Research article Petroleum Geoscience

Published online October 8, 2018 https://doi.org/10.1144/petgeo2018-022 | Vol. 25 | 2019 | pp. 207–218

Efficient brownfield optimization of a reservoir in west Siberia

O. S. Ushmaev1, V. M. Babin1, N. G. Glavnov1, R. R. Yaubatyrov1,
D. Echeverría Ciaurri2*, M. V. Golitsyna3, A. V. Pozdneev3 & A. S. Semenikhin3
1
Gazpromneft STC, 75-79 liter D Moika River emb., St Petersburg 190000, Russia
2
IBM Thomas J. Watson Research Center, 1101 Kitchawan Road, Yorktown Heights, NY 10598, USA
3
IBM East Europe/Asia, 10 Presnenskaya emb., Moscow, 123112, Russia
R.R.Y., 0000-0002-6484-1699; D.E.C., 0000-0001-7168-4233
* Correspondence: detxebeciau@gmail.com

Abstract: In this work we present a methodology for optimal management of brownfields that is illustrated on a real field. The
approach does not depend on the particular reservoir flow simulator used, although streamline-derived information is leveraged
to accelerate the optimization. The method allows one to include (non-linear) constraints (e.g. a recovery factor larger than a
given baseline value), which are very often challenging to address with optimization tools. We rely on derivative-free
optimization coupled with the filter method for non-linear constraints, although the methodology can also be combined with
approaches that utilize exact/approximate gradients. Performance in terms of wall-clock time can be improved further if
distributed-computing resources are available (the method is amenable to parallel implementation). The methodology is
showcased using a real field in west Siberia where net present value (NPV) is maximized subject to a constraint for the recovery
factor. The optimization variables represent a discrete time series for well bottom-hole pressure over a fraction of the production
time frame. An increase in NPV of 7.9% is obtained with respect to an existing baseline. The optimization methods studied
include local optimization algorithms (e.g. generalized pattern search) and global search procedures (e.g. particle swarm
optimization). The controls for one injection well in the real field were actually modified according to the solution determined in
this work. The results obtained suggest improvement for most economic scenarios.
Received 22 February 2018; revised 14 May 2018; accepted 2 August 2018

The importance of brownfields resurges in periods of relatively low
values of oil price. The management of this kind of field is principally
based on the periodical setting of well controls (this may also include
shutting wells in and switching their functionality, e.g. from being a
production well to an injection well). Expensive capital investments
such as the drilling of new wells are not contemplated in brownfields
very often, and, for this reason, these fields can be a very attractive
component of a field portfolio of an oil and gas company.
The modification of well settings in brownfields can be an arduous
task that cannot be performed with arbitrary frequency. Thus, it can
be very important to elaborate optimized schedules of well settings
that lead to efficient production of the field. However, this can be a
rather difficult enterprise because of the frequently large number of
control variables associated with the wells in a brownfield, the
elevated computational cost of the numerical models used (which can
render optimization problems challenging even for a moderate
number of variables), and the presence of multiple and complicated
operational constraints (finding feasible controls that satisfy all of
these constraints is usually not trivial). On many occasions these
schedules are determined using available rules of thumb and educated
guesses, which, due to their heuristic foundations, may lack accuracy
and robustness, and even fail and not provide acceptable solutions.
Therefore, in search of techniques more solid than ad hoc
solutions, brownfield management has been approached by means of
formal optimization and accurate simulation. In the optimization
problems commonly formulated for brownfields, one aims at
maximizing a performance metric such as net present value
(NPV), and the optimization variables are sequences of well settings
(e.g. well bottom-hole pressure (BHP) values or rates) that represent
how each well is controlled as a function of time. Operational (non-
linear) constraints can be given, for example, by a minimum recovery
factor (that may correspond to a baseline production plan) or through
pre-specified bounds for field quantities (e.g. maximum field
injection rate). The cost function in these optimization problems
has been often observed to be relatively smooth (unlike in well
location optimization problems, where the cost function may be
markedly non-linear due to significant spatial heterogeneities in the
reservoir rock properties), and, in cases of moderate or high number
of variables, different optimized solutions with similar cost-function
values can be found (e.g. see Echeverría Ciaurri et al. 2011a; Van
Essen et al. 2011). Consistent with that, the optimization techniques
of choice in the context of brownfield management are in most cases
of a local nature (in contrast to global search procedures that may be
used, at the expense of additional computation cost, in those cases
where the optimization cost function might present a higher degree
of non-linearity than expected; global search methods are less
frequently employed in production optimization than local algo-
rithms; the reader may consult Harding et al. 1998; Echeverría
Ciaurri et al. 2011a for examples of applications of global search
methods in production optimization).
Whenever derivative information can be computed efficiently,
local optimization is addressed by means of gradient-based
optimization methods (e.g. see Nocedal & Wright 2006). Adjoint
formulations (e.g. see Sarma et al. 2008; Van Essen et al. 2010) can
be considered in simulation-based optimization for a rapid gradient
computation of the cost function, provided one has complete access
to and detailed knowledge of the simulator used. This is not the case
in many situations in practice (e.g. when the simulation engine relies
significantly on commercial software) and consequently either
gradients are approximated (e.g. see Su & Oliver 2010; Dehdari &
Oliver 2012; Zhao et al. 2013 for schemes relevant to production
optimization) or not even computed. Derivative-free optimization
(e.g. see Kolda et al. 2003; Conn et al. 2009; Kramer et al. 2011)
provides a fairly efficient alternative in practice for a broad spectrum
of optimization problems in oilfield operations (in this respect, the
reader may consult, for example, Echeverría Ciaurri et al. 2011b).

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208 O. S. Ushmaev et al.
