Abstract
This paper describes an approach to simulating the flow of water, oil, and gas in fully or partially fractured reservoirs with conventional black-oil models. This approach is based on the dual porosity concept and uses a conventional tridimensional, triphasic, black-oil model with minor modifications. The basic feature is an elementary volume of the fractured reservoir that is simulated by several model cells; the matrix is concentrated into one matrix cell and tee fractures into the adjacent fracture cells. Fracture cells offer a continuous path for fluid flows, while matrix cello are discontinuous ("checker board" display). The matrix-fracture flows are calculated directly by the model. Limitations and applications of this approximate approach are discussed and examples given.
Introduction
Fractured reservoir models were developed to simulate fluid flows in a system of continuous fractures of high permeability and low porosity that surround discontinuous, porous, oil-saturated matrix blocks of much lower permeability but higher porosity. The use of conventional models that permeability but higher porosity. The use of conventional models that actually simulate the fractures and matrix blocks is restricted to small systems composed of a limited number of matrix blocks. The common approach to simulating a full-field fractured reservoir is to consider a general flow within the fracture network and a local flow (exchange of fluids) between matrix blocks and fractures. This local flow is accounted for by the introduction of source or sink terms (transfer functions). In this formulation, the model is not directly predictive because the source term (transfer function) is, in fact, entered data and is derived from outside the model by one of the following approaches:analytical computation,empirical determination (laboratory experiments), ornumerical simulation of one or several matrix blocks on a conventional model.
To derive these transfer functions, imposing some boundary conditions is necessary. Unfortunately, it is generally impossible to foresee all the conditions that will arise in a, matrix block and its surrounding fractures during its field life. It would be helpful, therefore, to have a model that is able to compute directly the local flows according to changing conditions. However, to have low computing times, it is necessary to use an approximate formulation and, thus, to adjust some parameters to match results that are externally (and more accurately) derived in a few basis, well-defined conditions. By current investigative techniques, only a very general description of the matrix blocks and fissures can be obtained, so our knowledge of local flows is very approximate. This paper presents a modeling procedure that is an approximate but helpful approach to the simulation of fractured reservoirs and requires a few, simple modifications of conventional black-oil mathematical models.
Review of the Literature
Numerous papers related to single- and multiphase flow in fractured porous media have been published over the last three decades. On the basis of data from fractured limestone and sand-stone reservoirs, fractured reservoirs are pictured as stacks of matrix blocks separated by fractures (Figs. 1 and 2). The fractured reservoirs with oil-saturated matrices usually are referred to as "double porosity" systems. Primary porosity is associated with matrix blocks, while secondary porosity is associated with fractures. The porosity of the matrices is generally much greater than that of the fractures, but permeability within fractures may be 100 and even over 10,000 times higher permeability within fractures may be 100 and even over 10,000 times higher than within the matrices. The main difference between flow in a fractured medium and flow in a conventional porous system is that, in a fractured medium, the interconnected fracture network provides the main path for fluid flow through the reservoir, while local flows (exchanges of fluids) occur between the discontinuous matrix blocks and the surrounding fractures. Matrix oil flows into the fractures, and the fractures carry the oil to the wellbore. For single-phase flow, Barenblatt et al constructed a formula based on the dual porosity approach. They consider the reservoir as two overlying continua, the matrices and the fractures.
SPEJ
p. 743