Development, testing and application of an efficient steady-state gas field performance evaluation model

Network theoretical concepts have been applied to the analysis and design of distribution network systems. Notable applications include the analysis of water distribution networks, electric network systems and, more recently, systems in the gas distribution industry. Application of the technique to the simulation of natural gas field collection systems has been limited to the analysis of surface gathering configurations. This work is an extension of this concept to allow for the inclusion of gas reservoirs and production strings. The matrix formulation of the problem is given. The application of the N-dimensional Newton-Raphson technique to the solution of the resulting system of equations is discussed, with an outline of a procedure that insures convergence without the need for acceleration parameters. The application of the resulting model to an evaluation of the performance of a gas reservoir is given. 11 references.