Summary The UNIX Reservoir Engineering Support System (RESS) is a system of networked computer applications delivering cost effective access to state-of-the-art technology for reservoir evaluation and forecasting. This reservoir simulation support system is a set of tools to enhance engineering productivity for efficiently managing the exploitation of oil and gas reserves.
RESS provides a dynamic environment in which multiple reservoir engineering tasks such as data preparation, reservoir model submission with subsequent monitoring, and graphics can be processed and displayed simultaneously. RESS integrates applications with complex interfaces over UNIX networks with X Window client-server architecture. The powerful multiplatform computing environment includes tools for various reservoir engineering applications residing on various platforms, and the accessibility to all of it from the computing platforms on engineers' desks.
Introduction Reservoir simulation, a central process employed by reservoir engineers to assemble historical data and to generate projection data that can be used for making business decisions about reservoir management, is a critical and complex procedure. The modeling process generates forecasts of rates, reserves and reservoir behavior based on various depletion schemes and operating strategies. The preparation of vast amounts of various kinds of data input for a model and the visual analysis of model results are tedious tasks which have been addressed by several authors. The UNIX Reservoir Engineering Support System initially developed in 1991 delivers the engineering functionality needed to support engineers in their work with corporate reservoir simulators.
An overview of the reservoir engineering functionality provided by RESS is in this paper followed by a section on the background of the product. A summary or the hardware, network, and systems connections is included. The models that RESS supports are identified. Each of the RESS applications is covered in the internal software section. The software development environment and the software distribution processes are described.