New perspectives for 3D visualization of dynamic reservoir uncertainty

Abstract

3D visualization of flow simulation results is valuable in addressing field development issues such as appropriate placement of infill wells. However, integration of static and dynamic uncertainty in reservoir management decisions often lacks proper visualization methods - typically, alternative reservoir models are considered one after another, or, at best, local averages and "uncertainty maps" of hydrocarbon indicators or productivity indexes are viewed successively. Whereas uncertainty can dramatically impact reservoir performance, it is therefore often disregarded or misestimated during the decision making process. In this paper, we propose new ways of visualizing both the reservoir parameter values and associated local uncertainty, by exploiting the latest capacities of modern graphics cards (GPUs). Such visualization provides clear advantage over conventional techniques when analyzing and communicating reservoir modeling and flow simulation results. A case study illustrates that the resulting images of reservoir pressures and fluid saturations of multiple dynamic models are very intuitive and easily visually interpretable. Applications to reservoir management are numerous, for instance: well targeting to reduce geological uncertainty while maximizing encountered net-to-gross; risks associated to hydraulic fracturing and fault seal integrity; pore pressure uncertainty.