Optimization of Proactive Control Valves of Producer and Injector Smart Wells under Economic Uncertainty (SPE 154511)

Smart wells can improve oil recovery, mitigate risks and avoid unnecessary well intervention in petroleum fields. However, there is no consolidated methodology to evaluate the applicability of smart wells and to represent smart wells in commercial simulators, which complicates the comparison with conventional well. Moreover, there are two main modes of operation of smart well valves, reactive and proactive; each one can provide different benefits. In general, proactive control seeks maximum oil recovery, but it requires larger computational effort and greater knowledge of the reservoir than the reactive control. This paper presents a comparison between different configurations of smart wells with proactive control and mode operation on/off: (1) five-spot configuration with conventional wells (producer and injectors), (2) one smart producer and four conventional injectors, (3) one conventional producer and four smart injectors and (4) one smart producer and four smart injectors, in order to compare the different behaviors. The objective of this study is evaluate the potential of each type of configuration and the benefits of the smart injectors and producer acting separately or together, considering the effects on production and costs of smart completion. For this, a genetic algorithm was coupled to a commercial simulator to optimize the proactive control and to search the maximum net present value (NPV), determining the optimum operation control for each valve. The case study consists in one heterogeneous reservoir model, light oil and three economic scenarios (pessimistic, probable and optimistic). Results show that the use of smart injector wells, in this case study, can improve control over water production, although it may not be sufficient to justify the investment on a more expensive completion. On the other hand, the configuration using a smart producer well is capable of increasing oil recovery, therefore making the investment in a smart completion feasible.