Assessing the impact of relative permeability and capillary heterogeneity on Darcy flow modelling of CO 2 storage in Utsira Formation

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (6) ◽  
pp. 1221-1246 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael U. Onoja ◽  
Seyed M. Shariatipour
Keyword(s):  
Relative Permeability ◽  
Darcy Flow ◽  
Flow Modelling ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Capillary Heterogeneity

Effect of Non-Darcy Flow on Well Productivity of a Hydraulically Fractured Gas-Condensate Well

2009 ◽  
Vol 12 (04) ◽  
pp. 576-585 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jitendra Mohan ◽  
Gary A. Pope ◽  
Mukul M. Sharma
Keyword(s):  
Hydraulic Fracturing ◽  
Relative Permeability ◽  
Gas Condensate ◽  
Darcy Flow ◽  
Productivity Improvement ◽  
Well Productivity ◽  
Fracture Width ◽  
Gas Condensate Reservoirs ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Actual Fracture

Summary Hydraulic fracturing is a common way to improve productivity of gas-condensate wells. Previous simulation studies have predicted much larger increases in well productivity than have been actually observed in the field. This paper shows the large impact of non-Darcy flow and condensate accumulation on the productivity of a hydraulically fractured gas-condensate well. Two-level local-grid refinement was used so that very small gridblocks corresponding to actual fracture width could be simulated. The actual fracture width must be used to accurately model non-Darcy flow. An unrealistically large fracture width in the simulations underestimates the effect of non-Darcy flow in hydraulic fractures. Various other factors governing the productivity improvement such as fracture length, fracture conductivity, well flow rates, and reservoir parameters have been analyzed. Productivity improvements were found to be overestimated by a factor as high as three, if non-Darcy flow was neglected. Results are presented that show the impact of condensate buildup on long-term productivity of wells in both rich and lean gas-condensate reservoirs. Introduction A significant decline in productivity of gas-condensate wells has been observed, resulting from a phenomenon called condensate blocking. Pressure gradients caused by fluid flow in the reservoir are greatest near the production well. As the pressure drops below the dewpoint pressure, liquid drops out and condensate accumulates near the well. This buildup of condensate is referred to as a condensate bank. The condensate continues to accumulate until a steady-state two-phase flow of condensate and gas is achieved. This condensate buildup decreases the relative permeability to gas, thereby causing a decline in the well productivity. Afidick et al. (1994) studied the Arun field in Indonesia, which is one of the largest gas-condensate reservoirs in the world. They concluded that a significant loss in productivity of the reservoir after 10 years of production was caused by condensate blockage. They found that condensate accumulation caused well productivity to decline by approximately 50%, even for this very lean gas. Boom et al. (1996) showed that even for a lean gas (e.g., less than 1% liquid dropout) a relatively high liquid saturation can build up in the near-wellbore region. Liquid saturations near the well can reach 50 to 60% under pseudosteady-state flow of gas and condensate (Cable et al. 2000; Henderson et al. 1998). Hydraulic fracturing of wells is a common practice to improve productivity of gas-condensate reservoirs. Modeling of gas-condensate wells with a hydraulic fracture requires taking into account non-Darcy flow. Gas velocity inside the fracture is three to four orders of magnitude higher than that in the matrix. Use of Darcy's law to model this flow can overestimate the productivity improvement. Therefore, it is necessary to use Forchheimer's equation to model this flow with an appropriate non-Darcy coefficient that takes into account the gas-relative permeability and water saturation.

Multiphase Flow Under Heterogeneous Wettability Conditions Studied by Special Core Analysis and Pore-Scale Imaging

SPE Journal ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 24 (03) ◽  
pp. 1234-1247 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shuangmei Zou ◽  
Ryan T. Armstrong
Keyword(s):  
Multiphase Flow ◽  
Relative Permeability ◽  
Flow Regimes ◽  
Wettability Alteration ◽  
Core Analysis ◽  
Pore Scale ◽  
End Effect ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Capillary End Effect ◽  
Special Core Analysis

Summary Wettability is a major factor that influences multiphase flow in porous media. Numerous experimental studies have reported wettability effects on relative permeability. Laboratory determination for the impact of wettability on relative permeability continues to be a challenge because of difficulties with quantifying wettability alteration, correcting for capillary-end effect, and observing pore-scale flow regimes during core-scale experiments. Herein, we studied the impact of wettability alteration on relative permeability by integrating laboratory steady-state experiments with in-situ high-resolution imaging. We characterized wettability alteration at the core scale by conventional laboratory methods and used history matching for relative permeability determination to account for capillary-end effect. We found that because of wettability alteration from water-wet to mixed-wet conditions, oil relative permeability decreased while water relative permeability slightly increased. For the mixed-wet condition, the pore-scale data demonstrated that the interaction of viscous and capillary forces resulted in viscous-dominated flow, whereby nonwetting phase was able to flow through the smaller regions of the pore space. Overall, this study demonstrates how special-core-analysis (SCAL) techniques can be coupled with pore-scale imaging to provide further insights on pore-scale flow regimes during dynamic coreflooding experiments.

