Abstract Intelligent completions focus on delivery and management of production flexibility. Intelligent Well systems Technology (IWsT) deliver the ability to monitor and control production without the need for conventional interventions. Installation of intelligence at the well level is not always a guarantee for success - it must be shown to add value to gain acceptance. This paper uses a new workflow to investigate the premise that some reservoir types are inherently more suited to IWsT application than others. A series of generic reservoir scenarios, based on property distributions derived from real field data and operational oilfield models, were built. These geological scenarios were tested to determine the added value from IWsT compared to standard completions. Situations in which IWsT proved particularly successful, and situations which showed little or no value, have been identified. Results show that IWsT can control uneven, invading fluid-fronts that have developed along the wellbore length due to permeability differences, reservoir compartmentalisation or different strength aquifer/gas cap support. Downhole Interval Control Valves (ICVs) are capable of managing wellbore friction effects and such differences in zone pressure along the wellbore. Oil recovery factors improve and water production rates reduce with the correct choice of the number of ICVs installed and their location along the length of the wellbore. However, the degree of improvement is dependent on the reservoir type (Layered, Faulted, Channelised, etc.) and the distribution of porosity and permeability within it. This study provides a new look at the applicability of IWsT in a wide range of reservoir types. In the next stage, a range of realizations of a reservoir model were generated, so that the degree of heterogeneity was increased systematically in the models by changing the Coefficient of Variation and the Correlation Length. The added value from an intelligent well installed in these reservoir realisations was evaluated. The results were analysed in terms of correlation length vs. coefficient of variation. A potential IWsT applicability envelope was developed. These plots can be used as an initial screening tool for deciding when, and when not, to implement IWsT. The final decision on whether to install such equipment will be made by an engineer making a detailed technical and economic analysis for the particular case being studied. This last phase is outside the scope of this paper.