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Tutorial: Running WellSim from the command line

Overview

Normally you run WellSim from its graphical user interface: you start WellSim by double clicking the icon on the desktop, then use the mouse to select options and enter data from the keyboard. This tutorial introduces how to run WellSim another way, from the command line:

1. Create text files with input data for WellSim to use.
2. Create a file BatchFiles.ini in your settings folder, with a list of input and result files to be used.
3. Run WellSim from the command line, using the -b or --batch parameter.
4. WellSim reads the input data files for each run, does the calculations and writes each result into a text file. It also writes a log file of what it did and any errors that occurred.

The advantage of running from the control line is that WellSim will run unattended. You would typically do this from another program, which would write the input files, run WellSim, then read the result files. For example, if you are doing a reservoir simulation using another program you could use this other program to run WellSim from the command line to:

• Calculate wellhead conditions from wellbottom conditions for many wells and for many sets of wellbottom conditions.
• Calculate well outputs from estimates of downhole conditions over time.

Options

You can:

• Run discharge simulations (topdown or bottomup) and output simulations (topdown or bottomup).
• Run a single simulation or run multiple simulations at a time.
• Select the result file to be a csv or an ini file.
• Use a vertical or a deviated well geometry.

At present you can not:

• Specify secondary feedzones or formation temperatures for a discharge simulation.
• Do a Testdata output simulation.
• Run injectivity simulations.

Units and decimal symbol - Important

In the input and result files:

• The units must be WellSim's default units (that is, set by loading a default unit set or by setting units individually); do not right-click a field and change the units.

  For example, for a geometry file, if the default unit is metres, then enter Inner Diameter, Outer Diameter and Roughness as metres too. If a dimension is 24 centimetres, enter 0.24 metres. Do not right-click the field, choose centimetres and enter 24. Right-clicking the field and changing the units is a common source of error.

• The decimal symbol (. or ,) is what you have set in the Windows control panel, Region and Language (this is the symbol you see in WellSim when you run it normally).

Settings folder

Some command line files are stored in WellSim's settings folder read more. To see the settings folder from WellSim, click Tools, then Open settings folder.

Text editor

Use a text editor, such as Windows Notepad or Notepad++, to create the required text files and to look at the result files.

Tutorial

Example files

When you install this version of WellSim and first run it, it creates example files for you to use as templates to make your own files and to test running WellSim from the command line:

• Input files RK5Geometry.ini, RK5InputDS.ini and RK5InputOS.ini in the BatchFiles subfolder in WellSim's settings folder see here.
• BatchFiles.ini in WellSim's settings folder. BatchFiles.ini specifies two runs, using the above input files.

Running WellSim from the command line

This tutorial uses the example files:

1. Start WellSim normally and set the default units to those required for the example files: In WellSim, go to Tools > Unit preferences. In the UnitTypes tab, set Sets to Metric, then set the units for Pressure to bar abs.

2. Then, either run WellSim from the Windows Start menu:

   1. Select this path "C:\Program Files (x86)\Gradient\WellSim4\wellsim" -b and type CTRL+C to copy it.
   2. Press Start on your keyboard.
   3. Click in the text box at the bottom, left of the screen (usually it says 'Search programs and files') and press CTRL+V to paste the path.
   4. Press Enter.

   Or run WellSim from a batch (.bat) file:

   1. Select this path "C:\Program Files (x86)\Gradient\WellSim4\wellsim" -b and type CTRL+C to copy it.
   2. Using a text editor, create an empty file.
   3. Click in the empty file press CTRL+V to paste the path.
   4. Save the file to any folder, with any name and with extension .bat. This is your batch file. Ensure your editor doesn't change the ordinary double quotes in the path to 'smart' ones (6s and 9s). Exit the test editor.
   5. In Windows explorer, double click the batch file.

   The screen will flicker as WellSim runs.

3. Use a text editor to open the log file BatchLog.txt in WellSim's settings folder in. You should see a message that two simulations have run properly. If you dont, check you have

4. Use a text editor to open the result files (for example RK5Results1.csv is in the folder BatchFiles in WellSim's settings folder). You can also open a csv file in a spreadsheet.

Files

Use WellSim's example files as templates for writing your own files.

The BatchFiles.ini file

To specify the input and result files for each run, create a file called BatchFiles.ini. This must be in your WellSim settings folder see here. A typical BatchFiles.ini file is:

.
[Files]
NumberOfRuns=2	The number of runs to do
[Run\1]	Section for first run, a discharge simulation
Geometry=BatchFiles\RK5Geometry.ini	- The geometry input file to use
Discharge=BatchFiles\RK5InputDS.ini	- The discharge simulation input file to use
Results=BatchFiles\RK5Results1.csv	- The result file to use, here a csv file
[Run\2]	Section for second run, an output simulation
Geometry=BatchFiles\RK5Geometry.ini	- The geometry input file to use
Discharge=BatchFiles\RK5InputDS.ini	- The discharge simulation input file to use
Output=BatchFiles\RK5InputOS.ini	- The output simulation input file to use
Results=BatchFiles\RK5Results2.ini	- The result file to use, here an ini file

Note:

• You can specify one or more runs. Set NumberOfRuns and create a section in the file for each run.
• If you only have one run, you can omit the second and third lines: NumberOfRuns=1 and [Run\1].
• To do a discharge simulation, specify three files: a geometry, discharge simulation and result.

• To do an output simulation, specify four files: a geometry, discharge simulation, output simulation and result. An output simulation always does a discharge simulation first, which is why you need the discharge simulation file.

• For each file, enter its path:

  • Either the path relative to your settings folder - the geometry file above is in the settings folder in a subfolder called BatchFiles, so the relative path is BatchFiles\RK5Geometry.ini.
  • Or the full path, for example if you store your input data files on a network drive P: in a folder called Wellsim\DataFiles then the full path to a geometry file is P:\Wellsim\DataFiles\RK5Geometry.ini.

  A full path starts with /, starts with \ or has a : as its second character. All other paths are relative.

Input files

• The input files can be in any folder and have any name, as specified in BatchFiles.ini.

• An input file can be used for more than one run, for example you only need one geometry file per well.

• The values must be in WellSim's default units and decimal point symbols must be what you have set in the Windows control panel, Region and Language. For example, if the default unit is metres, then ensure all dimensions in the file are in metres as described here.

• Lines of a file have field=value pairs. If a value is unused, either leave the value empty or delete the line with the field. For example, the two files below are equivalent:

  

  In a discharge simulation, you specify two values of pressure, enthalpy, temperature and dryness. For the values that you don't specify, either set the value to -1, leave the value empty or delete the line with the field. For example, the two files below are equivalent:

  

  The example files installed by WellSim have all possible fields present.

Log file

When WellSim runs from the command line it creates a log file, BatchLog.txt, in WellSim's settings folder, with any errors that WellSim found. For example:

Result files

When WellSim runs from the command line it creates a result file for each run:

• The result files can be in any folder and have any name, as specified in BatchFiles.ini .

• The result data for a run from the command line is the same as the result data from when you run WellSim normally. For example, the result file of a command line output simulation does not include the result of the required intermediate discharge simulation.

• A result file extension must be:

  • either .csv, which creates a csv result file; you can open this with a spreadsheet, for example:

    

  • or .ini, which creates an ini result file; this has the result as field=value pairs, for example:

    

Running WellSim from an external program

When you use an external program to run WellSim, if the path name has spaces then surround the path name with double quotes, for example "C:\Program Files (x86)\Gradient\WellSim4\wellsim" -b. Ensure you don't change the ordinary double quotes in the path to 'smart' ones (6s and 9s) by mistake.