Applications of Machine Learning in Subsurface Reservoir Simulation—A Review—Part I

In recent years, Machine Learning (ML) has become a buzzword in the petroleum industry with numerous applications which guide engineers in better decision-making. The most powerful tool that most production development decisions rely on is reservoir simulation with applications in numerous modeling procedures, such as individual simulation runs, history matching and production forecast and optimization. However, all these applications lead to considerable computational time and computer resources associated costs, rendering reservoir simulators as not fast and robust enough, thus introducing the need for more time-efficient and smart tools, like ML models which are able to adapt and provide fast and competent results that mimic the simulator’s performance within an acceptable error margin. The first part of the present study (Part I) offers a detailed review of ML techniques in the petroleum industry, specifically in subsurface reservoir simulation, for the cases of individual simulation runs and history matching, whereas the ML-based Production Forecast Optimization applications will be presented in Part II. This review can assist engineers as a complete source for applied ML techniques since, with the generation of large-scale data in everyday activities, ML is becoming a necessity for future and more efficient applications.