Tecplot RS Files

K - 1   XY Data Files

Tecplot RS supports several different file formats that contain data suited for display as XY Line plots. The files may contain observed data or data output by a simulator.

Generally, the data are in the form of an independent variable and one or more dependent variables. While the independent variable is frequently time, this is not a requirement (for example, an RFT data set uses depth as the independent variable). The data are usually further divided by entity (for example, wells).

The list of supported files changes as new loaders are added regularly. Tecplot RS 2023 R1 supports the following XY data file formats:

• Eclipse Unified Summary files (.unsmry)

• VIP plot files (.plt) - including compositional plot data

• VIP observed data file (.obs)

• VIP RFT files (.rft)

• CHEARS history files (.hist)

• CHEARS comma-separated value files (.csv)

• Intersect historical data (.obsh)

• Eclipse RFT files (.rft or .frft)

• Eclipse USER files (.user)

• Generic ASCII files (see Section K - 1.1 “Generic ASCII Files”)

• Log ASCII Standard Files (.las)

• Sensor Fort.61 well production data files (*.*61)

• 3DSL well allocation files (.waf)

• Frontsim well allocation files (.alloc)

• VIP/StreamCalc well allocation files (.dat)

• RS well allocation files (.rswaf)

• CMG files (.irf, .mrf, .sr3)

• VDB Folder (.vdb) - including compositional and observed plot data

• UTCHEM files (.OVERAL)

In some cases, Tecplot RS requires additional, related files to be present along with the referenced file. For example, the Unified Summary file also requires a Summary Specification file (.smspec). When these additional files are required you do not need to open them individually. Ensure that the files are available in the same folder, and that the root name matches that of the primary file. Tecplot RS finds the additional files automatically, and reports a problem only when they are not available.

In Windows operating systems, the file names are not case-sensitive; however, Linux systems do make the distinction. While the root name may contain a mixture of upper- and lower-case, Tecplot RS requires that the extensions be all of one case. In other words, Sample.unsmry and Sample.UNSMRY are acceptable, but Sample.UnSmry is not.

Loading XY Data

Generic ASCII Files

XYMulti File

K - 1.1   Generic ASCII Files

In the case of loading generic ASCII files, Tecplot RS reads ASCII text files containing data which may come from a variety of sources, as long as it is formatted into a simple text file with a basic structure (defined following). By default Tecplot RS looks for files with a .txt extension, but you can use either a .txt extension or a .prn extension.

The format used in the file must conform to the following rules:

• Data can be separated by commas, tabs, or spaces.

• Lines can be a maximum of 2048 characters long, including the terminating carriage return/ line feed.

• Well names, units, and variable names may not include spaces.

• By default, all entities described in the file are assumed to be wells, except when the VARS list includes a DEPTH variable, in which case the data is assumed to be RFT data for the specified well. You may include other entity types in the same file. To do this, include a line with the keyword TYPE followed by one of the following:

• WELL

• FIELD

• LAYER or COMPLETION

• AREA or GROUP

• REGION

• RFT

• AQUIFER

• NETWORK

• CONNECTION

• NODE

• A VARS line must immediately follow each TYPE line to define the variable names used by the entities of that type. If there is no TYPE line, a VARS line must appear before any data values. If it is repeated, only the first occurrence is recognized. Different entity types may have different variables, but all entities of a single type must have the same variables. You need at least two variables to produce XY plots.

If fewer values occur in a data line than in the VARS line, Tecplot RS will assign zero values to the missing variables. If more items occur, the extra items are ignored.

The first value on a data line is taken to be the name of the entity. This value is not named in the VARS line.

• You can include an optional line identifying the units of each measured variable. This line must begin with the identifier “UNITS.”

• Each line of data must begin with the entity name followed by values for each of the variables specified in the VARS line.

• The first variable after the entity name should be the independent variable (usually time or date), and the additional variables should be dependent values. However, this is not an absolute requirement, since you can choose any variables for the X- and Y-axes when you create the plot. To create meaningful plots, make sure that the independent variable is ordered in the file. Assuming time is the independent variable, organize the data so that time increases down the file.

