In this paper we apply the streamline-based production data integration method to condition a multimillion cell geologic model to historical production response for a giant Saudi Arabian reservoir. The field has been under peripheral water injection with 16 injectors and 70 producers. There is also a strong aquifer influx into the field. A total of 30 years of production history with detailed rate, infill well and reperforation schedule were incorporated via multiple pressure updates during streamline simulation. Also, gravity and compressibility effects were included to account for water slumping and aquifer support. To our knowledge, this is the first and the largest such application of production data integration to geologic models accounting for realistic field conditions. We have developed novel techniques to analytically compute the sensitivities of the production response in the presence of gravity and changing field conditions. This makes our method extremely computationally efficient. For the field application, the production data integration is carried out in less than 6 hours in a PC.The geologic model derived after conditioning to production response was validated using field surveillance data. In particular, the flood front movement, the aquifer encroachment and bypassed oil locations obtained from the geologic model was found to be consistent with field observations. Finally, an examination of the permeability changes during production data integration revealed that most of these changes were aligned along the facies distribution, particularly the 'good' facies distribution with no resulting loss in geologic realism. TX 75083-3836, U.S.A., fax 01-972-952-9435.

TX 75083-3836, U.S.A., fax 01-972-952-9435. AbstractThe development of Haradh-III in the Southernmost area of Ghawar represents a major shift in paradigm in terms of the combination of the technologies. The field development combines four main technology features which include maximum reservoir contact (MRC) wells, smart completions, extensive use of real-time geosteering and I-field initiatives. This paper describes the motivation, implementation, and post-production evaluation of this unique field development. In the case of Haradh-III, field development with smart MRC wells delays water encroachment, improves flood front conformance and recovery, lowers water production and long term development and operating costs. Bottom water encroachment into the wellbore is mitigated as down-hole Internal Control Valves (ICV), as part of the smart completion, are adjusted. This in turn lengthens the life of the well, allows sweep and recovery to take place in the reservoir below the horizontal wellbores through the most effective sweep process: the replacement mechanism by gravity. The objectives of the development are accomplished utilizing a reduced number of wells, minimizing the accompanying infrastructure therefore lowering the capital expenditure while reducing the operating cost by maintaining, on a long-term basis, a low-water producing system, all occurring in real-time and within the I-field environment.

Summary The development of Haradh-III in the southernmost region of Ghawar represents a major shift in paradigm in terms of the combination of the technologies. The field development combines four main technology features, which include maximum-reservoir-contact (MRC) wells, smart completions, extensive use of real-time geosteering, and iField initiatives. This paper describes the motivation, implementation, and post-production evaluation of this unique field development. In the case of Haradh-III, field development with smart MRC wells delays water encroachment, improves flood-front conformance and recovery, and lowers water production and long-term development and operating costs. Bottomwater encroachment into the wellbore is mitigated as downhole internal control valves (ICVs), as part of the smart completion, are adjusted. This, in turn, lengthens the life of the well, allowing sweep and recovery to take place in the reservoir below the horizontal wellbores with the most effective sweep process: the replacement mechanism by gravity. The objectives of the development are accomplished by use of a reduced number of wells that minimize the accompanying infrastructure, which lowers the capital expenditure while reducing the operating cost by maintaining, on a long-term basis, a low-water-producing system, all in real time and within the iField environment. Introduction Production at the Haradh-III development started in February 2006. The project included a combination of MRC wells, smart completions, geosteering, and the iField concept, which provides real-time access to downhole information. The efficient integration, along with an understanding of the fluid-flow mechanisms in the reservoir, was the key to the success of this project. Haradh field is located at the southernmost portion of the Ghawar complex and covers an area that is 75 km long and is 26 km at its widest section (Fig. 1). The field consists of three subsegments of approximately equivalent reserves, with an aggregate oil initially in place on the order of tens of billions of bbl. Initial production at Haradh-I started in May 1996, followed by Haradh-II and Haradh-III in April 2003 and February 2006, respectively. The field developments, occurring over a span of a decade, offer a unique opportunity to gauge the impact of technologies. Haradh-I was developed by use of vertical wells exclusively, whereas horizontal completions provided the primary configuration for producers/injectors in Haradh-II. Haradh-III, the focus of this paper, was developed by relying mainly on smart MRC completions (Fig. 2) within an iField framework. The total Haradh production capacity is 900,000 B/D, with equal contributions from the three respective subsegments I, II, and III. Key statistics for Haradh-III are shown in Table 1 (Saleri et al. 2006). Geological Setting Geologically, the Arab-D carbonate reservoir is divided into several zones: Zone-1, at the top, is a thin layer separated from the main producing zones by an impermeable nonporous layer of anhydrite. Zone-2A, below Zone-1, is mostly skeletal oolitic limestone with scattered vugs and local superpermeability super-k zones. Below Zone-2A is Zone-2B, which commonly includes dolomite and cladocoropsis-based super-k intervals (Valle et al. 1993) (Fig. 3). Below Zone-2B are Zone-3A and Zone-3B, which have significantly lower reservoir quality. Major and minor faults identified from 3D-seismic data and associated fracture swarms (corridors) have been observed in various degrees throughout the Arab-D reservoir in adjacent regions (Pham et al. 2002). In addition, diffuse fractures are observed to be pervasive in cores (Fig. 4).

The development of Haradh-III in the Southernmost area of Ghawar represents a major shift in paradigm in terms of the combination of the technologies. The field development combines four main technology features which include maximum reservoir contact (MRC) wells, smart completions, extensive use of real-time geosteering and I-field initiatives. This paper describes the motivation, implementation, and post-production evaluation of this unique field development. In the case of Haradh-III, field development with smart MRC wells delays water encroachment, improves flood front conformance and recovery, lowers water production and long term development and operating costs. Bottom water encroachment into the wellbore is mitigated as down-hole Internal Control Valves (ICV), as part of the smart completion, are adjusted. This in turn lengthens the life of the well, allows sweep and recovery to take place in the reservoir below the horizontal wellbores through the most effective sweep process: the replacement mechanism by gravity. The objectives of the development are accomplished utilizing a reduced number of wells, minimizing the accompanying infrastructure therefore lowering the capital expenditure while reducing the operating cost by maintaining, on a long-term basis, a low-water producing system, all occurring in real-time and within the I-field environment. Introduction Production from Haradh-III development started in February 2006. The project included a combination of MRC wells, smart completions, geosteering, and I-field concept which provides real time access to down hole information. The efficient integration along with understanding of the fluid flow mechanisms in the reservoir was the key to the success of the project. Haradh field locates at the Southernmost portion of the Ghawar complex and covers an area 75 Km long and is 26 Km at its widest section (Fig. 1). The field consists of three sub-segments of approximately equivalent reserves, with an aggregate Oil Initially In Place in the order of tens of billions of barrels. Initial production from Haradh-I started in May, 1996, followed by Haradh-II and Haradh-III in April, 2003 and February, 2006, respectively. The field developments, occurring over a span of a decade, offer a unique opportunity in gauging the impact of technologies. Haradh-I was developed exclusively by utilizing vertical wells, whereas horizontal completions provided the primary configuration for producers/injectors in Haradh-II. Haradh-III, the main focus of this paper, was developed by relying mainly on smart MRC completions (Fig. 2) within an I-Field framework. The total Haradh production capacity is 900 MBD, with equal contributions from the three respective sub-segments I, II and III with key statistics for Haradh-III as shown in Table-1.1