It is worthwhile noticing that global search methods proceed, in
general, in a gradient-free fashion. Unlike in adjoint-based
optimization techniques, the computational cost of most deriva-
tive-free methods is larger the higher the number of optimization
variables the problem has. However, many gradient-free algorithms
are amenable to a distributed-computing implementation, and that
may yield acceptable performance in terms of wall-clock time.
Another family of efficient alternatives to adjoint formulations
leverages techniques that borrow concepts from streamline-based
simulations (the reader may consult Batycky & Thiele 2006; Datta-
Gupta et al. 2010; Voznyuk et al. 2014; Wen et al. 2014 for some
examples of interest in brownfield management). These techniques
are essentially devised to optimize well rates and, in principle, this
may not be the best option in real scenarios because a considerable
number of fields are controlled by means of procedures that do not
provide a constant rate for relatively long periods of time (e.g.
injection wells controlled through a selection of wellhead choke
sizes). Well controls based on piecewise constant BHP values are
much closer to existing field implementations and, since in this
work we eventually apply the results of the optimization to an actual
brownfield, these controls are the ones that will be considered here
(however, the method proposed in this research can also be used
with well rate controls).
Derivative-free optimization approaches, although applicable to a
wide variety of problems, may render formulations that, if there are a
relatively high number of variables, can be extremely time-
consuming to solve (e.g. when models that integrate reservoir and
surface facilities are considered). This might not be an attractive
option in many practical scenarios where solutions are required in a
short time frame (e.g. overnight or in few days). Hence, derivative-
free optimization is very often combined with surrogate modelling
(e.g. see Koziel et al. 2011, and especially Jansen & Durlofsky
2017, for applications of reduced-order models in production
optimization) and with mechanisms that alleviate the computational
cost associated with an elevated number of optimization variables.
In this work we reduce the number of variables in each iteration of
the optimization algorithm by selecting the subset of wells which
contribution to a measure related, for example, to the cost function
or to the constraints is the highest for all subsets with the same
number of wells. It should be stressed that this selection takes into
account information related to streamline-based simulation, is
applicable to general well controls (not necessarily well rates) and is
updated as the optimal search progresses (since the contribution of
each well to the measure chosen may depend on the respective well
controls). Although not included in the results presented in this
paper, the use of decline models to approximate metrics based on
long-term simulation runs (e.g. lifelong reservoir recovery factor)
may accelerate the optimization process further. We would like to
note that geological uncertainty is not considered in this research
(this type of uncertainty may not be as severe for mature fields as for
greenfields). In any event, the retrospective optimization framework
presented in Wang et al. (2012) could be readily used as an add-on
to the approach introduced here in order to deal with uncertainty.
This paper is structured as follows. In the next section we state the
optimization problem of interest and describe the methodology
proposed to solve this problem. Thereafter, in the following section,
we apply this methodology to a numerical model for a field in west
Siberia, and later we report on actual experiments performed on that
field to validate the solution obtained with the methodology. We
end the paper with some conclusions and possible future research
directions.
Problem statement and methodology
In this research we address optimization problems in which
optimization variables x [ Rn represent a discrete time series for
different well control settings. Although a wide variety of well
settings can be handled through these variables, here x will be BHP
values for the injection wells in the field of interest. The
optimization cost function, f (x), may refer to any performance
metric. In this work, net present value (NPV) for a relatively short
time frame (1 and 3 years) will be considered in all cases as the cost
function:
"
X X
f (x) ¼ NPV(x) ¼ po qoj,k (x)
k j
#
X X
þ clp qlpj,k (x)  cwi qi,k
wi (x) Dtk =(1 þ d)tk
j i
(1)
where po , clp and cwi are the oil sale price (this price is adjusted so that
the separation cost and taxes are included), lifting cost and injection
cost, respectively; qoj,k , qlpj,k and qi,k
wi are the rates for oil production,
liquid production and water injection for each well j and kth time
interval of duration Dtk ; and d is the annual discount rate where time tk
is expressed in years. We will also include bound constraints: that is, x
will be defined in X ¼ {x [ Rn ; xd  x  xu }, where xd and xu
denote lower and upper bounds, respectively, and non-linear
constraints. These latter constraints are mathematically formulated
by means of a vector function k(x) [ Rnk , in which components
have to be non-positive for feasible solutions. The specific non-linear
constraint in our optimization problems refers to a measure of
recovery factor (RF) computed for the same time frame as the NPV
(this RF measure needs to be larger than that of a baseline plan). Since
the methodology presented in this research can be applied to an
arbitrary number of constraints, we will keep the notation k(x) [ Rnk
(i.e. as vector function) throughout the paper. The optimization
problem solved can be formulated as follows:
x [ argmax f (x) subject to k(x)  0 (2)
x[X
where x indicates any (locally) optimal solution, and the precise
definition of the RF non-linear constraint k(x) is adjusted as required
in order to translate feasibility into being non-positive.
Derivative-free optimization
For the reasons mentioned above, we opt for derivative-free (i.e.
simulator-non-intrusive) optimization methods. Most of the experi-
ments performed are based on generalized pattern search (GPS: e.g.
see Torczon 1997; Audet & Dennis 2002; Echeverría Ciaurri et al.
2011b for more details of that method and applications to oilfield
operations), which is a local optimization technique (as noticed
earlier, well control optimization problems have been observed to
typically present multiple optima with similar cost-function values).
