THE SPE IMAGE LIBRARY SPE 24914

Simulation of a North Sea Chalk Reservoir With Dynamic Rock

and Natural Fracture Properties: Case Study of the Valhall Field

24914

Powley, K.D.
Amoco Norway Oil Co.;
Peng, C.P.
Amoco Production Co.;
Ali, Nazir
Amoco Norway Oil Co.

SPE Members

Copyright 1992, Society of Petroleum Engineers Inc.

This paper was prepared for presentation at the 67th Annual Technical
Conference and Exhibition of the Society of Petroleum Engineers held
in Washington, DC, October 4-7, 1992.

This paper was selected for presentation by an SPE Program Committee

following review of information contained in an abstract submitted
by the author(s). Contents of the paper, as presented, have not been
reviewed by the Society of Petroleum Engineers and are subject to
correction by the author(s). The material, as presented, does not
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Abstract

Many of the reservoir uncertainties in the Valhall Field are

tied to the dynamic behaviour of the reservoir rock the high
porosity chalk is relatively weak and will experience plastic
deformation with reservoir depletion. This results in significant
rock compaction matrix and fracture permeability decline, and
shrinkage of the field's dual porosity area with declining
reservoir pressure. Rock compressibility ranges up to 120
E-6/psi, current fracture permeabilities are less than 10 percent
of initial, and the dual porosity area is currently 20 percent
of original areal extent.

This paper outlines the overall approach used to develop

 THE SPE IMAGE LIBRARY SPE 24914

a reasonable predictive toot to guide reservoir management

decisions. Key elements include a sophisticated mathematical
model, prudent data collection, in-depth evaluation of all
available information, and a history match approach that requires
direct use of actual data. Evaluation and representation of the
reservoir's dynamic rock and natural fracture properties are
described in-depth.

Introduction

The Valhall Field is an overpressured, undersaturated Upper

Cretaceous chalk reservoir located approximately 180 miles (290 km)
offshore southern Norway in 225 feet (69 m) of water. The field
was discovered in 1975 and a three platform complex with 24 well
slots was installed in mid-1981. Production was initiated in
October 1982. A primary development program utilized all 24
original slots by late 1988 and resulted in the addition of 6 more
slots to the existing platform in 1990. In April 1992, the Valhall
Field averaged 62 MBOPD (9.9 x 10(6) m3/day) and 84 MMCFD (2.4 x
10(6) Sm3/day), and had a cumulative oil and gas recovery of 186
MMSTB (29.6 x 10(6) m3) and 2.27 BCF (6.4 x 10(9) Sm3).

The reservoir (Fig. 1) has 2.0 billion barrels of original

oil-in-place in the Tor and Hod formations over an approximate
depth interval of 7870 to 8530 feet (2400 to 2600 m). About
two-thirds of the original oil-in-place and most of the field
productivity are in the overlying Tor. The reservoir is a faulted
asymmetric anticline with dual porosity natural fracturing in the
crestal Tor. The reservoir rock is a relatively pure (95 to 98%
calcite) high porosity (30-50%) chalk with high initial oil
saturations (90% and greater in the crest). Original Tor matrix
permeabilities range from 1 to 10 millidarcies while original
fracture permeabilities reach up to 350 millidarcies. The primary
drive mechanism is a combination of rock compaction, fluid
expansion, and solution gas drive (initial production below bubble
point in 1988).

At discovery, the Tor pressure was only 500 psi less

than the 7000 psi overburden weight indicating only minor formation
compaction during burial. As the field was developed, depletion of
the reservoir pressure transferred stresses to the relatively weak
reservoir rock, resulting in compaction. The net effects of rock
compaction are: 1) a significant contribution to the reservoir energy
in the form of lithic drive, 2) a partial transfer of this compaction
through the overburden resulting in mudline subsidence, and 3)
creation of dynamic rock relationships for matrix permeability,
fracture permeability, and dual porosity area as a function of
reservoir pressure.

Reservoir management of the Valhall Field has been exceptionally

challenging due to the complex dynamic nature of the reservoir,
limited field analogies, and the development constraints of an
offshore environment. It has required the development of a dual
porosity reservoir simulator to represent the reservoir mechanisms
in Valhall and to provide a reasonable predictive capability for
optimization studies. The simulator has been continuously upgraded
 THE SPE IMAGE LIBRARY SPE 24914

and tailored to Valhall over time, especially over the last two
years during the course of improved recovery studies.

Reservoir Management Perspective

Overall Approach

Reservoir simulation of the Valhall Field has been a

continual building process since the initial work was performed in
late 1981 (prior to platform installation). Detailed reservoir
simulator updates and/or upgrades have been performed at least
once a year. These studies have used a variety of reservoir
models, improved estimates of rock and fluid properties, and
varying operational assumptions. The evolution of these reservoir
simulators and reservoir descriptions has paralleled field
development, resulting in a typical evaluation cycle of:
1) simulation predictions of various operating strategies,
2) implementation of one or more economically viable alternatives,
3) monitoring of the resulting field performance supported by
supplemental laboratory and field data, and 4) revision of the
reservoir simulator to incorporate the additional data.

The Valhall reservoir management effort differs from that

of typical fields in the level of complexity and accuracy required
in the reservoir representation to create a sufficiently reliable
predictive tool for field development decisions.

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