Improvements in Simulation of Naturally Fractured Reservoirs

Abstract

Simulation of multiphase flow in heterogeneous two-porosity reservoirs such as naturally fractured systems is a difficult problem. In the last several years much progress has been made in this area. This paper focuses on the practical aspects of that technology. It describes a stable, flexible, fully implicit, finite-difference simulator in heterogeneous, two-porosity reservoirs. Flow rates and wellbore pressures are solved simultaneously along with fracture and matrix fluid saturations and pressures at all grid points. Hydrodynamic pressure gradient is maintained at formation perforations in the wellbore. The simulator is accurate enough to match analytical solutions to single-phase problems. The equations have been extended to include polymer flooding and tracer transport with nine-point connection for determining severe local channeling and directional tendencies. It is shown that the two-porosity model presented in this paper will produce essentially the same answers as the common single-porosity model of a highly heterogeneous system but with a substantial reduction of computing time. In addition, this paper describes in detail several two-porosity parameters not fully discussed in previous publications.