Application of Sequential Explicit Coupling of Reservoir, Well, and Surface Facilities for 3D Compositional Simulation Models

Resumo

The assessment of hydrocarbon production systems requires the utilization of a simulator with the
capability of handling different scenarios, such as the simulation of fluid flow in porous media and also in
pipelines, at steady-state and unsteady-state conditions. Recently, there have been efforts in the development of
reliable simulators, which are capable of accurately modeling surface and subsurface environments simultaneously
through the usage of flow tables. In this paper, first, we discuss the importance of nodal analysis and different
wellbore boundary conditions. Based on the foregoing, we introduce a new approach for our in-house simulator
UTCOMPRS. The new approach further extends the previously developed flow table algorithms for 3D reservoir
models. We also compare the results of two case studies with a commercial compositional simulator. The
operational parameters, such as bottom hole pressure, injection pressure, oil, gas, and water rates, among others,
are in good agreement with both UTCOMPRS and the commercial simulator. Herein, we also show the importance
of controlling well constraints. The results showed that the developed framework was successfully implemented
and validated for 3D reservoirs. It enables the simulator to handle more realistic conditions, advancing its
flexibility and providing an infrastructure for the coupling of the reservoir, well, and surface facilities.