INTRODUCTION TO CMG STARS

Introduction to CMG STARS

A threephase multi-component thermal and steam

additive simulator

Support different gridding systems

Dispersed components stabilized dispersions

(droplets, bubbles, lamella) of one phase in another

Used as chemical simulators

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A mathematical model accounting for the propagation

of (true, pseudo, and/or dispersed phase) components
through a porous medium and their effects on fluid and
rock properties
Can be employed as a multi-component, multi-phase
isothermal reservoir simulator
(Full material / mass balance equations)

CMG Simulation Technology

A mathematical model accounting for the

propagation of heat through a porous medium
and its effect on fluid and rock properties

(Full energy balance equation)

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Iso-thermal and thermal application

Advanced processes
Thermal applications
Chemical applications
Solids deposition and migration
Non petroleum process application

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Geomechanical model

Adsorption of components

Discretized wellbore

Natural fractured reservoir systems

Advanced well management options

Dynamic gridding

Stable implicit formulation

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STARS
COMPONENT CONCEPT

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Water (aqueous) components

Oil (oleic) components

Gas components

Solid components

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Water (aqueous) components

Water

Water is a standard component, and internal defaults are

available for

Density, viscosity, enthalpy, heat capacity

Polymer solution
Alkaline, surfactant solution
Fresh water, salt water, KCL fluid
Oil emulsion droplets and mobile fines
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CMG Simulation Technology

Water tracer
Another water component which can be labeled
Internal water K values
Formation water versus fresh water
Salt, ion component

Often the presence of these components affects

water phase propagation characteristics such as
viscosity, relative permeability and water phase
resistance factors
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Oil (oleic) components

Oil-like components
Oil components are of two types: pure & pseudo

Pure components
Single chemical molecular species
Hydrocarbons Cn (CH4, etc.)
Chemicals of interest, soluble in oil (CO2, H2S, naptha, etc.)
Gas components, when soluble in oil (N2, O2, etc.)

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Pure components
Properties are pure-component values
e.g. methane, propane, hexane, oxygen, CO2, decane, etc.
See the tables in the back of the STARS User's Guide for
examples

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Pseudo components
A group of molecular species, lumped together
Oil component in black-oil model
Pairs or limited groups (C7 - C9)
Entire ranges of molecular weight (Mw = 200 to 400)
Distribution of molecular species is fixed

The literature for equations of state and compositional

simulation contains many good correlations for properties
and techniques for lumping together pure components into
a pseudo component

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Choice of oil components

For EOR processes, the choice of oil components is usually
determined entirely by the type of mechanisms important to the
EOR process to be modeled, for example:
Vaporization
A single component with zero K value (dead oil) allows for no
vaporization or distillation
Single component with non zero K value allows for vaporization, but
no distillation
Need at least two components for distillation (oil and solution gas in
black-oil model)
Need 3 to 4 components if distillation is the key process (steam flood
of light or medium oil)
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Combustion
Reactions are between oil components
Reaction models and strategy may determine what oil
components to use
Cracking fuel from asphaltene
In situ distillation as heavy Cn are burned
e.g. Hydrocarbon + Oxygen CO2 + H20 + Energy

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Temperature dependence of many properties can

be estimated by running the EOS package at
various temperatures (WinProp)

An oil can be characterized accurately from PVT

and VLE lab data with many components (10 - 20),
and then the result of lumping to several
components (2 - 5) can be tested

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Gas components
Gas components are those components that normally make
up the gas phase, such as solution gas, CO2 and air. These
components normally have K values greater than one, at
standard conditions.

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There are two kinds of gas components

Condensable
Soluble in at least one liquid phase
K value data is required
Liquid phase data (see Table 2 in the STARS User's Guide)
CH4 in oil; CO2 in oil and water
Solution gas pseudo component
Distribution of light hydrocarbons
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Noncondensible
Component exists only in gas phase (N2, CO, O2, etc.)
Solubility is negligible
K value is infinitely large
No liquid phase data
Treated separately from condensable components

