In solving a reservoir simulation problem, the very first step will involve showing a good understanding of the problem description. Upon successful problem identification, some prioritization of strategies toward the solution of the problem will be necessary. Once these two steps are correctly executed, the final step will involve the implementation of a formal solution protocol. To set the stage for solving a reservoir simulation problem, it will be necessary to ensure that a set of criteria is adopted to check the plausibility of the problem (well-posed problem). In many areas of reservoir simulation, as it happens in many areas of mathematics, a problem for the application of a certain numerical protocol is not considered to be well-formulated unless the existence of a unique solution is assured and the solution is stable. Once the solution is generated, it will be necessary to analyze and reflect on the solution.

As in any other engineering and scientific area, solving reservoir simulation problems is important because each time we solve a problem, we learn how to make decisions independently, which in turn generates self-confidence and builds self-esteem, both of which feed into developing creativity, persistence, and a proactive mind set to prepare ourselves for problems of the real world. But, reservoir simulation problem solving goes deeper than this because it involves powerful imagination, requiring the reservoir simulation problem solver to take all of what one has learned and incorporate it into seemingly unrelated actions. It is widely accepted that simulation problem solving has grounds in fact-learning, but merely knowing facts does not make one a good reservoir simulation practitioner. In other words, a good reservoir simulation engineer or scientist is one who assembles and puts to use all the tools at his/her disposal. As a result, solutions to reservoir simulation problems should come as a complete package, with components such as basic skills, concept understanding, literacy in mathematics, and problem-solving philosophy. Then, it can be said that solving a reservoir simulation problem is knowing what to do when you do not immediately know what to do.

Reservoir simulation has been in practice for more than 50 years and has been gaining significant momentum with its wider applications in increasingly more-complex reservoir systems. Accordingly, we believe that the timing of this new book is well in agreement with the developing industry practices and academic curricula. It is the authors’ view that, most of the time, reservoir simulation technology has been treated in a prescriptive manner. We are hopeful that this new book will bring reservoir simulation methodology and its intricacies much closer to the readers, allowing them to grasp the ideas more effectively. In this book, we provide solutions to the exercises that were presented in the Basic Applied Reservoir Simulation textbook authored by Turgay Ertekin, Jamal H. Abou-Kassem, and Gregory R. King (SPE Textbook Series, Volume 7, 2001). Accordingly, the overall outline of the book follows the original outline of the textbook. While this book contains solutions to approximately 180 exercises from the original book, it also introduces a new set of 180 exercises and their solutions, all of which come from the homework and examination sets used in our courses taught at Penn State University.

We do not know of the existence of a similar “problems and solutions” book in the petroleum-engineering literature, and therefore believe that this new book will be instrumental in structuring effective solution strategies to a large spectrum of reservoir simulation problems and will fill an existing gap. Petroleum-engineering undergraduate and graduate students and more-recent petroleum-engineering graduates will benefit from this book, and it is our hope that it will help students, young engineers, and earth scientists become astute problem solvers of reservoir simulation applications.

As you start walking the way, the way appears. —Rumi, 13th Century mystic poet