makeSENSE
The Norwegian petroleum industry must achieve a 50% reduction of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from 2005 levels by 2030, followed by a transition to near-zero emissions by 2050. At the same time, Norway plays an increasingly vital role as a stable energy supplier to Europe, and the demand for Norwegian gas will remain high in the short to medium term. The makeSENSE project answers this dilemma by turning cutting-edge digital modelling into open-source software, enabling better utilization and more energy-efficient production from the reservoirs.
The makeSENSE project aims to advance reservoir modeling by integrating ensemble-based data assimilation with exact sensitivity calculations, enhancing decision-making, and optimizing resource use. Norway is committed to reducing oil and gas emissions by 50% by 2030 and achieving near-zero emissions by 2050. The makeSENSE project provides an enabling solution by improving reservoir management efficiency while minimizing environmental impact. While widely used, traditional ensemble methods struggle with nonlinear models and fail to fully capture multimodal uncertainty distributions. The makeSENSE project overcomes these limitations by incorporating adjoint based sensitivity analysis and automatic differentiation (AD) in the reservoir modeling tool, enabling precise uncertainty quantification and improved optimization. These innovations will enhance energy efficiency, lower emissions, and support sustainable field development.
The project will develop fully differentiable workflows, leveraging machine learning and hybrid sensitivity approaches to improve computational efficiency without sacrificing accuracy. It will integrate the technology into industry-standard tools such as OPM Flow, ERT, and Everest, ensuring real-world applicability and seamless adoption. By validating these methods in operational environments, makeSENSE will accelerate technology transfer and adoption in the industry.
Expected impacts include improved reservoir forecasting, optimized production strategies, and significant emission reductions. The project strengthens Norwayʼs leadership in computational geoscience, promoting open collaboration between industry, academia, and software communities. The makeSENSE project sets a new standard for sustainable subsurface resource management, balancing economic value with environmental responsibility.
Acknowledgements
This is the official webpage of the project makeSENSE – Ensemble based data assimilation with exact SENSitivities , funded by Equinor Energy AS and A/S Norske Shell.
The project is led by NORCE, with research partners including SINTEF, TNO, NTNU, and Giorgia Institute of Technology.
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