Fundamentals of Reservoir Modeling

The ultimate purpose of an integrated 3-dimentional reservoir model is to provide a predictive and valid structural, depositional and petrophysical model for hydrocarbon volumetric determinations, successful well planning and field development planning. The static reservoir model is the fundamental input to dynamic flow simulation models characterizing the multiphase flow over time. Reservoir models incorporate multiple datatypes of different scales (and quality) which must be integrated and honoured to build a valid 3D model. There are many potential technical pitfalls in the process of building ‘good’ models.

This short course provides a review of the development of 3D reservoir modelling as we know it today. The evolution of reservoir modelling, from hand-drawn maps to computer mapping and eventually very complex 3-dimentional computer models, spans a period of over 35 years. Numerous examples are provided illustrating the techniques involved, constantly stressing the roles of data quality in the modelling processes