A Critical Review for Proper Use of Water-Oil-Gas Transfer Functions in Dual-Porosity Naturally Fractured Reservoirs - Part I

2007 ◽  
Author(s):  
Benjamin Alejandro Ramirez ◽  
Hossein Kazemi ◽  
Mohammed Al-Kobaisi ◽  
Erdal Ozkan ◽  
Safian Atan
Keyword(s):  
Critical Review ◽  
Transfer Functions ◽  
Fractured Reservoirs ◽  
Naturally Fractured Reservoirs ◽  
Dual Porosity ◽  
Gas Transfer ◽  
Naturally Fractured ◽  
Oil Gas

Verification and Proper Use of Water-Oil Transfer Function for Dual-Porosity and Dual-Permeability Reservoirs

2009 ◽  
Vol 12 (02) ◽  
pp. 189-199 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adetayo S. Balogun ◽  
Hossein Kazemi ◽  
Erdal Ozkan ◽  
Mohammed Al-kobaisi ◽  
Benjamin Ramirez
Keyword(s):  
Transfer Function ◽  
Oil Recovery ◽  
Transfer Functions ◽  
Fractured Reservoirs ◽  
Fracture Network ◽  
Naturally Fractured Reservoirs ◽  
Dual Porosity ◽  
Fluid Exchange ◽  
Matrix Block ◽  
Naturally Fractured

Summary Accurate calculation of multiphase fluid transfer between the fracture and matrix in naturally fractured reservoirs is a very crucial issue. In this paper, we will present the viability of the use of a simple transfer function to accurately account for fluid exchange resulting from capillary and gravity forces between fracture and matrix in dual-porosity and dual-permeability numerical models. With this approach, fracture- and matrix-flow calculations can be decoupled and solved sequentially, improving the speed and ease of computation. In fact, the transfer-function equations can be used easily to calculate the expected oil recovery from a matrix block of any dimension without the use of a simulator or oil-recovery correlations. The study was accomplished by conducting a 3-D fine-grid simulation of a typical matrix block and comparing the results with those obtained through the use of a single-node simple transfer function for a water-oil system. This study was similar to a previous study (Alkandari 2002) we had conducted for a 1D gas-oil system. The transfer functions of this paper are specifically for the sugar-cube idealization of a matrix block, which can be extended to simulation of a match-stick idealization in reservoir modeling. The basic data required are: matrix capillary-pressure curves, densities of the flowing fluids, and matrix block dimensions. Introduction Naturally fractured reservoirs contain a significant amount of the known petroleum hydrocarbons worldwide and, hence, are an important source of energy fuels. However, the oil recovery from these reservoirs has been rather low. For example, the Circle Ridge Field in Wind River Reservation, Wyoming, has been producing for 50 years, but the oil recovery is less than 15% (Golder Associates 2004). This low level of oil recovery points to the need for accurate reservoir characterization, realistic geological modeling, and accurate flow simulation of naturally fractured reservoirs to determine the locations of bypassed oil. Reservoir simulation is the most practical method of studying flow problems in porous media when dealing with heterogeneity and the simultaneous flow of different fluids. In modeling fractured systems, a dual-porosity or dual-permeability concept typically is used to idealize the reservoir on the global scale. In the dual-porosity concept, fluids transfer between the matrix and fractures in the grid-cells while flowing through the fracture network to the wellbore. Furthermore, the bulk of the fluids are stored in the matrix. On the other hand, in the dual-permeability concept, fluids flow through the fracture network and between matrix blocks. In both the dual-porosity and dual-permeability formulations, the fractures and matrices are linked by transfer functions. The transfer functions account for fluid exchanges between both media. To understand the details of this fluid exchange, an elaborate method is used in this study to model flow in a single matrix block with fractures as boundaries. Our goal is to develop a technique to produce accurate results for use in large-scale modeling work.

Pressure-Transient Tests and Flow Regimes in Fractured Reservoirs

2015 ◽  
Vol 18 (02) ◽  
pp. 187-204 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fikri Kuchuk ◽  
Denis Biryukov
Keyword(s):  
History Matching ◽  
Fractured Reservoirs ◽  
Flow Regimes ◽  
Naturally Fractured Reservoirs ◽  
Dual Porosity ◽  
Hydraulic Fractures ◽  
Fractured Reservoir ◽  
Pressure Transient ◽  
Matrix Block ◽  
Naturally Fractured

Summary Fractures are common features in many well-known reservoirs. Naturally fractured reservoirs include fractured igneous, metamorphic, and sedimentary rocks (matrix). Faults in many naturally fractured carbonate reservoirs often have high-permeability zones, and are connected to numerous fractures that have varying conductivities. Furthermore, in many naturally fractured reservoirs, faults and fractures can be discrete (rather than connected-network dual-porosity systems). In this paper, we investigate the pressure-transient behavior of continuously and discretely naturally fractured reservoirs with semianalytical solutions. These fractured reservoirs can contain periodically or arbitrarily distributed finite- and/or infinite-conductivity fractures with different lengths and orientations. Unlike the single-derivative shape of the Warren and Root (1963) model, fractured reservoirs exhibit diverse pressure behaviors as well as more than 10 flow regimes. There are seven important factors that dominate the pressure-transient test as well as flow-regime behaviors of fractured reservoirs: (1) fractures intersect the wellbore parallel to its axis, with a dipping angle of 90° (vertical fractures), including hydraulic fractures; (2) fractures intersect the wellbore with dipping angles from 0° to less than 90°; (3) fractures are in the vicinity of the wellbore; (4) fractures have extremely high or low fracture and fault conductivities; (5) fractures have various sizes and distributions; (6) fractures have high and low matrix block permeabilities; and (7) fractures are damaged (skin zone) as a result of drilling and completion operations and fluids. All flow regimes associated with these factors are shown for a number of continuously and discretely fractured reservoirs with different well and fracture configurations. For a few cases, these flow regimes were compared with those from the field data. We performed history matching of the pressure-transient data generated from our discretely and continuously fractured reservoir models with the Warren and Root (1963) dual-porosity-type models, and it is shown that they yield incorrect reservoir parameters.

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