Characterization and assessment of uncertainty in San Juan Reservoir Santa Rosa Field

Abstract

This study proposes a new, easily applied method to quantify uncertainty in production forecasts for a volumetric gas reservoir based on a material balance model (p/z vs. Gp). The new method uses only observed data and mismatches between regression values and observed values to identify the most probable value of gas reserves. The method also provides the range of probability of values of reserves from the minimum to the maximum likely value. The method is applicable even when only limited information is available from a field. Previous methods suggested in the literature require more information than our new method. Quantifying uncertainty in reserves estimation is becoming increasingly important in the petroleum industry. Many current investment opportunities in reservoir development require large investments, many in harsh exploration environments, with intensive technology requirements and possibly marginal investment indicators. Our method of quantifying uncertainty uses a priori information, which could come from different sources, typically from geological data, used to build a static or prior reservoir model. Additionally, we propose a method to determine the uncertainty in our reserves estimate at any stage in the life of the reservoir for which pressure-production data are available. We applied our method to San Juan reservoir at Santa Rosa Field, Venezuela. This field was ideal for this study because it is a volumetric reservoir for which the material balance method, the p/z vs. Gp plot, appears to be appropriate.