Additionally, particle swarm optimization (PSO: e.g. see Eberhart
& Kennedy 1995; Kennedy & Eberhart 1995; Onwunalu &
Durlofsky 2010 for a description of the algorithm and its potential in
field development), a global search procedure, has also been tested
out in one example in this work. In both algorithms, the exploration
of the search space is performed by means of a collection of points
(stencil for GPS and swarm for PSO) that are modified in each
iteration. We reiterate that the computational cost of many
derivative-free methods scales with the number of optimization
variables. Therefore, the optimization of mature fields with a
relatively large number of wells is on some occasions a rather time-
consuming solution. GPS and PSO tend to provide fairly robust and
effective implementations (e.g. see Bellout et al. 2012; Humphries
et al. 2014; Isebor et al. 2014 in addition to the references given for
these two algorithms). Derivative-free alternatives to GPS and PSO
can be found, for example, in Kramer et al. (2011).
 Efficient brownfield optimization
Reduction in the number of variables using streamline-
derived information
Here we partially alleviate the problem of having a moderate or high
number of variables by reducing the number of wells optimized in
each control interval. This approach is based on constructing a linear
model for reservoir fluid flow during a given period of time using
streamline-derived information in the form of a number of volume
ratios and efficiencies defined for all injection–production well pairs
(for more details, see, for example, Batycky & Thiele 2006; Wen
et al. 2014). This model (which essentially approximates the
reservoir thorough a network of pipes) allows one to express
production rates as a sum of contributions associated only with
injection wells (and vice versa: i.e. injection rates can be written in
terms of contributions corresponding only to production wells).
Thus, a performance metric such as NPV can be decomposed into a
number of components linked just to injection wells. We use these
constitutive components to rank wells and, in turn, to select a subset
of them that can be optimized. Metrics associated with non-linear
constraints (e.g. RF in our case) can also be used for the ranking
(otherwise, selections based on a metric solely related to the
optimization cost function may favour infeasible well configura-
tions). Note that a different subset of wells can be obtained for each
of the control intervals considered, and that the subset selection is
updated in every iteration of the optimization method applied.
Although this streamline-based approximation is suited to wells
controlled by means of rates, the precision obtained with it in
brownfield management scenarios for other types of well controls
can be often satisfactory (connections between injection and
production wells tend to be stable for relatively long periods of
time in mature fields, provided well controls are not modified
drastically). This reduction approach might be attractive in real
implementations because field operators prefer production plan
updates where only a small number of controls are changed (in
many cases, adjusting well controls implies travelling to remote
locations of difficult access). It should be added that not all
production scenarios are amenable to being modelled efficiently by
streamline-based simulation but the management of brownfields,
among others, is one of them (e.g. see Wen et al. 2014).
Filter method for non-linear constraints
The non-linear constraints in the optimization problem in equation
(2) are challenging to deal with because, as is the case with the cost
function, simulation is needed to evaluate k(x) and, consequently,
derivative information may not be available. The filter method (e.g.
see Fletcher et al. 2006; Nocedal & Wright 2006) has recently been
used in production optimization (e.g. see Echeverría Ciaurri et al.
2011a) to handle successfully this kind of constraints. A filter is
essentially a new acceptance criterion for each optimization iteration
that is based on concepts borrowed from bi-objective optimization.
By means of the filter method, points are accepted/rejected not only
based on the values of the cost function f (x) but also on a measure
of constraint violation:
h(x) ¼ max{0, k(x)} (3)
where the maximum is determined for all components of k(x),
which are usually scaled so that they have comparable values. Thus,
the optimal search with a filter is enriched using points that violate
constraints and, thanks to that additional information, optimization
techniques that include a filter for non-linear constraints may
outperform other approaches that are based mainly on feasible
points. The filter method is really an add-on to many optimization
algorithms. The output of an optimization method that incorporates
a filter is a collection of solutions that represent a trade-off between
cost function and constraint violation. The user can select any of
209
these solutions according to the flexibility available: that is, in some
cases, constraint satisfaction can be relaxed if the improvement in
cost function is acceptably large. In this work we combine the filter
with GPS and with PSO (the reader may consult Isebor et al. 2014
for more details on the use of PSO with the filter method to deal with
computationally expensive non-linear constraints for which deriva-
tives are not available). Alternative approaches to handle general
constraints in a derivative-free manner within the context of
production optimization can be found, for example, in Echeverría
Ciaurri et al. (2011a).
Real field case study
Pilot field description
The optimization methodology has been tested on Field ‘X’ of
Gazprom Neft, located in west Siberia. The formation is a layered,
uplifted reservoir with the presence of structural trapping. The
reservoir, which is 12 × 4.3 km and 51 m thick, is mainly composed
of sandy rocks interbedded with siltstones, dense clay and carbonate
rocks. The formation is divided into 9–28 permeable layers. The
average thickness for the pay sand is 25 m and the initial thickness
for the net pay varies from 1.1 to 25.6 m. The average porosity,
permeability and initial oil saturation are 18.8%, 23.6 mD and 61%,
respectively.
Oil reserves were proved for Field ‘X’ through exploration
drilling in 1989. The development of the field, mainly via
waterflooding, started in 2006. Production started from the
(vertical) exploration wells and additional horizontal wells were
progressively drilled. The average production rate for the vertical
and for the horizontal wells was 723 and 3189 barrels (bbl) per day,
respectively. The peak oil rate took place from 2007 to 2012 and was
approximately equal to 17 000 bbl/day. The lack of abrupt injection
breakthroughs and gradual increase in water-cut suggests high fluid
displacement efficiency. Field rates and the number of active wells
as a function of time are represented in Figures 1 and 2. The
optimization period considered in this paper started on 1 May 2016,
when the field was in the fourth stage of development. At that
moment, there were 19 production wells (16 of them were
horizontal) and 15 injection wells (one of them was horizontal),
and the field oil production rate was 6440 bbl/day. Injection and
production rates for all the wells in the field at the beginning of the
optimization time frame are represented in Figure 3. The water-
flooding optimization is addressed through the adjustment of
controls for all the 15 injection wells. This optimization strategy
requires no capital expenditure and looks especially promising
under conditions of relatively low oil price. The simulation model
used in the optimization is based on a black-oil formulation and is
discretized by means of a 70 × 145 × 114 grid (the number of active
grid blocks is equal to 768 000). Each of these grid blocks has a
length and width equal to 100 m, and an average height of 0.3 m.