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Combustion gases
Combustion involves air (N2 and O2) or oxygen
Oxidation reactions assume O2 in gas phase
Fuel-O2 mixing in kinetics
Products are CO, CO2, CH4, etc.
Products may be lumped, stoichiometry must be considered
COx, where 1 x 2
Trace of products requires separate components
Ratio of CO/CO2 depends on temperature
CO2 product can swell and mobilize oil
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Solid components
Coke, wax, fines, sand, coal, etc.
Solid occupies pore volume and has to be accounted for
Solid can be transported through phases (oleic or aqueous
or both)

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DETERMINATION OF COMPONENT
PROPERTIES

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Component properties
DENSITIES Pure densities at reference conditions
Using linear or non-linear mixing rule to calculate phase
(oleic or aqueous) density
The units of the densities will determine the unit of the
conservation equation
STARS uses mole units because phase equilibrium and
chemical reaction calculations are based on moles
Densities units in STARS are moles per unit volume
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Gas phase
The mole density of the gas phase is calculated internally
from g = p / RTZ
There are two ways to obtain Z
The ideal gas method assumes that Z = 1
The second method uses the Redlich-Kwong equation-ofstate and typically predicts Z varying from 0.3 to 1.2

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A phase may be regarded as a physical manifestation of

components
For example, the component water commonly may be found in
the liquid, gaseous and solid phases
It is the phase that possesses tangible properties such as density
and viscosity
All physical properties are assigned to a component in terms of
the phases in which that component may be found
A "dispersed component" is a useful simulation concept which
blurs the distinction between components and phases
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Viscosity

Again either using linear or non linear mixing rule to

represent the viscosity changes due to components
mixing

e.g. polymer mix with water to form polymer solution

(aqueous phase) , non-linear

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There are three ways to input component phase

viscosity in STARS
Use internal table with a possible dependence on salt
concentration which can be significant (water only)
Use the correlation = a exp (b/T), where T is in absolute
degrees
Enter directly a table of versus T

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K-value correlation
Two types of K-values, gas-liquid (Aqueous), gas-liquid
(oleic)
K-values input using correlations
K-values input using Table (P, T & K-values)
Allows liquid-liquid K-values to represent components
transferring from one (aqueous) phase to another (oleic)
phase
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Liquid-liquid K-values can be compositional

dependent (major feature to be used in chemical
flood process)

With liquid-liquid compositional dependent K-values,

partition of components from one phase to another
under different operating condition can be simulated

Example: Surfactant partition from water to oil

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Other properties include molecular weight, heat

capacity, critical pressure, critical temperature, fluid
enthalpies, solid density, fluid compressibilities

Majority of the properties for pure components can be

obtained from correlation or published data

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CMG Simulation Technology

WinProp can be used to generate STARSs component

properties using tuned EOS

All essential laboratory experiments and tests should be

incorporated to regress the EOS

After tuning, export the EOS parameters for STARS usage

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REACTION KINETICS

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Reaction kinetics

Allow user to create or destroy components in the

process

e.g. Hydrocarbon + Oxygen CO2 + H2O

User can define the process to be exothermic (+energy)
or endothermic (-energy)
User can define the speed of reaction (frequency factor)

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Need to input activation energy to initiate the reaction

Multi-reaction kinetics are allowed

Users responsibility to assure material balance is

conserved in the reaction equation (stoichiometric
volume balance)

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Solids created in the process can be transported

through the phases (water or oil, NOT IN GAS)
If the solid particle size is greater than pore throat,
blockage occurs
Blockage in STARS is indicated by reduction in
Permeability using multiplier
Appropriate Pore volume changes will also be
accounted for due to solid transportation
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ADSORPTION

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Adsorption of components

Represented by Langmuir correlation and adsorption

is a function of concentration and/or temperature

Each gridblock can have its own set of adsorption

curve to represent different rock character

Again, if adsorption occurs, blockage will occur

Adsorption can also be fully or partial reversible

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OTHER FEATURES

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STARS also offers effective molecular diffusion,

mechanical dispersivity, total dispersion in oil, water,
or gas phase in I,J, K direction

These features are used to simulate the flow of tracers

or chemicals due to concentration gradient (NOT
pressure gradient)

Provides a better representation of the concentration

front moving in the reservoir

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Full 3D constitutive geomechanics

Finite element strain grid collocated with finite

difference flow grid

Visualization of strain

CVFE and PEBI grid capable for flow equations

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