Artificial Intelligence Coreflooding Simulator for Special Core Data Analysis

Two of the most critical properties for multiphase flow in a reservoir are relative permeability (K_r) and capillary pressure (P_c). To determine these parameters, careful interpretation of coreflooding and centrifuge experiments is necessary. In this work, a machine learning (ML) technique was incorporated to assist in the determination of these parameters quickly and synchronously for steady-state drainage coreflooding experiments. A state-of-the-art framework was developed in which a large database of K_r and P_c curves was generated based on existing mathematical models. This database was used to perform thousands of coreflood simulation runs representing oil-water drainage steady-state experiments. The results obtained from the corefloods including pressure drop and water saturation profile, along with other conventional core analysis data, were fed as features into the ML model. The entire data set was split into 70% for training, 15% for validation, and the remaining 15% for the blind testing of the model. The 70% of the data set for training teaches the model to capture fluid flow behavior inside the core, and then 15% of the data set was used to validate the trained model and to optimize the hyperparameters of the ML algorithm. The remaining 15% of the data set was used for testing the model and assessing the model performance scores. In addition, K-fold split technique was used to split the 15% testing data set to provide an unbiased estimate of the final model performance. The trained/tested model was thereby used to estimate K_r and P_c curves based on available experimental results. The values of the coefficient of determination (R²) were used to assess the accuracy and efficiency of the developed model. The respective crossplots indicate that the model is capable of making accurate predictions with an error percentage of less than 2% on history matching experimental data. This implies that the artificial-intelligence- (AI-) based model is capable of determining K_r and P_c curves. The present work could be an alternative approach to existing methods for interpreting K_r and P_c curves. In addition, the ML model can be adapted to produce results that include multiple options for K_r and P_c curves from which the best solution can be determined using engineering judgment. This is unlike solutions from some of the existing commercial codes, which usually provide only a single solution. The model currently focuses on the prediction of K_r and P_c curves for drainage steady-state experiments; however, the work can be extended to capture the imbibition cycle as well.