The history-matching quality of the model in most regions of the
reservoir was deemed satisfactory for the optimization experiments
performed. However, some wells were located in areas where this
quality was questionable and, as will be discussed below, control
changes affecting those wells in the optimized solutions were
disregarded.
Results of optimization
In the optimization we aimed to maximize the NPV as defined
earlier in equation (1) over a production time frame equal to 1 year
(first numerical test) and to 3 years (the rest of the numerical tests).
The optimization constraint requires that the RF (or equivalently, the
volume of oil produced) during that same time frame be larger than
the RF associated with an existing baseline. The optimization
210 O. S. Ushmaev et al.

Fig. 1. Oil and liquid production rate, water injection rate, and water-cut (WCT) for Field ‘X’ since the start of production until April 2016.

variables describe sequences of BHP values that represent the
controls for each injection well as a function of time. We have tested
two derivative-free optimization algorithms: generalized pattern
search (GPS) and particle swarm optimization (PSO). In both
algorithms, the non-linear constraint for RF is handled by means of
procedures based on the filter method (in the optimization problem
there are also bound constraints, which can be dealt with in a
relatively straightforward manner). The optimization starting point
for GPS is always the baseline plan for both time frames of 1 and
3 years (this plan is not included in the initial swarm of PSO in order
to better check how global the search performed by this method is).
The GPS algorithm terminates when the size of the compass stencil
(e.g. see Echeverría Ciaurri et al. 2011b) used to explore the
optimization space is smaller than a predefined value (this smallest
stencil size can be selected through considerations around the
resolution deemed acceptable for the control variables), while PSO,
which has a swarm size equal to 100, is run multiple times due to its
random nature and is always stopped after 1600 cost-function
evaluations (in our experiments this number seemed to be high
enough for the algorithm to converge). This swarm size being
somewhat larger than typical choices in optimal well location (e.g.
see Onwunalu & Durlofsky 2010; Echeverría Ciaurri et al. 2011b;

Fig. 2. Total number of active production and injection wells as a function of time for Field ‘X’ since the start of production until April 2016.
 Efficient brownfield optimization
Fig. 3. Injection and production rates for all of the 19 production wells
and 15 injection wells in Field ‘X’ on 30 April 2016. The area of each
bubble is proportional to the respective total well rate. Net pay and oil–
water contacts are also shown in the figure.
Wang et al. 2012), where, as mentioned above, cost functions may be
considerably non-linear, may enhance the global nature of PSO in
our application.
First, we need to decide on the size of the time interval where
BHP is constant for each well. In principle, one would like to use as
many intervals as possible and exploit that flexibility in the
optimization to possibly obtain higher NPV. However, a large
number of intervals will be translated into optimization problems
211
with a considerable number of variables, which can be a time-
consuming solution when derivative-free methods have to be used
(we reiterate than in many cases, in practice, efficient gradient-based
techniques cannot be applied because the user has no access to the
simulation source code). Additionally, from the point of view of the
field operator, frequent modifications of the well controls may not
be desirable since these changes usually imply the execution of
costly processes (e.g. travel to remote locations and technically
complicated procedures). Here we have approached the optimiza-
tion over a time frame of 1 year using well controls that are constant
over intervals of either 3 months or the entire year. Five injection
wells (selected by an expert) have been considered for optimization
in this test (note that all wells in the field are taken into account in the
simulations). Thus, the number of optimization variables for each of
the two settings just described is equal to 20 and 5. The results
obtained with the GPS algorithm are shown in Figure 4. In this
figure we represent the evolution of the best feasible solution for the
two optimization runs based on well controls that are constant over
intervals of 3 months and 1 year. The difference between the
optimized NPVs is relatively small (i.e. 0.96 and 1.13%) but the
computational cost associated with the use of controls for 1 year is
around 10 times smaller. Hence, in the rest of numerical tests (all of
them for a total production time frame of 3 years) the piecewise
constant representation of BHP controls for injection wells will be
based on intervals of 1 year.
Next, we compare GPS with PSO when applied to the
optimization of the same five wells as in the previous case but
over a production time of 3 years (divided in three intervals of 1 year
during which BHP is constant for each of the five wells). Therefore,
this optimization problem has 15 variables. The results obtained are
illustrated in Figure 5. Again, the plots represent the evolution of the
best feasible solution in each optimization process. The PSO
algorithm was run four times and the average of all these runs is
shown in the plot (it should be noted that all the runs yielded the
same optimized NPV; this result suggests that no more runs may be
needed to assess performance for this configuration of PSO in this
example). Both GPS and PSO reach values very close to the
converged NPV (i.e. increase of 2.26%) after around 400 function
evaluations. The PSO algorithm seems to take advantage of a large
swarm size (equal to 100) to explore the space initially in a more
thorough fashion and improve the cost function faster in spite of not
including the baseline plan as a particle in the first swarm (the
stochastic component of PSO may have contributed during the
Fig. 4. Evolution of the best feasible
solution computed with GPS for two
optimization runs over a total time frame of
1 year. The optimizations are based on
intervals of 3 months and 1 year,
respectively, for each of the five wells
considered (which were selected by an
expert). fev, function evaluations.