The Impact of Non-Darcy Flow on Production from Hydraulically Fractured Gas Wells

2001 ◽  
Author(s):  
Patrick Handren ◽  
C. Mark Pearson ◽  
John Kullman ◽  
Robert J. Coleman ◽  
Jay Foreman ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Darcy Flow ◽  
Gas Wells ◽  
The Impact

The Combined Effect of Near-Critical Relative Permeability and Non-Darcy Flow on Well Impairment by Condensate Drop Out

1998 ◽  
Vol 1 (05) ◽  
pp. 421-429 ◽  
Author(s):  
Saskia M.P. Blom ◽  
Jacques Hagoort
Keyword(s):  
Steady State ◽  
Gas Phase ◽  
Relative Permeability ◽  
Capillary Number ◽  
Radial Flow ◽  
Drop Out ◽  
Darcy Flow ◽  
Gas Reservoirs ◽  
Strongly Coupled ◽  
Original Manuscript

This paper (SPE 51367) was revised for publication from paper SPE 39976, first presented at the 1998 SPE Gas Technology Symposium, Calgary, 15-18 March. Original manuscript received for review 19 March 1998. Revised manuscript received 8 July 1998. Paper peer approved 13 July 1998. Summary We present a comprehensive numerical method to calculate well impairment based on steady-state radial flow. The method incorporate near-critical relative permeability and saturation-dependent inertial resistance. Example calculations show that near-critical relative permeability, which depends on the capillary number, and non-Darcy flow are strongly coupled. Inertial resistance gives rise to a higher capillary number. In its turn, the improved mobility of the gas phase caused by a higher capillary number enhances the importance of the inertial resistance. The effect of non-Darcy flow is much more pronounced in gas condensate reservoirs than in dry gas reservoirs. Well impairment may be grossly overestimated if the dependence of relative permeability on the capillary number is ignored. P. 421

Extended Fractional-Flow Model of Low-Salinity Waterflooding Accounting for Dispersion and Effective Salinity Range

SPE Journal ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 24 (06) ◽  
pp. 2874-2888 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hasan Al–Ibadi ◽  
Karl D. Stephen ◽  
Eric J. Mackay
Keyword(s):  
Relative Permeability ◽  
Flow Behavior ◽  
Flow Analysis ◽  
Salinity Range ◽  
Fractional Flow ◽  
Low Salinity ◽  
Low Salinity Water ◽  
Low Salinity Waterflooding ◽  
Salinity Water ◽  
The Impact

Summary Low–salinity waterflooding (LSWF) is an emergent technology developed to increase oil recovery. Laboratory–scale testing of this process is common, but modeling at the production scale is less well–reported. Various descriptions of the functional relationship between salinity and relative permeability have been presented in the literature, with respect to the differences in the effective salinity range over which the mechanisms occur. In this paper, we focus on these properties and their impact on fractional flow of LSWF at the reservoir scale. We present numerical observations that characterize flow behavior accounting for dispersion. We analyzed linear and nonlinear functions relating salinity to relative permeability and various effective salinity ranges using a numerical simulator. We analyzed the effect of numerical and physical dispersion of salinity on the velocity of the waterflood fronts as an expansion of fractional–flow theory, which normally assumes shock–like behavior of water and concentration fronts. We observed that dispersion of the salinity profile affects the fractional–flow behavior depending on the effective salinity range. The simulator solution is equal to analytical predictions from fractional–flow analysis when the midpoint of the effective salinity range lies between the formation and injected salinities. However, retardation behavior similar to the effect of adsorption occurs when these midpoint concentrations are not coincidental. This alters the velocities of high– and low–salinity water fronts. We derived an extended form of the fractional–flow analysis to include the impact of salinity dispersion. A new factor quantifies a physical or numerical retardation that occurs. We can now modify the effects that dispersion has on the breakthrough times of high– and low–salinity water fronts during LSWF. This improves predictive ability and also reduces the requirement for full simulation.

Groundwater flow modelling to assist dryland salinity management of a coastal plain of southern Australia

Soil Research ◽  
1997 ◽  
Vol 35 (4) ◽  
pp. 669 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul Pavelic ◽  
Kumar A. Narayan ◽  
Peter J. Dillon
Keyword(s):  
Groundwater Flow ◽  
Groundwater Recharge ◽  
Coastal Plain ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Management Options ◽  
Aquifer System ◽  
Groundwater Levels ◽  
Flow Modelling ◽  
Groundwater Flow Modelling ◽  
The Impact

Groundwater flow modelling has been undertaken for an area of 10 500 ha within the regional unconfined aquifer system of a coastal plain of southern Australia, in the vicinity of the town of Cooke Plains, to predict the impact of various land management options (including recharge reduction and discharge enhancement) on the extent of land salinisation caused by shallow saline watertables. The model was calibrated against field data collected over 6 years. Sensitivity analysis was performed to assess the influence of mesh size, boundary conditions, and aquifer parameters, and particularly rates of recharge and evaporative discharge, on groundwater levels. These were varied until the model was shown to be capable of simulating seasonal trends and regional and local flow patterns. The model was then used to predict the impact of the management options on groundwater levels. The results showed that continuing current annual crop–pasture rotations will result in watertable rises of approximately 0·2 m in 20 years (significant in this setting), with a further 50 ha of land salinised. A reduction in the rates of groundwater recharge through the establishment of high water-use perennial pastures (e.g. lucerne) showed the most promise for controlling groundwater levels. For example, a reduction in recharge by 90% would result in watertable declines of 0·6–1·0 m within 5–10 years, with the return to productivity of 180 ha of saline land. Small-scale (say <100 ha) efforts to reduce recharge were found to have no significant impact on groundwater levels. Enhanced groundwater discharge such as pumping from a windmill was found to be non-viable due to the relatively high aquifer transmissivity and specific yield. The modelling approach has enabled a relatively small area within a regional aquifer system to be modelled for a finite time (20 years) and has shown that extension of the boundaries of the model would not have altered the predicted outcomes. Furthermore, the analysis of sensitivity to cell size in an undulating landscape where net recharge areas can become net discharge areas with only small increases in groundwater level is novel, and has helped to build confidence in the model. Modelling has demonstrated that dryland salinisation can be controlled by reducing groundwater recharge over substantial tracts of land, and is not dependent on recharge reduction over an extensive area upgradient, at least over the next 20 years.

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