DMS™ Reservoir Uncertainty and Optimization Software

Description    |   Benefits   |    System Requirements  

Overview

The Decision Management System™ (DMS™) software solution delivers optimized answers to complex reservoir management problems.

The software allows users to discover development options that could potentially add millions of dollars to the bottom line. In addition, workflows driven by DMS software maximize the value of the entire asset by integrating subsurface, surface and economics workflows while simultaneously mitigating risk. Furthermore, evaluate hundreds of scenarios faster than it takes traditional methods to consider a few while tracking inputs, outputs, calculations and iterations in a relational database, to obtain a better understanding of how the entire system works.

Management is making increasingly challenging and important decisions earlier in the life of the reservoir. This means asset teams are under more pressure to accurately forecast and justify production profiles and reserve estimates, but with less information and greater time constraints than before.

DMS software combines simulation tools and optimization technology in an open and adaptable framework.

DMS software is the leading E&P decision support tool for the 21st century.

Benefits

Better Decisions

• DMS software results can lead to non-intuitive solutions. The solutions identified using optimization can often be more profitable than the limited range of solutions delivered by intuition and experience.
• The DMS software enables analysis of a project as an entire system, incorporating the interdependent uncertainties in reservoir, production and economic parameters.
• DMS software enables consideration of many more potential scenarios than the very few typically evaluated under traditional methods.

Faster Decisions

• The cycle time for development project planning is accelerated from months to weeks with an added level of confidence. DMS software revolutionizes time-consuming workflows, such as history matching and portfolio planning.
• Given a set of business objectives and constraints, asset teams can quickly evaluate multiple decision alternatives for any prospect or field.
• The DMS application technology leverages grid computing technology for much faster execution of multiple simulation jobs.

Traceable Decisions

• DMS software tracks all inputs, outputs, calculations and iterations, which means users can more easily retrace and replicate asset decisions, and therefore get a better understanding of the entire system.
• Capturing the decision-making workflows in a database enables asset teams to reference best practices for future projects.
  

Solutions

DMS software provides tools to solve complex problems involving optimization, uncertainty, and optimization with uncertainty.

The DMS system is an open and adaptable framework that is customizable allowing integration with various products and workflows as needed to solve the business problem.

By tapping into a variety of calculation engines and utilizing leading optimization technology, DMS software can present optimal field development options in light of uncertainty and key business objectives (such as NPV and IRR).

Examples of solutions delivered by DMS software include:

Well Location Optimization
Traditional methods of well location planning rely heavily on experience, intuition, and approximation.With traditional processes, even the most experienced engineers are limited to evaluating only a few alternatives.

The use of optimization within the DMS framework allows a rigorous approach to well location, with consideration of complex wells, full physics simulation, and economic analysis to help identify the most profitable scenarios.

Results from these types of studies potentially add many millions of dollars to a project’s profitability.

Assisted History Matching Workflows
Generating reservoir simulation models that match field production data has been a long-time industry challenge. History matching often occupies a disproportionate amount of time and money in a reservoir simulation study.

The DMS Assisted History Matching module uses powerful global optimization technology in conjunction with flow simulation for rapid and efficient delivery of multiple history matches. Automation speeds up the process by orders of magnitude, thus allowing engineers to move to value-added prediction workflows.

Facilities Design Optimization
Choosing the best surface facility to handle the production of single or multiple fields, while being cost-effective, is complex with many variables. The open and adaptable framework of the DMS program can link facilities modeling packages, such as the FieldPlan® application, with full-field simulation and economic analysis.

DMS software can help to identify the development scenario that best mitigates risk and maximizes profitability.

Project Portfolio Management
The risk-reward trade-off is at the heart of much E&P decision-making. This trade-off is historically handled by “gut feel,” leading to less-than-optimal decisions.

Portfolio analysis techniques are widely used in financial markets and for corporate-level decision-making. Using DMS software in conjunction with comprehensive data analysis tools, it is possible to incorporate geological description and physics-based simulation in a portfolio
analysis study.

Capital allocation decisions can be improved by using DMS software to deliver more rigorous processes at the asset or regional level. This assists in the identification of the best overall solution for a given amount of uncertainty for an asset or a portfolio of assets.

Scheduling of Resources
Determining the best sequence in which to drill wells to maximize business objectives is a common scheduling problem.When dealing with scheduling in the context of uncertainty in reservoir deliverability, the problem becomes highly complex.

Delivering better solutions for scheduling issues can significantly improve the bottom line. DMS optimization software delivers better answers to scheduling questions and helps maximize the value of the asset.

Reserves and Production Uncertainty
Typically, there are many uncertainties in E&P systems. To ignore uncertainty is to ignore reality. DMS software allows a range of uncertainty for multiple variables and enables sensitivity analysis to highlight the uncertainties that pose the greatest risk to asset performance.

Reserves and production uncertainty studies undertaken with DMS software encourage different technical disciplines to collaborate in an integrated environment to recognize and understand interdependent uncertainties. Asset teams can then focus their analysis on those subsurface, surface or economic issues that have the greatest impact on project objectives. These issues translate directly to corporate stakeholder value.

A variety of sampling techniques are available in the DMS package, such as traditional Monte Carlo approaches and experimental design. Choose the most appropriate technique for the problems at hand and the available resources.

Value of Information Studies
Data acquisition, such as drilling a new appraisal well, can be a costly process. Making the best decision requires a rigorous framework. Value-of-information (VOI) studies help quantify the cost-benefit relationship associated with potential actions we may take. DMS software provides a solution for VOI studies, helping to address such questions in economic terms. Make better decisions by running alternative scenarios in the DMS system to test the business impact of acquiring additional information.

Value of Information Studies
Data acquisition, such as drilling a new appraisal well, can be a costly process.Making the best decision requires a rigorous framework. Value-of-information (VOI) studies help quantify the cost-benefit relationship associated with potential actions we may take. DMS software provides a solution for VOI studies, helping to address such questions in economic terms.Make better decisions by running alternative scenarios in the DMS system to test the business impact of acquiring additional information.

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System Requirements
Hardware
Minimum recommended configuration for running DMS software is a workstation-class (Intel Xeon®) PC or laptop with 2 GB of memory.

Software
Macrovision FLEXlm® 7.x
Sun Microsystems Java® 1.5 runtime environment (bundled with the DMS software installation)
OptQuest® third-party optimizer from OptTek (bundled with the DMS Optimization software installation)
DMS software technology is configurable to run workflows with a variety of software applications, including Landmark VIP®, Nexus® and FieldPlan®, Schlumberger ECLIPSE®, CMG IMEX®, Petroleum Experts MBAL® and GAP® and Microsoft®
Excel® 2003 programs.
Microsoft Access® 2003 or MySQL® software is required for saving results to a JDBC database.
Adobe Acrobat Reader™ program is required for viewing the documentation.
TIBCO Spotfire® DecisionSite® software is recommended for data analysis.

Operating System(s)
Microsoft Windows XP®
Red Hat® Enterprise Linux® (back office for grid computing only)
Contact your local Landmark office for information on grid computing solutions with DMS software.