212 O. S. Ushmaev et al.

Fig. 5. Evolution of the best feasible

solution computed with GPS and PSO for
optimization over a total time frame of
3 years. The optimizations are based on
intervals of 1 year for each of the five wells
considered (which were selected by an
expert). fev, function evaluations.

earliest stages of this optimization problem to deal with the non-
linear constraint in more efficient manner). The systematic search
performed by GPS (supported by mathematical convergence
theory) is translated into more rapid convergence in the neighbour-
hood of the optimal solution.
It is important to notice that the optimized BHP controls for all
solutions obtained with both optimization techniques are almost
identical (in Fig. 6 we show the baseline, the solution found by GPS
and one of the solutions determined with PSO; we can see that the
two optimized solutions differ by a small margin in the third interval
of injection well INJ-13; the differences between the solutions
computed in PSO are negligible). This fact may indicate that this
problem has a unique (global) optimum (as indicated above, well
control optimization problems with a higher number of variables
may present multiple solutions but with similar cost-function
values). These results suggest as well that hybridization of global
and local techniques (as proposed, for example, in Isebor et al.
2014) may somewhat accelerate convergence.
Finally, we address the control optimization for all the 15 injection
wells in Field ‘X’ during three intervals of 1 year. The attendant
optimization problem has 45 variables. As explained above, in this
work we have introduced a procedure to accelerate the optimal search
by means of streamline-derived information and the iterative selection
of distinct subsets of wells for each of the (three, in this example)
control intervals and for every iteration of the optimization algorithm.
Different selections can be obtained depending on the performance
metric that is used to rank the wells involved in the optimization. Here
we consider two different performance metrics to choose five wells:
NPV and the overall operational expenditures (OPEX) associated
with all the wells in Field ‘X’. The selection of five wells instead of
another number did not follow any particular guideline in this
work. Research on criteria to choose that number could be a
useful enhancement to the methodology. It is important to notice
and emphasize that, in spite of selecting only five out of the 15
wells, we may still explore the original 45-dimensional space
because the well selection could be modified in each iteration of
the optimization algorithm (in other words, the overall method
contemplates changes in the controls for all 15 wells). We
additionally compare the two mentioned selection procedures
with the optimization of the controls corresponding to five wells
chosen by an expert (these five wells are the same for every
control interval and each iteration of GPS).
The results of the four optimization runs are shown in Figure 7.
In this figure, the runs that correspond to the selection of wells by
means of an expert and through NPV and OPEX as performance
metric are denoted by C1, C2 and C3, respectively. As expected,

Fig. 6. (Left) Baseline of BHP controls for the optimization problem with three intervals of 1 year and five wells selected by an expert. (Centre) BHP
controls optimized with generalized pattern search (GPS). (Right) BHP controls optimized with particle swarm optimization (PSO). The optimized solutions
(slightly) differ only in the third interval of injection well INJ-13. This difference will very probably become smaller if the optimization processes are run
over a longer time. In any event, the cost-function values associated with these solutions are essentially the same (in both cases they represent an increase of
2.26% in NPV with respect to the baseline).
 Efficient brownfield optimization
the explicit optimization of the 15 wells yields the highest
optimized cost-function value (i.e. 3.91% increase in NPV with
respect to the baseline) and demands almost 5000 cost-function
evaluations, noticeably more than the other three approaches.
Although the optimization problem was formulated for a
production time frame of 3 years, it is important to verify that the
optimized strategy does not underperform the baseline also in the
long term. To this end, we have computed its NPV and RF during
the period starting on 1 May 2016 and ending when cash flow
in equation (1) is equal to zero. In this period, the well controls at
the end of the first 3 years (i.e. on 30 April 2019) are kept
untouched until production stops. Nothing guarantees that the
overall strategy will be optimal for the entire reservoir life but, since
both NPV and RF were the cost function and constraint of an
optimization problem defined over a relatively long period of time,
we can expect that long-term performance metrics may be
acceptable. The optimized strategy (followed by unchanged
controls) yields around 6 additional years of profitable production
and the overall increase in NPV with respect to the lifelong
performance of the baseline plan is 7.89%. It is worthwhile
commenting that, even though in the optimization RF is introduced
as a constraint, the RF obtained for the complete reservoir life is
1.14% higher than that of the baseline (note that this is an absolute
and not a relative increase, i.e. 1.14% additional recoverable
reserves are produced compared to the baseline). However, we
stress the fact that the degree of uncertainty in long-term predictions
is so high that conclusions based on this type of forecast need to be
drawn carefully.
The procedure based on NPV (OPEX) for well selection yields an
increase in NPV of 3.73% (3.35%) and is around 59% (66%) faster
than the direct optimization of all wells. When the five wells are
chosen by an expert, the optimized solution is computed in slightly
less than 1000 cost-function evaluations but the corresponding
increase in NPV is only of 2.26%. We can clearly see a trade-off
between accuracy in the optimization and computing cost that we
can adjust according to the precision needed in the solution and the
resources available (e.g. time). It is worthwhile mentioning that, as
pointed out earlier when describing the filter method, if constraint
satisfaction can be relaxed, slightly infeasible solutions with cost-
function values higher than the optimized one (which corresponds,
in general, to a feasible solution) can also be outputted. In this
particular optimization problem we have observed that the
213
optimized solutions are located in the interior of the search
domain (i.e. for each solution k(x) is strictly less than zero or,
equivalently, the RF is higher than that of the baseline) and
infeasible points only appear in the optimization process during its
first stages (note that the initial guess in the optimization is at the
boundary of the search space, i.e. k(x) is equal to zero). None of the
infeasible points visited in the optimization runs were regarded as
being superior to the feasible solutions found.
The solution with highest optimized NPV (i.e. the solution where
BHP controls for all 15 injection wells were considered as
optimization variables; in practice, one may not have computing
time to optimize all 15 wells and may resort to selecting a subset of
them using the procedure presented in this paper) was scrutinized
before proposing the attendant experiment on the real field.
