Introduction to Model Upscaling, Validation and History Match

This chapter presents model upscaling, validation and history match. Upscaling is necessary when a reservoir model is made at a very fine scale, and its cell count is excessively large for dynamic simulators. Many geocellular models range from tens of millions to hundreds of millions of cells and cannot be simulated numerically in a reasonable time with the current mathematical algorithms and computing technology. The main principle of upscaling is the accurate representation of the fine-scaled model by the upscaled model, including the preservation of volumetrics and the equivalencies in flow and production profile between the fine and coarse models.