North Sea gas sales contracts are defined in such a way that a seller for the decline years of a gas supply must, on an annual basis, nominate expected short term production levels to his gas purchaser. Failure to meet these production targets can result in severe financial penalties. On the other hand, under nominating is detrimental to project economics. Reservoir models alone can be too coarse a tool to provide the necessary accuracy when looking forward only one or two years. Process systems and compressor performance also need to be modelled in order to more accurately define short term production potential. This paper describes a novel way of integrating long term reservoir predictions and short term topsides performance characteristics so as to provide an accurate nomination of gas production rate.

Keywords:
reservoir simulation, production control, gas production, esmond, sensitivity analysis, impeller, pipeline, short term topsides compressor performance, compressors engines and turbines, production monitoring
Subjects:
Well & Reservoir Surveillance and Monitoring, Processing Systems and Design, Reservoir Simulation, Formation Evaluation & Management, Compressors, engines and turbines
Copyright 1991, Society of Petroleum Engineers
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