The decline in oil and gas prices and operators’ growing needs to generate maximum returns from their assets have ensured that reservoir modeling remains a powerful and highly important decision-making tool.

Three-dimensional reservoir modeling is the standard platform for mapping, understanding and predicting reservoir behavior, providing operators with the crucial information they need on where to drill, what production strategies to adopt and how to maximize oil and gas recovery.

The latest technology developments within Emerson’s reservoir modeling software Roxar RMS, for example, can enhance the effectiveness of reservoir modeling and uncertainty quantification across the prospect life cycle.

Roxar RMS 2013.1, launched in June, includes tightly integrated structural modeling tools that enable users to quantify uncertainty more effectively. Uncertainty management decision-making is enhanced through a closer integration between structural modeling and 3-D gridding tools as well as horizon uncertainty modeling tools that allow users to incorporate realistic uncertainties into the horizon model.

Another recent technological development from Emerson, known as model-driven interpretation, allows users to build models directly from the geophysical data. In this way, users can set and collect uncertainty information associated with an interpretation, easily and reversibly test geologic hypotheses and add more detail to the model as and when required.

These technical innovations are leading to the consistent treatment of uncertainties and ensuring that modeling and uncertainty management remain at the center of the reservoir management workflow—modeling complex fields, increasing recovery rates and accelerating time to first oil.

An open and flexible platform for workflow integration and data sharing is another key element of successful reservoir management. Such a workflow improves data management, enables operators to integrate their own IP and specific applications and ensures maximum scalability.

This is being achieved at Emerson through a multirealization “big loop” workflow within Roxar RMS where the modeling process is highly automated and flexible enough to incorporate new data, concepts or applications as soon as they become available and at any time.

The workflow generates multiple and consistent models that capture uncertainties at all levels and that have the ability to incorporate new data such as newly drilled wells or velocity models.

This, in turn, is used by the simulation model for field development planning, well placement and as input to economic analysis.

Finally, Emerson’s future development strategy will embrace a host of innovations over the coming months, strengthening Roxar RMS’ interoperability, performance and usability.

The growth in cloud computing-based collaboration and information management, for example, has the potential to usher in a revolution in how reservoir models are handled, interpreted and shared. Cloud computing-based developments within Roxar RMS seek to enable users to collaborate in real time, access data at the same time and extend reservoir modeling further across organizations.

In July 2015, Emerson acquired Norwegian company Yggdrasil, a provider of flow assurance and production optimization software. The incorporation of Yggdrasil’s METTE production optimization solution within Roxar RMS can help operators align their modeling, uncertainty quantification and simulation data with production; optimize their field development and production plans; and increase oil and gas recovery in challenging environments.

Advances to the Roxar Tempest reservoir engineering suite seek to allow more accurate and realistic production scenarios, the testing of multiple realizations and improved uncertainty quantification on volumes and cumulative production.