Analytical Aquifer Connections

ECLIPSE and Petrel

tips & pitfalls

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Test Case Description

Oil zone

10 cells

I- WOC=-990m
Water zone

AQUIFER drive

Inactive cells
Connected cell faces

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AQUANCON keyword

I=20

AQUIFER
J=20
drive

Let ‘s test a
« potentialy unsafe »
AQUANCON box
that englobes all cells of the
reservoir

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 ECLIPSE analytical aquifer connection pitfall
AQUIFERA = active cells connected to
aquifer in ECLIPSE

AQUIFER
drive

AQUIFER drive

If aquifer connects to cells that are inactive in ECLIPSE,

the connections are transferred to the first active cell
in the drive direction (might be a cell containing oil)

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 ECLIPSE output: AQUIFERA
ECLIPSE outputs the AQUIFERA property representing the aquifer connections
AQUIFERA property alone:
alone: AQUIFERA property combined with
Not enough to alert on dangerous connections property calculator

AQUIFER drive AQUIFER drive

Unfortunately, a visual QC may only alert It is only when we display AQUIFERA together
that something « unusual » occured with the cell phase content (Sw for example) that
we can spot that ECLIPSE connected the aquifer
into the oil zone

The AQUIFERA property is not enough to QC if the aquifer connects into the oil zone:
it must be combined with cell phase content via the property calcultor

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 Aquifer related messages in the PRT file: not very helpful!
• With AQUANCON(item11=NO), ECLIPSE outputs a
warning in the PRT file but this warning does not alert
that the aquifer is connected to the oil zone, it only
alerts that the AQUANCON box is perhaps being too Cells within AQUANCON limits that are
big/permissive and which cells are concerned adjoining an active cell on their aquifer
facing side and not on the outside of the
reservoir

• With OPTIONS (99), ECLIPSE reports the cells within

AQUANCON limits that could not be connected:

Warnings in the PRT file are not enough to understand

if the aquifer is connected into the oil zone

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Manual design of the AQUANCON box Make sure the AQUANCON
box only englobes the water
Tip: only englobe the Water Zone
zone to prevent connections
into the oil zone

No warning in PRT

Warning in PRT due to AQUANCON(item11=NO)

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ECLIPSE analytical aquifer connections
Summary

• ECLIPSE default approach: aquifer might connect into the oil zone
• By default, when an aquifer is connected to an inactive cell, ECLIPSE will move the
connection onto the first active cell in the direction of connection within the
AQUANCON box;

• ECLIPSE Pitfall
•Since you don’t always know in advance which cells are made inactive by ECLIPSE
(MINPV, …), you are advised to define the AQUANCON limits within the limits of the
water zone;
• Any uncertainty study on contacts or petrophysical properties involving an analytical
aquifer should consider this dangerous pitfall before attempting a manual
AQUANCON!!!!

• Detecting aquifer connections into the oil zone:

•There is no specific warning in the PRT alerting the user that this situation has
occured;
• One should check if AQUIFERA cells connect to cells in which SWAT=SWU;

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Petrel « Make Aquifer » process (basic)

AQUIFER drive
direction

•What Petrel shows (aquifer connection faces in pink) is what you would get in ECLIPSE if all connected cells were
active: you should really consider those as « potential aquifer connections » rather than « real aquifer connections »
• If the cells connected to the pink surface are inactive, the aquifer will not be connected at all (item 11=YES): no
risk to connect into the oil zone

•Petrel only connects to the outer first cells in the drive direction and within the area of interest.
interest

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Petrel « Make Aquifer » process (advanced)

AQUIFER drive
direction

Option to only connect cells below

WOC

Option to connect all cells filtered

in the display within the area of
interest

• It is highly recommended to:

• turn on the option to limit the aquifer connections below WOC;
• design a filter that only display the cells that WILL be active in ECLIPSE (include effects of MINPV+ACTNUM);
• turn on the option to connect the filtered cells;

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Petrel « Make Aquifer » pitfall

If the Petrel aquifer faces connect to cells that are

inactive in ECLIPSE, there will be no connection at all
or much less aquifer connections than expected
(connections NOT transferred to the next active cell)

So, you should always use a

filter that « mimicks » how
ECLIPSE de-activates cells:
combining ACTNUM+MINPV

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 Aquifer related messages in the PRT file

• With AQUANCON(item11=YES), ECLIPSE

alerts that the aquifer can be connected in the
middle of the reservoir

Petrel uses « YES » (rather than the ECLIPSE default) to connect aquifer adjoining to active cells

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Petrel « Make Aquifer » process
SUMMARY

• Petrel « Make Aquifer » approach: the risk to connect to the oil zone is avoided because:
• the user has the possibility to limit the vertical extent of an aquifer connection
(connect below the WOC) which by construction eliminates the risk to connect into the
oil zone; this option should always be used;
• AQUANCON is designed to only connect the faces visually validated by the user:
• no risk to connect further into the oil zone if that face connects to an inactive cell
since AQUANCON is limited to one cell;
• flexibility to use a filter or a polygon to limit the area of interest for complex
connection zones;

• Petrel « Make Aquifer » approach pitfall:

• might lead to less aquifer connections than expected because:
• if aquifer connection cells are made inactive by ECLIPSE, the aquifer connections
are cancelled;
• the user should always try to take into account for the future effects of
ACTNUM+MINPV onto the final aquifer connections by designing an appropriate filter;
• that will ensure the maximum number of aquifer connections;

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