Artificial Intelligence (AI) Assisted History Matching

Abstract

Abstract History matching is the process of adjusting uncertain reservoir parameters until an acceptable match with the measured production data is obtained. Complexity and insufficient knowledge of reservoir characteristics makes this process time-consuming with high computational cost. In the recent years, many efforts mainly referred as assisted history matching have attempted to make this process faster; nevertheless, the degree of success of these techniques continues to be a subject for debate. This study aims to examine the application of a unique pattern recognition technology to improve the time and efforts required for completing a successful history matching project. The pattern recognition capabilities of Artificial Intelligence and Data Mining (AI&DM) are used to develop Surrogate Reservoir Model (SRM) for utilization as the engine to drive the history matching process. SRM is an intelligent prototype of the full-field reservoir simulation model that runs in fractions of a second. SRM is built using a handful of geological realizations. In this study, a synthetic reservoir model of a heterogeneous oilfield with 24 production wells and 30 years of production history was used as the ground truth (the subject and the goal of the history match). An SRM was created to accurately represent this reservoir model. The history matching process for this field was performed using the SRM and by tuning static data (Permeability). The result of this study demonstrates the capabilities of SRM for fast track and accurate reproduction of the numerical model results. Speed and accuracy make SRM a fast and effective tool for assisted history matching.