Although this solution is based on adjustment of 14 out of the 15
injection wells, only changes in three of these wells were initially
deemed acceptable from a practical point of view (the contribution
to the increase in NPV from many of these wells is relatively small
and, consequently, difficult to measure experimentally; in addition,
some of the wells are located in regions of the reservoir where the
quality of the history matching is questionable and, in consequence,
modifications of their controls may not have the effects on the real
field predicted through simulation). The difference in this study
between the number of wells optimized and those eventually
considered practically relevant is noticeable. Further research could
be directed towards reducing the gap for these two numbers (e.g. by
considering new formulations of the optimization problem that
promote certain types of solutions).
The three wells chosen and the respective relative rate changes
that correspond to the new BHP controls are shown in Figure 8. (It is
important to note that the two solutions obtained using the reduction
in the number of wells via streamline-derived information also
included relatively major changes for these three wells.) The most
drastic recommendation is related to injection well INJ-2: the
optimized solution requires shutting the well in (i.e. relative change
of −100%). The other two recommendations refer to an increase in
BHP for wells INJ-1 and INJ-3. The high injection rate of INJ-2 in
the baseline plan might hinder effective fluid displacement from
INJ-1 to the five nearby production wells indicated in Figure 8.
Therefore, the shutting-in of INJ-2 combined with a modest
injection rate increase of INJ-1 may distribute better fluid flow and,
in turn, produce the reserves in that area in a more effective manner.
Fig. 7. Evolution of the best feasible
solution computed with GPS for the
optimization of 15 injection wells over a
total time frame of 3 years. In three of the
runs, five wells are selected in each
control interval and iteration of GPS. In
the run with the first selection procedure
(denoted in the figure by ‘5 wells C1’)
wells are chosen by means of an expert. In
the other two runs (denoted in the figure
by ‘5 wells C2’ and ‘5 wells C3’) the
selection procedure leverages streamline-
derived information to approximate the
performance metric NPV and OPEX,
respectively. fev, function evaluations.
214 O. S. Ushmaev et al.
Production wells around INJ-3 may also benefit from a higher rate at
this injection well.
Taking all the selected changes of the well controls in total, we
expect that a reduction in the overall injection rate of 23% for INJ-1,
INJ-2 and INJ-3 will not be translated into a decrease in oil
production (due to a decline in reservoir pressure) because other
remaining reserves will be produced; additionally, the savings in
injection and lifting costs will contribute further to an NPV increase.
We reiterate that the well settings considered in the optimization are
BHP values (the actual settings that can be modified for injection
wells in the real field are choke sizes, which are easier to relate to
BHP values than to rates).
Results of field experiment
The experts responsible for direct operation and control of Field
‘X’ examined the optimized solution with the highest NPV. From
Fig. 8. The three injection wells from the
optimized solution selected initially as
candidates for implementation in Field ‘X’
(eventually only changes in the controls
for INJ-2 were tested out). The
corresponding relative changes in
injection rate are also shown in the figure.
Note that, according to the optimized
solution, INJ-2 has to be shut-in (i.e. the
relative rate change is −100%) and that
the actual well settings to be modified in
the real field are choke sizes.
the three wells identified above relevant in that solution, only one
of them, INJ-2, was selected for actual implementation in the real
field. In addition, this well, for which shutting-in was recom-
mended in the optimization, would be still active although with
−50% relative injection change. There are two main reasons why
the complete optimized solution cannot be tested out in practice.
First, there are important infrastructural constraints that were not
taken into account in the numerical model used in the optimization
(e.g. technological limitations for the injection redistribution in
the current surface network). The use of a comprehensive model
that integrates the reservoir and facilities may allow one to deal
with these constraints at the expense of a considerably higher
computational cost than the already time-consuming reservoir
flow models. This more complex optimization process may be a
possible direction for future research. In the second place, the high
degree of uncertainty typically present in real-field applications is
very often translated into the questioning of new plans that depart
noticeably from the status quo. Hence, rather than modifying
Fig. 9. Monthly operational rates for the
region of the experiment in Field ‘X’
before and after the optimized plan is
applied. The region of the experiment
comprises injection wells INJ-1, INJ-2
and INJ-3, and production wells PRO-1,
PRO-2, PRO-3, PRO-4 and PRO-5, as
shown in Figure 8. WCT, water-cut.
 Efficient brownfield optimization
significantly the settings for a given well, it may be a reasonable
strategy to introduce relatively small changes in the current
controls that are representative of those associated with the
drastically new settings (e.g. −50% relative injection change instead
of shutting the well in): that is, perform some kind of sensitivity
analysis in the real field in order to validate the solution proposed.
Consistent with these limitations, the choke for INJ-2 was replaced
by a smaller one, which provides, approximately, a relative 50%
injection reduction. Simulation results indicated that this recom-
mendation yields around 40% of the increase in NPV given by the
complete (optimized) solution, together with satisfaction of the
short-term RF constraint. The results of the corresponding field study
are presented next.
