
*
or T
*
calculations
Efficiently captures effects of large scale flow
Avoids global fine scale simulation
Adaptive Local-Global Upscaling
8
Adaptive Local-Global Upscaling (ALG)
Well-driven global coarse flow
Thresholding: Local calculations only in high-flow
regions (computational efficiency)





y
x
Coarse scale properties
k
*
or T
*
and upscaled well index
Local fine scale calculation
Interpolated pressure
gives Local BCs
Coarse pressure
Local fine scale calculation
Interpolated pressure
gives local BCs
Coarse pressure
9
Thresholding in ALG
Permeability Streamlines Coarse blocks
Regions for
Local calculations


Avoids nonphysical coarse scale properties (T
*
=q
c
/Ap
c
)
Coarse scale properties efficiently adapted to a given
flow scenario



Identify high-flow region, > c (c ~ 0.1)


|q
c
|
|q
c
|
max
10
Multiscale Modeling
( ) 0 = V V
c
p
*
k
0 ) ( = V +
c
c
S
t
S
v
Solve flow on coarse scale, reconstruct fine
scale v, solve transport on fine scale
Active research area in reservoir simulation:
Dual mesh method (FD): Ram & Killough (1991),
Gurillot & Verdire (1995), Gautier et al. (1999)
Multiscale FEM: Hou & Wu (1997)
Multiscale FVM: Jenny, Lee & Tchelepi (2003, 2004)
11
Reconstruction of Fine Scale Velocity
( ) 0 = V V
c
p
*
k 0 ) ( = V +
c
c
S
t
S
v
Upscaling, global
coarse scale flow

Solve local fine scale
V(kVp)=0
Partition coarse
flux to fine scale
Reconstructed
fine scale v
(downscaling)
Readily performed in upscaling framework
12
Results: Performance of ALG
Averaged fine

Pressure Distribution

Coarse: extended local

Coarse: Adaptive local-global

Channelized layer (59) from 10th SPE CSP
Flow rate for specified pressure
Fine scale: Q = 20.86
Extended T
*
: Q = 7.17
ALG upscaling: Q = 20.01
0.0
5.0
10.0
15.0
20.0
25.0
0 1 2 3 4
Iteration
Q
Q (Fine scale) = 20.86
ALG, Error: 4%
Extended local,
Error: 67%

Upscaling 220 60 22 6
13
Results: Multiple Channelized Layers
Extended local T
*
Adaptive local-global T
*

10th SPE CSP
14
Another Channelized System
100 realizations
120 120 24 24
ALG T
*
T
*
+ NWSU k
*
only
15
Results: Multiple Realizations
100 realizations conditioned to seismic and well data
Oil-water flow, M=5
Injector: injection rate constraint, Producer: bottom hole
pressure constraint
Upscaling: 100 100 10 10
100 realizations
Time (days)

B
H
P

(
P
S
I
A
)



Fine scale

mean
90% conf. int.
16
Results: Multiple Realizations
Coarse: Purely local upscaling Coarse: Adaptive local-global
Time (days)

B
H
P

(
P
S
I
A
)



Mean (coarse scale)
90% conf. int. (coarse scale)
Time (days)

B
H
P

(
P
S
I
A
)



Mean (fine scale)
90% conf. int. (fine scale)
17
Results (F
o
): Channelized System
220 60 22 6
Fractional Flow Curve
0
0.2
0.4
0.6
0.8
1
1.2
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1
PVI
Fo
Fine scale
ALG T
*
Extended local T
*

Flow rates
Fine scale: Q = 6.30
Extended T
*
: Q = 1.17
ALG upscaling: Q = 6.26
Oil cut from reconstruction
18
Results (S
w
): Channelized System
Fine scale S
w
(220 60)
Reconstructed S
w
from
extended local T
*
(22 6)
0.5
1.0
0.0
Reconstructed S
w
from
ALG T
*
(22 6)

Fine scale streamlines
19
Results for 3D Systems (SPE 10)
I
P2
P1
50 channelized layers, 3 wells
p
inj
=1, p
prod
=0
Typical layers
Upscale from
6022050 124410
using different methods
20
Results for Well Flow Rates - 3D
0
500
1000
1500
2000
2500
3000
3500
4000
I P1 P2
W
e
l
l

R
a
t
e
Fine
Standard k*
T*+NWSU
ALG
Average errors
k* only: 43%
Extended T
*
+ NWSU: 27%
Adaptive local-global: 3.5%
21
Results for Transport (Multiscale) - 3D
fine scale
ALG T
*
local T
*
w/nw
standard k
*

