An expert system for selecting and designing EOR processes

The importance of enhanced oil recovery (EOR) processes in the petroleum in dustry makes its understanding and prediction critical in the decisions on the applicability of certain recovery techniques. A large number of EOR pro jects have been applied in many regions around the world. This has lead to an increased understanding of the selection and applicability of certain oi l recovery projects. In this paper, an artificial intelligence (AI) techniq ue has been applied to assist in the selection and design of EOR processes. The expert system developed in this study is able to perform the following consultations: (1) select an appropriate EOR process on the basis of the r eservoir characteristics, (2) prepare appropriate input data sets to design the selected EOR process using the existing numerical simulators, and (3) make optimization studies on several key parameters (selected by the user) in order to optimize oil recovery from the selected EOR process. (C) 2000 E lsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.