In this analysis, Field ‘X’ will be divided in two regions: the area
affected by the optimized policy, which will be referred to as the
region of the experiment, and comprises injection wells INJ-1,
INJ-2 and INJ-3 and production wells PRO-1, PRO-2, PRO-3,
PRO-4 and PRO-5, as shown in Figure 8; and the rest of the
reservoir. The selection of the wells that belong to the region of the
experiment was made, as in the reduction stage described earlier,
using streamline-derived information (i.e. the wells chosen were
those with a relatively strong connection with the injection wells
INJ-1, INJ-2 and INJ-3). We represent in Figure 9 the monthly
operational rates for the region of the experiment before and after
215
Fig. 10. Water rate reduction for the
injection wells in the region of the
experiment (i.e. wells INJ-1, INJ-2 and
INJ-3) and for the remaining 12 injection
wells in Field ‘X’. Different vertical axes
are used for each region.
the optimized plan is applied. As can be seen in that figure, the
optimized plan yields in the region of the experiment a significant
drop in water injected together with a noticeable water-cut
reduction and slight decrease in oil produced (note that this
decrease in oil production, typical for a brownfield, is clearly more
pronounced for the rest of the reservoir, as will be illustrated
below). In order to better quantify this improvement in production
performance, these results have to be compared with a reference.
Since during a given time frame only one production plan can be
implemented, an ideal comparison can never be made in practice.
A reasonable approach would be based on using a baseline
determined with the trends for the existing plan just before the
optimized strategy started. However, and this is especially
common in the management of mature reservoirs, field develop-
ment implies continuous monitoring and corresponding adjust-
ments of the production plan anywhere in the field. This is
translated into frequent engineering activities, which may happen
simultaneously and in the same region as the optimized strategy.
In our case, during the time frame of the test, the operator
performed a number of treatments that affected the entire field
(including the region of the experiment). The effects of these
activities should be somehow taken into account in the analysis
and that can be a rather challenging enterprise when real data are
considered. To this end we proceed as follows. First, we compare
Fig. 11. Liquid rate reduction and
corresponding water-cut (WCT) for the
production wells in the region of the
experiment (i.e. wells PRO-1, PRO-2,
PRO-3, PRO-4 and PRO-5) and for the
remaining 14 production wells in Field ‘X’.
216 O. S. Ushmaev et al.
production performance before and after 1 May 2016 for the two
regions into which the field is divided. This comparison, when
analyzed outside of the region of the experiment, may allow us to
roughly quantify the effects associated with the treatments
performed by the operator and, with adequate scaling, estimate
their contribution and deduct it within the region of the
experiment. Although this procedure implicitly assumes that the
regions have similar flow behaviour and does not include cross-
effects between them, it could provide useful information as far as
the impact of our methodology on performance metrics of interest
in the management of Field ‘X’.
Field measured data are analyzed next according to the three
different components in equation (1) for the computation of NPV:
water injection, and oil and liquid production. In Figure 10, we
illustrate the reduction in water injection rate for the wells in the
region of the experiment and also for the rest of the reservoir (note that
a different vertical axis is used for each region). The average water
injection rate in the region of the experiment decreased from 7090 to
5430 bbl/day. We estimate that the reduction in the total amount of
water injected during the 8 months (245 days) of the experiment was,
on average, 407 000 bbl. Separately, we quantify the mean decrease
in water injected for the rest of the reservoir as 172 000 bbl. If this
reduction is scaled using the average baseline injection rates for
both regions of the reservoir (i.e. 7090/21 400) and then is subtracted
from the estimation above for the region of the experiment, we can
conclude that in this region the average savings in water injected
during the 8 months of the experiment could be approximately
350 000 bbl. It is apparent that these savings have a noticeable
effect in the operational expenditure component of the NPV.
Figure 11 represents the reduction in fluid production rate for both
regions of Field ‘X’ (the respective water-cut for each region is also
plotted in the figure). If we repeat the process followed above, we
now find that the average reduction in the volume of liquid produced
for the region of the experiment and for the rest of the field are 19 000
and 241 000 bbl, respectively. Since the liquid production rate in the
latter region is much larger than the corresponding rate in the former
region (even when we consider the scaling factor, which is taken
equal to 2.6 in this case), we conclude that our methodology may
actually yield a relatively small increase in liquid production volume,
and we estimate this increase to be around 73 700 bbl. This result,
together with the fact that the water-cut in the region of the
experiment decreases in somewhat clearer form than in the rest of the
field, might indicate a higher relative oil production for our approach
with respect to the reference. Oil production rates for the two regions
of Field ‘X’ are shown in Figure 12. In order to compute differences
Fig. 12. Evolution of the oil rate for the
production wells in the region of the
experiment (i.e. wells PRO-1, PRO-2,
PRO-3, PRO-4 and PRO-5) and for the
remaining 14 production wells in Field
‘X’. Linear decline models, which are a
reasonable approximation for relatively
short time frames, are shown for each
region.
between oil volumes we resort to a linear decline model, which is
often a reasonable approximation for short time frames. We thus find
that the average increase in the volume of oil produced with respect
to the baseline for the region of the experiment and for the remaining
part of the field are 25 300 and 24 700 bbl, respectively. If we note
that the oil production rate in the second region is about 1.9 times the
rate in the first region, we can conclude that our methodology may
yield around 12 300 bbl of oil more than the reference.
The overall results from the experiment indicate that the
application of the approach presented in this work seems to be
beneficial as far as NPV is concerned. The increase in revenue and
the reduction in water injection expenses outweighs in our analysis
(for most logical economic scenarios) the slightly higher lifting
costs. The optimized strategy appears to produce more oil than the
baseline even with less water injected and at the expense of a
relatively small amount of additional volume of liquid production.
We would like to add that the methodology presented could be
enhanced when implemented in a closed-loop optimization fashion:
that is, measurements could be leveraged to update the existing flow
models and with that provide recommendations based on improved
production forecasts.
Conclusions
In this paper we have presented a methodology that can be used as a
decision-support system in the optimal waterflood management of
brownfields. Optimal waterflooding may be an appealing solution
(especially in periods of relatively low values of oil price) because it
usually requires low capital investments, it generates recommenda-
tions that are in most cases reversible actions (unlike, for example,
fracturing or sidetracking operations) and it allows relatively fast
verification of its viability (in contrast to, for example, many
treatments in enhanced oil recovery).
