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Smart Wells and Techniques for Reservoir Monitoring 275

increment range, which generates a different setting history for each ICV.
The results are shown in Fig. 7.16, where you can clearly see that using
an optimized policy, the oil-recovery factor yields the highest oil produc-
tion. The authors have reported that oil increased by 67% and water
decreased by 47%, compared with no ICV completion.
In the Sabriyah-Mauddud Formation in North Kuwait, a horizontal smart
well with five ICVs was installed in the field. Using the same approach pres-
ented by Cullick and Sukkestad (2010) and Carvajal et al. (2013a,b) showed a
procedure to capture the main heterogeneity of the reservoir model, such as
permeability high street. They created an automated process to couple real-
time data, the reservoir model, and the surface system. The flow coefficient
for 10 opening apertures of ICVs were set up in the simulator, and the opti-
mizer changed the valve settings while the oil-recovery factor was maximized
under the condition of maximum reservoir voidage replacement of 80%.
The optimizer coupled with the numerical model ran more than 100
possible combinations. When the objective function was reached, a global
optimum point was determined as the best solution. They found that the
best combination of ICV settings, year by year, is as shown in Fig. 7.17.
The optimizer started with 100% open (position 10 out of 10), but noted
that the valve position does not change monotonically; the valves open
and close until the optimizer satisfies the best solution for the objective func-
tion. For example, valves 1, 3, 4, and 5 changes every year, but valve 2 does
not change periodically. This difference is because of the high permeability
street found in segments 1, 3, 4, and 5. The study concluded that by con-
verting conventional wells to smart wells in the entire field in this reservoir
under water injection, the oil-recovery factor is increased by 52% (incre-
ment) compared with conventional completions. Moreover, this approach
stabilized the oil plateau for more than 5 years, while the water cut was going
up and down with the ICV settings.

7.8 SMART IMPROVED OIL RECOVERY/ENHANCED
OIL RECOVERY MANAGEMENT

Improved oil recovery (IOR) is a technical process that injects natural
gas or water into the reservoir to increase oil reserves beyond the primary
recovery or natural forces of the reservoir. Enhanced oil recovery (EOR)
is defined by the US Department of Energy as a series of techniques using
special fluids to increase the oil-recovery factor beyond the IOR process;