Roxar Donates Reservoir Modeling Software to Heriot-Watt’s
Roxar, a leading technology solutions provider to the oil and gas industry, today announced that it has donated 164 licenses of its industry leading IRAP RMS™ reservoir modeling software to Edinburgh-based Heriot-Watt University’s Institute of Petroleum Engineering. The software, which has a commercial value of over US$35 million, will be used in Phase 2 of Heriot-Watt’s Uncertainty Quantification project. IRAP RMS™ will run on Heriot-Watt clusters to allow thousands of reservoir models to be built and to further explore how geological modeling can reduce uncertainty and assist in history matching.
Said Roxar CEO, Gunnar Hviding:
“We are delighted to be working with Heriot-Watt and contributing to industry research in what we believe is a hugely important area of reservoir management.”
“Whether it is fluid contact depths, permeability, faults and fractures or numerical inputs for flow simulation, there is always an element of uncertainty in one’s reservoir operations. Through the generation of geological models, multiple scenarios, and history matching, however, we can help oil and gas operators better manage and quantify uncertainty within the reservoir.”
“Heriot-Watt’s research is an important validation of the solutions Roxar is already bringing to the upstream market as well as confirmation of our commitment to innovation in our fast-paced industry.”
His words were backed up by Professor Mike Christie of Heriot-Watt:
“We are very pleased with Roxar’s donation of 164 licenses to use for history matching and uncertainty quantification on our linux cluster. The focus of the Uncertainty project is to develop tools and techniques for uncertainty quantification. As such, it is important that the tools we develop work with leading commercial software packages such as IRAP RMS™. By working closely with Roxar, we hope to demonstrate the value of combining advanced software, modern cluster computing, and a sound understanding of theory to quantify uncertainty in reservoir performance prediction leading to better reservoir management.”
Roxar’s uncertainty management solutions cover the complete static and dynamic modeling workflow and the complete E&P lifecycle from the ranking of prospects through to detailed reservoir management. The result is that multi-million dollar decisions, such as bid valuations, new field development and operational plans and divestments, can all be made with a realistic understanding of the uncertainties involved.
Solutions include Roxar’s new uncertainty management module which operates within IRAP RMS™; and EnABLE™, the leading history matching and uncertainty estimation software product on the market today. As opposed to many current 3D model workflows which ignore the uncertainty in the data, IRAP RMS™ and EnABLE™ examine and history match numerous geological scenarios to create simulation models that are fully consistent with their underlying geological interpretation.
Heriot-Watt’s Uncertainty Quantification program started in 2002 and is a joint industry project to enable the practical deployment of more effective uncertainty tools in reservoir management. Sponsors include BG Group, BP, Chevron, ConocoPhillips, Eni SpA, JOGMEC, Shell, and StatoilHydro.
The specific goals of the project are: i) To develop practical methods for generating multiple history matched reservoir models; ii) to develop ways of incorporating prior geological data in uncertain history matches and forward predictions; iii) to generate tools and methods for predicting reservoir performance uncertainty; and iv) to develop methods for quantifying the value of additional data.
Phase I, which had two separate modules – one on uncertainty and one on upscaling – concluded in 2005. Phase 2 takes uncertainty again as the core module and has an increased emphasis on field applications.
Roxar has a long-term relationship with Heriot-Watt, having worked together on joint industry projects, such as SAIGUP (Sensistivity Analysis of the Impact of Geological Uncertainties on Production) as well as providing training to its MSc students.
In August 2005, Roxar donated US$26 million of its software for academic use at Heriot-Watt and six other leading European universities.
Roxar creates value for its customers through its Reservoir Interpretation, Reservoir Modeling, Reservoir Simulation, Well and Completion, Production and Process Solutions and Consultancy Services.