The approach described relies on simulation-based, derivative-
free optimization techniques that are non-intrusive regarding the
particular simulator(s) used (i.e. in principle, any simulator can be
incorporated into the system). Gradient-based methods, when
derivatives are computed efficiently, often provide rapid solutions
in production optimization scenarios (the computational cost of
derivative-free optimization scales, in general, with the number of
control variables). However, fast computation of accurate gradients
is typically a simulator-intrusive procedure that cannot be applied in
many situations (e.g. when some commercial simulators are used).
Simulation-non-intrusive optimization can readily handle a wide
range of problem formulations, including most types of well
 Efficient brownfield optimization
controls (assuming the underlying simulation incorporates these
controls as input). Performance metrics such as net present value
(NPV) and recovery factor (RF) can be considered as the
optimization cost function and constraints (the approach can
accommodate flexibility in the satisfaction of the constraints by
outputting slightly infeasible solutions but with satisfactory cost-
function values, as demonstrated, for example, in Echeverría Ciaurri
et al. 2011a).
The number of well controls in many production optimization
problems may be too high in order for derivative-free optimization to
provide solutions efficiently. Rate controls can be optimized in a
relatively fast manner by means of procedures that leverage
streamline-based simulation. Nevertheless, these procedures are not
applicable to other kinds of well controls such as, for example, BHP
values that are easier to translate into real-field implementations than
rates. In this research we have introduced a procedure that by using
streamline-derived information selects the most important wells in the
optimization according to a previously chosen metric and, in turn,
accelerates the entire computing process. Although the approach has
been illustrated with the optimization of BHP values, any type of well
controls can be considered. It should be noted that streamline-based
simulation is a modelling technique especially suited to certain
production scenarios – brownfield management being one of them.
The overall approach was applied to a real brownfield located in
west Siberia that currently has 15 injection wells and 19 production
wells. The optimization problem relied on a history-matched model
of the field and aimed at maximizing the NPV over a production
time frame of 3 years subject to a constraint for the RF defined for
the same period.
Multiple solutions that represent a tradeoff between precision
and computational cost were computed. If only five wells are
optimized and these wells are manually chosen by an expert, the
increase in NPV with respect to the baseline is 2.26%. When the
procedure based on streamline-derived information was used to
also pick five wells, the NPV obtained was 3.73% higher than the
baseline (nonetheless, the approach was computationally more
expensive than resorting to an expert to reduce the number of
wells). The optimized strategy with the highest NPV (which also
corresponded to the most time-consuming optimization run and
entailed considering controls for all 15 injection wells) yielded an
increase of 3.91% with respect to the baseline (the attendant RF
was also higher than that of the reference but, since this metric was
introduced only as a constraint, the observed increase cannot be
ascribed to the optimization process). This solution is equally
satisfactory during the complete reservoir life (i.e. while cash flow
is not negative), even though the optimization problem was only
formulated over 3 years. The increase in lifelong NPV and RF
(regarding the baseline) associated with that strategy is 7.89 and
1.14%, respectively.
The controls for one injection well were modified over about
8 months according to the optimized plan. However, other field
operations than this change in the controls for one well took place
concurrently (this could be a frequent situation in real scenarios
because operators may not be able to cancel all previously planned
actions). In order to deal with this situation, we developed a procedure
to approximately quantify the impact of our strategy, in the presence of
others, on the management of the field. This procedure could be useful
for the operator to better assess the performance of multiple recovery
mechanisms that are applied simultaneously which respective effects
may be difficult to tell apart.
During the 8 months of the experiment, we estimated that the
savings in water injected according to our solution were around
350 000 bbl. Our estimation for the increase in liquid and oil
production was 73 700 and 12 300 bbl, respectively. Consistent
with the numerical results obtained in the optimization, the extra
volume of oil produced together with the reduction in injection
217
costs clearly outweigh in most economic scenarios the lifting costs
related to the additional volume of liquid produced (firmer
conclusions could be drawn for longer field experiments). In any
event, we can expect these promising results to extrapolate to other
brownfields scenarios.
This research can be extended in several directions. In the first
place, besides testing alternative optimization techniques (e.g. the
use of approximate derivatives via ensemble-based and stochastic-
gradient methods), the optimal search process can be accelerated if
surrogates are considered at different stages of the workflow. The
selection of the number of wells in the reduced set could be
supported by a number of guidelines related, for example, to the
computational resources available. Formulations of the optimal
search problem may include measures of the plausibility of the
solutions found in order to make these solutions more readily
implementable on the real field. The underlying simulation-based
model in the optimization may integrate reservoir and surface
facilities, and in that manner capture technical constraints that are in
many cases disregarded. This type of integrated model might
facilitate the optimization of well controls that are more realistic than
bottom-hole pressure (BHP) and rate (e.g. choke size and pump
frequency). However, the computational cost of the optimization
problems thus obtained may in many cases be prohibitive, and
strategies to speed up computations significantly would then be
essential. Uncertainty considerations may be included in the process
to endow solutions with additional robustness and flexibility
(different future actions can be recommended based on upcoming
information and on the risk attitude of the decision-maker). Finally,
cognitive computing (e.g. see Kelly & Hamm 2013) may be
leveraged in the whole system to strengthen the interaction between
human and computational components.
Acknowledgements The authors would like to thank Arseniy P. Gruzdev
from IBM for his implementation of the particle swarm optimization.
Funding This work was supported by a funded joint research project between
Gazprom Neft and IBM to develop robust technology for Gazprom Neft’s mature
assets in west Siberia. The theoretical outcome of this project formed a basis for a
software prototype that was applied to a real oilfield.
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