Reservoir Engineering: A Branch of Petroleum Engineering
Reservoir engineering is a branch of petroleum engineering that applies scientific principles to the drainage problems arising during the development and production of oil and gas reservoirs so as to obtain a high economic recovery. The working tools of the reservoir engineer are subsurface geology, applied mathematics, and the basic laws of physics and chemistry governing the behavior of liquid and vapor phases of crude oil, natural gas, and water in reservoir rock. Of particular interest to reservoir engineers is generating accurate reserves estimates for use in financial reporting to the SEC (U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission) and other regulatory bodies. Other job responsibilities include numerical reservoir modeling, production forecasting, well testing, well drilling and workover planning, economic modeling, and PVT analysis of reservoir fluids. They also compile development plans using mathematical models and select accurate tubing size and suitable equipment for their plans and move onto designing "completions", which are the part of the well that communicates with the reservoir rock and fluids. Next, they design systems that will help the flow. Of course, it is always important to keep a close eye on the fluid's behavior and its production and managing how a set of different wells might interact with one another. In addition, they have to manage relationships in relation to health, safety and environmental performance. Finally, they must always keep in touch with different departments to ensure the progress is on the right track as well as keeping in touch with the clients and keeping them informed. Reservoir engineers also play a central role in field development planning, recommending appropriate and cost effective reservoir depletion schemes such as waterflooding or gas injection to maximize hydrocarbon recovery. Due to legislative changes in many hydrocarbon producing countries, they are also involved in the design and implementation of