Stone Ridge Technology releases ECHELON version 2022.2

The SRT team along with our development partners at Eni are pleased to announce the latest release of the ECHELON software, version 2022.2. This version delivers important new features and performance enhancements. New ECHELON features include polymer flooding, the generalized pseudo-pressure inflow model, a PID controller, and handling of prioritized production. It is now possible to perform coupled reservoir simulations with multiple compositional models. In addition, ECHELON can now be linked to the ABAQUS™software to perform flow-geomechanical simulations. These key new features are described in more detail below:

POLYMER FLOODING

ECHELON can now model polymer flooding, in both black-oil and compositional simulations. Supported physics includes polymer adsorption and desorption, with optional permeability reduction, accounting for inaccessible pore volume and thermal degradation.

GENERALIZED PSEUDO-PRESSURE INFLOW MODEL

The generalized pseudo-pressure inflow model, based on the description by Whitson and Fevang (1997), is now available in compositional simulations. The purpose is to improve well inflow calculations in gas reservoirs subject to condensate banking, without having to excessively refine the model around wellbores to resolve the liquid dropout within the grid itself.

PROPORTIONAL-INTEGRAL-DERIVATIVE CONTROLLER

ECHELON can now use a Proportional-Integral-Derivative (PID) controller to target and maintain specified reservoir dynamic quantities over time by adapting production and/or injection. Possible applications include pressure maintenance and coning management.

PRIORITIZED PRODUCTION

Prioritized production allows a well group to meet a production constraint by activating its wells in order of priority until the constraint is met, rather than apportioning said constraint amongst all wells using guide-rates.

MULTI-RESERVOIR COUPLING WITH COMPOSITIONAL MODELS

ECHELON Reservoir Coupling (ERC) is now available for compositional models, in cases where each individual reservoir has the same number of components.

GEOMECHANICAL COUPLING WITH ABAQUS™

ECHELON can now be coupled with the finite element simulator ABAQUS™ by Simulia™, using the iterative coupling approach at each timestep or at specified periodic intervals. The purpose is to account for the impact of varying pore-pressure on the reservoir stress, with potential implications in terms of subsidence or integrity, and to improve the accuracy of flow simulation by accounting for the impact of stress changes on porosity (and possibly permeability).

ECHELON 2022.2 continues to gain feature parity with legacy reference simulators, while maintaining its unrivaled performance and easing integration with third-party software.