History Match of the UTF Phase A Project with Coupled Reservoir Geomechanical Simulation

Field operation of the Underground Test Facility (UTF) Phase A SAGD project started in November 1987 and terminated in October 1990. In order to understand the interactions between fluid flow and geomechanical behaviour of the reservoir during the SAGD operation, the coupled reservoir geomechanical simulation methodology was applied to history match the measured performance of the project. Reservoir and geomechanical responses were available from an extensive instrumentation program designed for this project. Reservoir pressure, temperature, horizontal displacement, vertical strain and volumetric strain from the coupled simulation were compared with the data obtained from the field survey. These comparisons show that the coupled reservoir geomechanical simulation methodology has the potential to capture both reservoir and geomechanical responses during SAGD. In addition, the steam chamber propagation modes, both in the field and in the simulation, were also discussed.