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AbstractThe development of a large oil increment with superpermeability (super-K) layers, and natural fractures such as Haradh Arab-D poses many challenges, including the optimization of the number of start-up oil producers and injectors, and the selection of depletion mechanism which is preferably peripheral injection in this case. The type of well (vertical or horizontal), and completion intervals have to be investigated. In the case of horizontal wells, direction of the horizontal trajectory is always a difficult issue to decide as well as the optimized length of the horizontal section.Due to time constraints and the sheer size of the field areal extent (tens of kilometers) and the complex geology of the reservoir, it is not practical to construct a single full-field model which is expected to serve as an all-purpose simulation model that includes all of the reservoir attributes encompassing super-K layers, faults and fractures. This paper will discuss how to use an array of different reservoir simulation models to achieve the objectives within a timelimit dictated by the business plan requirements. Issues such as the number of start-up wells, the production plateau, type of wells, choice of completion intervals, optimized horizontal length, direction of horizontal trajectory can not be answered by one single model. However, each issue can be addressed by a specific model constructed for a single purpose. The development of an oil increment in Haradh is used to illustrate this concept.
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