Producer 1
F
o

PVI
fine scale
ALG T
*
standard k
*

Producer 2
local T
*
w/nw
F
o

PVI
Quality of transport calculation depends on the
accuracy of the upscaling
22
Velocity Reconstruction versus
Subgrid Modeling
Multiscale methods carry fine and coarse grid
information over the entire simulation
Subgrid modeling methods capture effects of fine
grid velocity via upscaled transport functions:
- Pseudoization techniques
- Modeling of higher moments
- Generalized convection-diffusion model
23
Coarse scale pressure and saturation equations of same
form as fine scale equations
Pseudo functions may vary in each block and may be
directional (even for single set of k
rj
in fine scale model)
Pseudo Relative Permeability Models
( ) , 0 ) , (
* *
= V V
c c
p S k x 0 ) , (
*
= V +
c
c
c
c
S
t
S
x F

) ( ) (
) (
) (
) , ( , = ) , (
* *
*
c *
c * *
* *
c *
o i ro w i rw
w i rw
i
i
c
i i
o
ro
w
rw
k + k
k
S f
S f F

k k
S
=
= + x v x

* upscaled function
c
coarse scale p, S
24
Generalized Convection-Diffusion
Subgrid Model for Two-Phase Flow
Pseudo relative permeability description is convenient but
incomplete, additional functionality required in general
Generalized convection-diffusion model introduces new
coarse scale terms
- Form derives from volume averaging and
homogenization procedures
- Method is local, avoids need to approximate
- Shares some similarities with earlier stochastic
approaches of Lenormand & coworkers (1998, 1999)
) ( ) ( y x
j i
v v
' '
25
Coarse scale saturation equation:
Generalized Convection-Diffusion Model
( )
c c c
c
S S S
t
S
V V = V +
c
c
) , ( ) , ( x D x G
) , ( ) ( ) , (
c c c c
S S f S x m v x G + =
Coarse scale pressure equation:
c c c c
S S S W S V + + = ) , ( ) , ( ) (
2 1
*
x W x
(modified convection m
and diffusion D terms)
(modified form for total
mobility, VS
c
dependence)
primitive term
GCD term
( ) 0 ) , (
* *
= V V
c c
p S k x
26
D and W
2
computed over purely local domain:
Calculation of GCD Functions
p = 1
S = 1
p = 0
) ( ) ( ) ( S f S f S S v v D = V
m and W
1
computed using extended local domain:
(D and W
2
account for
local subgrid effects)
S S S f S f S V = ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( D v v m
(m and W
1
- subgrid effects due
to longer range interactions)
target coarse block
27
Solution Procedure
Generate fine model (100 100) of prescribed parameters
Form uniform coarse grid (10 10) and compute k
*
and
directional GCD functions for each coarse block
Compute directional pseudo relative permeabilities via total
mobility (Stone-type) method for each block
Solve saturation equation using second order TVD scheme,
first order method for simulations with pseudo k
rj
fine grid: l
x
> l
z

L
x
= L
z

28
Oil Cuts for M =1 Simulations
GCD and pseudo models agree closely with fine scale
(pseudoization technique selected on this basis)

l
x
= 0.25, l
z
= 0.01, o =2, side to side flow
100 x 100
10 x 10 (GCD)
10 x 10 (primitive)
10 x 10 (pseudo)
O
i
l

C
u
t

PVI
29
Results for Two-Point Geostatistics

x
=0.05,
y
=0.01, o
logk
=2.0
100x100 10x10, Side Flow
10
0
5
Diffusive effects only
30
Results for Two-Point Geostatistics (Contd)

x
=0.5,
y
=0.05, o
logk
=2.0
100x100 10x10, Side Flow
10
0
5
Permeability with longer correlation length
31
Effect of Varying Global BCs (M =1)
p = 1
S = 1
p = 0
0 s t s 0.8 PVI
p = 1
S = 1
t > 0.8 PVI
p = 0
l
x
= 0.25, l
z
= 0.01, o =2
O
i
l

C
u
t

PVI
100 x 100
10 x 10 (GCD)
10 x 10 (primitive)
10 x 10 (pseudo)
l
x
= 0.25, l
z
= 0.01, o =2
32
Corner to Corner Flow (M = 5)
100 x 100
10 x 10 (GCD)
10 x 10 (pseudo)
O
i
l

C
u
t

PVI
T
o
t
a
l

R
a
t
e

PVI
l
x
= 0.2, l
z
= 0.02, o =1.5
Pseudo model shows considerable error, GCD model
provides comparable agreement as in side to side flow