• A variable identified as a “DATE” (all capitals) can be saved in any of these formats:

yyyy.yy

dd-mm-yy or dd-mm-yyyy

dd/mm/yy or dd/mm/yyyy

dd-mmm-yy or dd-mmm-yyyy where “mmm” is JAN, FEB, MAR, and so forth

dd/mmm/yy or dd/mmm/yyyy

If your time value is not in one of these formats, use a variable name other than “DATE.”

You can include both a DATE and TIME variable for your data. It is up to the user to make sure they are consistent.

• An optional HH:MM:SS value may be included after the DATE. If included, this value will be added to the dates.

• You can include comments or other header information. Use an octothorpe (#) as the first character of the line to tell the program to ignore these lines. Blank lines are also ignored.

This sample file displays example data:

TYPE,WELL

VARS,DATE,BHP

PB-01D,1992.1726,1794

PB-01D,1997.6959,955

PB-01D,1998.8055,1020

PB-07,1969.54,4648

PB-07,1992.2137,3557

PB-10,1972.5151,2959

PB-10,1977.5562,2863

PB-10,1978.3315,2829

PB-10,1979.3288,2778

PB-10,1980.5178,2731

PB-10,1981.4822,2755

PB-10,1983.4548,2724

PB-10,1984.3479,2658

PB-10,1987.3644,2691

PB-10,1988.4795,2673

PB-10,1992.211,2537

PB-10,1998.3425,2491

TYPE FIELD

VARS,DATE,CUMOIL,CUMGAS

TOTALS,1992.1726,3.724e5,9.32e3

TOTALS,1997.6959,8.332e5,5.64e4

For the WELL entity types, each line will contain two variables, DATE and BHP, after the well name. For the FIELD data, there are three variables. In the sample file, all the data are grouped by entity name, and commas are used as delimiters.

You can also group the data by date or other independent variable and use tabs rather than commas as delimiters. The following example illustrates this, and also includes the UNITS line and comments:

# Reservoir Q-41 readings from 1/1/87 through 1/6/87

VARS   DATE   OPR   WPR   GPR

UNITS   years   STB/Day   BBL/Day   MSCF/Day

WELL1      1/1/87      0      0      0

WELL2      1/1/87      0      0      0

WELL3      1/1/87      0      0      0

WELL4      1/1/87      0      0      0

WELL1      1/2/87      351.5      .45      1472.2

WELL2      1/2/87      207.1      .61      1004.8

WELL3      1/2/87      664.0      2.5      492.6

WELL4      1/2/87      595.8      .88      812.7

WELL1      1/3/87      231.4      .67      1380.0

WELL2      1/3/87      251.6      .55      944.5

WELL3      1/3/87      677.2      3.3      581.1

WELL4      1/3/87      630.9      .71      913.7

.  .  .  

Here is an example showing RFT data. Note the presence of the DEPTH variable, which causes Tecplot RS to consider this RFT data for the wells specified.

VARS           DATE        DEPTH        PRESSURE

UNITS          YEAR        FT           PSIA   

LMB-01         1982.0847   5205.0       2709.3

LMB-01         1982.0847   5265.0       2727.8

LMB-01         1982.0847   5320.0       2744.7

LMB-01         1982.0847   5355.0       2755.4

LMB-01         1982.0847   5410.0       2772.3

.  .  .

Tecplot RS treats a data set loaded from an ASCII file like any other XY data set, and can load the data set in all the plotting options as either the active or comparison data set.

Loading XY Data

K - 1.2   CHEARS CSV Files

You can load CHEARS csv files into Tecplot RS, with the Load XY Data dialog. Refer to Section 4 - 1 “Loading XY Data” for details on loading XY data.

A given data set generated from CHEARS csv files can have up to three related files, each containing different data types. All files in the data set have a .csv extension, and the three characters immediately preceding the extension will identify them as containing the CHEARS data. The name formats are:

• <name>prd.csv Data for wells, groups, field and material balance regions

• <name>lyr.csv Data for layers

• <name>cmp.csv Data for completions

The root <name> must be the same for all related files. The identifier (prd, lyr, or cmp) and the csv extension must be in lower-case.

To load a CHEARS csv file, select one of the available files. Tecplot RS will load that file, along with any available files with the same root name that meets the name format criteria.

