ASPECTS OF DISCRETIZED WELLBORE MODELING COUPLED TO COMPOSITIONAL THERMAL SIMULATION/

The practical advantages and limitations of discretized wellbore model ling when coupled to full field compositional and/or thermal simulatio ns are presented in detail. The implementation of an efficient, strong ly coupled discretized wellbore model is first discussed, with emphasi s on wellbore hydraulic options and run-time-saving features such as p seudo-steady state initialization. The impact of these various aspects are shown on typical isothermal and thermal compositional field scale processes. The traditional sink/source modelling approach to fully co upled wells is used as a reference case in these comparisons where app licable. By doing so, this paper presents guidelines for the simulatio n engineer on the use and possible misuse of discretized wellbore mode l.