33
Effect of Varying Global BCs (M = 5)
100 x 100
10 x 10 (GCD)
10 x 10 (pseudo)
O
i
l

C
u
t

PVI
T
o
t
a
l

R
a
t
e

PVI
l
x
= 0.2, l
z
= 0.02, o =1.5
Pseudo model overpredicts oil recovery, GCD model
in close agreement

34
Effect of Varying Global BCs (M = 5)
l
x
= 0.5, l
z
= 0.02, o =1.5
GCD model underpredicts peak in oil cut, otherwise
tracks fine grid solution

100 x 100
10 x 10 (GCD)
10 x 10 (pseudo)
O
i
l

C
u
t

PVI
T
o
t
a
l

R
a
t
e

PVI
35
) , (
* c c
S S V
( ) 0
* *
= V V
c
p k
Coarse scale flow:

Pseudo functions:

GCD
model:

T
*
from ALG, dependent on global flow

*
, m(S

c
) and D(S

c
)
Consistency between T
*
and
*
important for highly
heterogeneous systems
Combine GCD with ALG T* Upscaling
) (
* c
S
36
ALG + Subgrid Model for Transport (GCD)
t < 0.6 PVI t > 0.6 PVI
Stanford V model (layer 1)
Upscaling: 100130 1013
Transport solved on coarse scale

flow rate oil cut
37
flow simulation
flow simulation
upscaling
gridding
diagnostic
Gocad
interface
coarse model
info. maps
fine model
Unstructured Modeling - Workflow
38
Numerical Discretization Technique
CVFE method:
Locally conservative; flux on a face expressed as linear
combination of pressures
Multiple point and two point flux approximations

Different upscaling techniques for MPFA and TPFA
i
j
k
q
ij
= a p
i
+ b p
j
+

c p
k
+ ... or q
ij
= T
ij
( p
i
- p
j
)
Primal and
dual grids
39
3D Transmissibility Upscaling (TPFA)
Dual cells Primal grid
connection
p=1
p=0
fitted
extended
regions
cell j cell i
Tij
*
= -
<q
ij
>
<p
j
> <p
i
> -
40
Grid Generation: Parameters
Specify flow-diagnostic
Grid aspect ratio
Grid resolution constraint:
Information map (flow rate, t
b
)
P
a
and P
b
, s
a
and s
b
N (number of nodes)

min max
1
property
cumulative frequency
a b
Pa
Pb
min max
Sa
Sb
property
resolution constraint
a b
41
velocity
grid density
Upscaled k
*

Unstructured Gridding and Upscaling
(from Prevost, 2003)
42
Flow-Based Upscaling: Layered System
Layered system: 200 x 100 x 50 cells





Upscale permeability and transmissibility
Run k*-MPFA and T*-TPFA for M=1
Compute errors in Q/Ap and L
1
norm of F
w
p=0
p=1
1 0. 5
0.25
43
Flow-Based Upscaling: Results
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1
0
0.2
0.4
0.6
0.8
1
PVI
Reference (fine)
TPFA
MPFA
8 x 8 x 18 = 1152 nodes
6 x 6 x 13 = 468 nodes
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1
0
0.2
0.4
0.6
0.8
1
F
w

error in Fw
error in Q/Ap
TPFA 7.6% -1.2%
MPFA 17.9% -25.2%
error in Fw
error in Q/Ap
TPFA 16.8% -5.9%
MPFA 21.3% -31.7%
PVI
F
w

(from M. Prevost, 2003)
44
Layered Reservoir: Flow Rate Adaptation
Grid density from
flow rate








log |V|
grid size
s
b

s
a

0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1
0
0.2
0.4
0.6
0.8
1
PVI
F
w

reference
uniform coarse (N=21x11x11=2541)
flow-rate adapted (N=1394)
Q
c
=0.82
Q
c
=0.99
PVI
F
w

Flow results








(from Prevost, 2003)
(Q
f
= 1.0)
45
Summary
Upscaling is required to generate realistic coarse
scale models for reservoir simulation
Described and applied a new adaptive local-global
method for computing T
*

Illustrated use of ALG upscaling in conjunction with
multiscale modeling
Described GCD method for upscaling of transport
Presented approaches for flow-based gridding and
upscaling for 3D unstructured systems
46
Future Directions
Hybridization of various upscaling techniques
(e.g., flow-based gridding + ALG upscaling)
Further development for 3D unstructured systems
Linkage of single-phase gridding and upscaling
approaches with two-phase upscaling methods
Dynamic updating of grid and coarse properties
Error modeling