K - 1.3   Well Allocation Factor Data Files

Tecplot RS supports well allocation factor (WAF) data so that you can further visualize the relationships between your injector and producer wells. WAF data files define how a producer well is influenced by the injectors nearby, or how an injector well influences nearby producer wells. Since well allocation factors are usually measured in percentages, the factors should add up to 100%. In addition, there must be at least a starting and ending time step in your WAF data file, and this range must encompass the range of the other data that will be utilizing the WAF values.

Follow these steps to include well allocation factor (WAF) data in your plot:

1.Output the WAF data from your simulator (extension .waf, .alloc, or .dat) or create your own WAF data file (rename the file to use .rswaf as its extension).

2.Choose “Load XY Data” from the Project menu in Tecplot RS.

3.Click the Add button in the Load XY Data dialog that appears.

4.In the Open Files dialog that appears, choose a well allocation file type (3DSL Well Allocation, *.waf, Frontsim Well Allocation, *.alloc, VIP/StreamCalc Well Allocation, *.dat, or RS Well Allocation, .rswaf) as the file type to open, browse to your data file, and click Open and OK to finish the loading process.

5.The XY Subsets plot type works best for viewing well allocation factor data, although you can also use the XY Variables plot type if you change the filtering of the entities displayed in the sidebar (click the Filter button in the sidebar to access the Filtering dialog). To change to the XY Subsets plot type, choose “XY Subsets” from the Plot Type menu.

Creating a Well Allocation Factor Data File

A WAF file created manually must follow a specific table format (described following), follow a comma or space delineation, and use the extension .rswaf in order for Tecplot RS to recognize the file. We recommend using a spreadsheet and saving it as a CSV (comma separated values) file, but you could also create a text file and add commas or spaces between each value. To create a spreadsheet, Microsoft Excel works well, and from Microsoft Excel you can directly save or export the spreadsheet into CSV format. Once you have saved your WAF file as a .txt or .csv file, manually rename the extension to .rswaf.

The WAF file usually defines well pairs, each consisting of one parent well and one or more child wells that either contribute to or receive contributions from the parent well. Each child well should have a WAF value that defines the percentage of that child well’s contribution to or from the parent well; usually the WAF values from all children wells should add up to 100%. You can also include additional variables for each child well.

Each line (row) of the WAF file should begin with a keyword identifier for the data in that line. Keywords must appear in the following order (keywords marked with an asterisk are optional):

RSVERSION*

STARTDATE*

VARIABLES*

UNITS*

TIMESTEP (one or more per file)

PRODUCER (one or more per time step)

CHILD (one or more per producer)

INJECTOR* (one or more per time step)

CHILD (one or more per injector)

Tecplot RS will treat any line in the file that does not begin with one of these keywords as a comment and ignore it.

RSVERSION

The RSVERSION row is optional but highly recommended. If it appears in the WAF file, this keyword must appear as the first non-comment line in the file.

This row defines the version number as an integer value, which identifies the WAF file to Tecplot RS. This way, if later releases of Tecplot RS support WAF files with additional data, newer version numbers will indicate files with new capabilities If this row defines a number other than a Tecplot RS version number, the program will not attempt to load the file.

To create your file, define the current version number as 5001, like this:

RSVERSION, 5001

STARTDATE

This optional line, if included, must include the date in European format (day-month-year). You can use most recognized European formats. However, the date may not contain spaces. A few possible formats include:

22-Apr-2009

22/04/2009

22-4-09

2009.3006

For example, this line could resemble the following:

STARTDATE, 22/04/2009

If you choose to include this line, you can omit the date field from the TIMESTEP; Tecplot RS will then compute the date based on start date plus elapsed time in days.

VARIABLES

If you wish to include additional variables (besides the WAF variable) in the file, use this line to indicate first the number of variables in the file and then the name of each of the variables. (WAF must appear as the first variable.)

Each variable should have a unique name (for example, you cannot include “WAT” twice in the list of variable names). If you have common values for injection and production, you can preface them with something indicating their association with the parent or child, such as “P_WAT” and “I_WAT”.

