Identifier

etd-04252012-191716

Degree

Master of Science in Petroleum Engineering (MSPE)

Department

Petroleum Engineering

Document Type

Thesis

Abstract

In today’s exploration and production environment it is required that engineers must collect and use vast amounts of data for flow model construction and calibra- tion, as well as reservoir estimation and optimization. With modern technology, the data volume can be overwhelming. It is necessary that data monitoring and calibration are highly efficient. It is also essential that physical and mathematical models can be tested in repeatable, inexpensive experiments. The experiments described in this thesis will develop and perform verification of algorithms and can generate prior geomodels, collect and process seismic refraction data, collect and process production data, and calibrate these models. The experimental components discussed here are collectively referred to as The Sand Tank Experiment. Contained in the LSU WaveCIS tank is a wedge shaped sand pack that can be saturated with water. Water can then be produced from this model reservoir while it is monitored by pressure/temperature sensors. A 20 kHz seismic source and 8 accelerometers are used to collect seismic first arrival data during this production period. This data can then be used to image varying water saturations throughout the reservoir. Those water saturations modify the compressional, p-wave, seismic velocities as described in the Biot and Gassman relationships. Picking first arrival times for each run of the experiment can further enhance the use of the seismic data. These first arrival times can then be compared to calculated first arrival times from simulation data and the residuals can be used to measure the accuracy.

Date

2012

Document Availability at the Time of Submission

Release the entire work immediately for access worldwide.

Committee Chair

White, Christopher D

DOI

10.31390/gradschool_theses.3993

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