Interactive reservoir simulation

This paper describes a system that allows engineers to monitor and control a reservoir simulation run during its execution. The system consists of a 3D, three-phase black-oil reservoir simulator running simultaneously with an interactive graphics pre- and postprocessor. Previous authors have described systems that allow monitoring of job execution with simultaneous graphics displays; the system described here is unique in that the engineer can modify simulator and well-control parameters during the execution. While the system will be helpful in detection and correction of time-dependent data problems, it will be very useful in optimizing reservoir management decisions in future performance projections. The system is implemented on an IBM-compatible 486 microcomputer with commercially available multitasking software, although it can be implemented easily on any microcomputer or workstation capable of multitasking. The authors show that implementation of the system required only a moderate amount of modification of the pre- and postprocessor and even less modification of the reservoir simulator.