Tutuka Ariadji

A robust method for determining the optimum horizontal well direction and length for a petroleum field development using genetic algorithm

Locating a horizontal well to maximize a gas field production requires not only a right direction but also horizontal segment length. This is due to the longest segment does not necessarily give the maximum gas production, and each direction has its own optimum segment length. Currently, this problem is solved through a trial and error method. This method requires significant efforts and time to find the best location in order to provide a good reservoir model. In this study, a new construction of an optimization problem for optimizing gas production is proposed. Genetic Algorithm is applied to avoid the trial and error procedure. A set of two consecutive objective functions is constructed, i.e., one which is based on the quality of basic reservoir rock properties resulted from summing of all the grids of objective function values in a chosen direction, and the second one which is derived from a curve fitting cubic spline function of the cumulative gas production at a plateau time period with respect to t...