Performance Analysis for Closed-Loop Reservoir Management

This paper studies closed-loop reservoir management (CLRM) from a control perspective. The purpose is to provide new insight to develop further the concept of CLRM. First, performance limitations of a closed-loop control strategy are discussed, in particular the detrimental effect time delay has on the ability to suppress the effect of uncertainties and unknown disturbances. The findings are illustrated with a simple subsurface-related example. Second, the term "closed loop" is defined and related to an alternative strategy, open-loop control. It is argued that closed-loop reservoir management in practice will contain a mix of a closed-loop and an open-loop strategy. Furthermore, we advocate that model predictive control (MPC), a technology that has become a game changer in the downstream industries, is a natural candidate for closed-loop reservoir management because it balances closed-loop and open-loop control in a way that is suitable for reservoir management. Finally, the exploitation of the dual effect of MPC is proposed as a means for reducing uncertainty.