Summary
Determining the optimal location of wells with the aid of an automated
search method can significantly increase a project’s net present value (NPV) as
modeled in a reservoir simulator. This paper has two main contributions: first,
to determine the effect of production constraints on optimal well locations
and, second, to determine optimal well locations using a gradient-based
optimization method. Our approach is based on the concept of surrounding the
wells whose locations have to be optimized by so-called pseudowells. These
pseudowells produce or inject at a very low rate and, thus, have a negligible
influence on the overall flow throughout the reservoir. The gradients of NPV
over the lifespan of the reservoir with respect to flow rates in the
pseudowells are computed using an adjoint method. These gradients are used
subsequently to approximate improving directions (i.e., directions to move the
wells to achieve an increase in NPV), on the basis of which improving well
locations can be determined. The main advantage over previous approaches such
as finite-difference or stochastic-perturbation methods is that the method
computes improving directions for all wells in only one forward (reservoir) and
one backward (adjoint) simulation. The process is repeated until no further
improvements are obtained. The method is applied to three waterflooding
examples.
Introduction
Determining the location of wells is a crucial decision during a
field-development plan because it can affect a project’s NPV significantly.
Well placement is often posed as a discrete optimization problem (Yeten 2003)
(i.e., involving integers as decision variables). Solving such problems is an
arduous task; therefore, well locations often are determined manually. However,
several automated well-placement optimization methods are available in the
literature. They can be classified broadly into two categories. The first
category consists of local methods such as finite-difference-gradient (FDG)
(Bangerth et al. 2006), simultaneous-perturbation-stochastic-approximation
(Bangerth et al. 2003, Spall 2003), and Nelder-Mead simplex (Spall 2003)
methods. The second category consists of global methods such as simulated
annealing (Beckner and Song 1995), genetic algorithms (Montes et al. 2001,
Güyagüler et al. 2002, Yeten et al. 2003), and neural networks (Centilmen et
al. 1999). The first category is generally very efficient, requires only a few
forward reservoir simulations, and increases NPV at each iteration. However,
these methods can get stuck in a local optimal solution. The second category
can, in theory, avoid this problem but has the disadvantages of not increasing
NPV at each iteration and requiring many forward reservoir simulations.
A rather different approach is proposed by Lui and Jalali (2006), where
standard reservoir models are transformed to maps of production potential to
screen regions that are most favorable for well placement.
In this paper, we present a gradient-based method that is distinct from
those previously mentioned. The adjoint method used in optimal-control theory
has been used previously for optimization of injection and production rates in
a fixed-well configuration (Ramirez 1987, Asheim 1988, Sudaryanto and Yortsos
2001, Zakirov et al. 1996, Virnovsky 1991, Brouwer and Jansen 2004, Sarma et
al. 2005, Kraaijevanger et al. 2007). In these applications, the parameters to
be optimized are usually well-flow rates, bottomhole pressures (BHPs), or
choke-valve settings. Because these are not mixed-integer problems,
gradient-based methods are used commonly to solve them and the adjoint method
efficiently generates the required gradients.
We propose to use the adjoint method for well-placement optimization. An
example of well-placement optimization using optimal control theory has been
proposed previously by Virnovsky and Kleppe (1995). Our approach, however, is
significantly different. Moreover, two further applications of adjoint-based
well-placement optimization were published recently (Wang et al. 2007, Sarma
and Chen 2007.)
The outline of our paper is as follows: First, the effect of production
constraints on optimal well locations is investigated. Then, an adjoint-based
well-placement-optimization method is presented. Finally, the benefits of this
method are demonstrated by three waterflooding examples.
© 2008. Society of Petroleum Engineers
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History
- Original manuscript received:
4 December 2006
- Meeting paper published:
26 February 2007
- Revised manuscript received:
10 March 2008
- Manuscript approved:
14 March 2008
- Version of record:
15 December 2008
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