If you choose to include three additional variables, for instance, this line could display like this:

VARIABLES, 4, WAF, OIL, GAS, WAT

If you include WAF as the only variable, you do not need to include this line; it will default to:

VARIABLES, 1, WAF

UNITS

If your WAF file includes this optional line, it should immediately follow the VARIABLES line, and the number of units must match the number of variables (so that each variable name has an associated unit label). Follow the keyword with the number of units and then list each unit. For example:

UNITS, 4, %, rb/day, mcf/day, rb/day

Tecplot RS displays these units on the axis title of XY plots displaying WAF values.

TIMESTEP

This required line should indicate the beginning of a time step, in the following format:

TIMESTEP, <time>, <date>

Tecplot RS recognizes the time as the number of days elapsed since the start date, and the date in European format as recognized on the STARTDATE line.

For example:

TIMESTEP, 1.5, 23 Apr 2009

You can omit the date if you included the STARTDATE line. If you choose to do this, Tecplot RS will compute the date by adding the time to the start date.

If you choose not to include the start date, and instead include the date with each time step, the time does not necessarily need to appear in days.

PRODUCER

This line marks the beginning of a well pair group, defining the role of the parent well as a producer. Include the name of the producer parent well immediately following the keyword in this line, like this:

PRODUCER, PWELL01

You can name the well whatever you like, but do not include your delineator (spaces or commas).

WAF file must include at least one PRODUCER or INJECTOR well pair group. A well pair group consists either of a single producer well and all of the injector wells that contribute to it, or a single injector well and all of the producer wells that contribute to it.

INJECTOR

Use the injector line to mark the beginning of a well pair group with an injector parent well, and to name the injector parent well. Include the name of the injector parent well after the INJECTOR keyword, like this:

INJECTOR, IWELL01

You can name the well whatever you like, but do not include your delineator (spaces or commas).

Be sure to include either one INJECTOR parent well with its CHILD well(s) in your WAF file, or one PRODUCER parent well with its CHILD well(s).

CHILD

One or more CHILD lines should follow the PRODUCER or INJECTOR parent well lines in the WAF file to indicate the child well(s) and their WAF value(s) (as well as additional variable values if desired). In this line, follow the CHILD keyword with the name of the child well (in general, match the names used in the XY or grid data sets included in your project), the WAF value for that child well, and then any other variable values, in the same order as on the VARIABLES line. For example, a CHILD line could look like this:

CHILD, IWELL_02, 39.2

If you want to include flow going into or coming from outside sources, you may wish to include this as a child well named descriptively, like “OTHER” or “BOUNDARY”, so that the WAFs add up to 100%.

Sample Data

To practice creating and using WAF files, copy either of the following tables into a spreadsheet, save it as a comma-separated values (CSV) file, rename it and load it into Tecplot RS.

This table shows a simple spreadsheet with three producer wells, each receiving from multiple child wells:

The following table shows how to include optional variables. Tecplot RS will automatically solve the parent totals when loading the data. This also illustrates inclusion of the date on the time step line, instead of defining a start date.

Loading XY Data

K - 1.4   XYMulti File

You can load multiple XY files simultaneously by loading an .xymulti file. An .xymulti file is an ASCII file that contains list of XY data files. This file must include the absolute path of the files to be loaded. The files to be loaded can be in any of the supported XY file formats. An example of an xymulti file is shown following:

-- Simulation results

C:\MultiFileExample\RML6_PBUSTOP.UNSMRY

C:\MultiFileExample\RML1.UNSMRY

C:\MultiFileExample\spe1b_xyp.UNSMRY

-- Observed data

C:\MultiFileExample\A-05AP_RFT.USER

C:\MultiFileExample\A-02AP_RFT.USER

C:\MultiFileExample\C30_BHP.USER

-- XY Custom file

C:\MultiFileExample\defaultDWR.rsc

Loading XY Data

K - 1.5   UTCHEM Files

Tecplot RS currently supports UTCHEM versions 9.3 and 9.95. To load the XY data, you need the *.OVERAL file, which contains the field data, and all *.HIST## files, which contain the data for one well each. The base filenames (ignoring the extension) must match for these files to be loaded together.

Well names are loaded from the *.HIST## files, but these files record only the first eight characters of the full well names provided in the INPUT file. To make sure the well names are unique, a number is prepended to the well name for display in Tecplot RS.

The wellbore pressure and pressure drop variables are loaded as completion data. For more information on plotting completion data, refer to “XY Subsets” on page 59 and “Completion Profiles” on page 81.