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Assisted history matching for the inversion of fractures based on discrete fracture-matrix model with different combinations of inversion parameters

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Abstract

Accurate prediction of fracture distribution in fractured reservoirs is important in the development process. Considering that assisted history matching technology is an effective method for the inversion of reservoir parameters, the technology can also be applied for the inversion of fractures. Because applying assisted history matching technology for the inversion of fractures has an inherent defect of multiplicity of solution, it is therefore necessary to alleviate the multiplicity for the success of inversion. Although there are many factors affecting the multiplicity, the paper focuses on the study of the inversion results of different combinations of inversion parameters which are all representative parameters of fractures and determine the distribution of fractures. Firstly, we simulate the flow behavior in fractured media based on the discrete fracture matrix (DFM) module of Matlab Reservoir Simulation Toolbox (MRST) to explicitly describe the effect of fractures on flow behavior. Secondly, history matching objective function is established based on Bayesian theory and different kinds of representative parameters of fractures are chosen as inversion parameters. Thirdly, simultaneous perturbation stochastic approximation (SPSA) algorithm is adopted to minimize the objective function to achieve the inversion of fractures corresponding to different inversion parameters. Finally, theoretical cases verify that the inversion method is effective for the accurate prediction of fracture distribution and proper inversion parameters are crucial to the success of fracture inversion.

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Acknowledgments

The work is supported by “The National Natural Science Foundation of China” under Grant 61573018 and 51722406 “The Natural Science Foundation of Shan Dong Province” under Grant ZR2015EL014, “China Important National Science & Technology Specific Projects” under Grant 2016ZX05025001-006, “863 Important Project” under Grant 2013AA09A215, and the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities” under Grants 15CX05035A and 17CX05002A.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. China University of Petroleum, 66 Changjiang West Road, Qingdao, Shandong, 266580, China

    Kai Zhang, Xiaoming Zhang, Liming Zhang, Lixin Li, Hai Sun, Zhaoqin Huang & Jun Yao

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  1. Kai Zhang
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  2. Xiaoming Zhang
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  3. Liming Zhang
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  4. Lixin Li
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Correspondence to Kai Zhang.

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Zhang, K., Zhang, X., Zhang, L. et al. Assisted history matching for the inversion of fractures based on discrete fracture-matrix model with different combinations of inversion parameters. Comput Geosci 21, 1365–1383 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10596-017-9690-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10596-017-9690-8

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