Estimation of Relative Permeability using the Lattice Boltzmann Method for Fluid Flows in a Cretaceous Formation, Abu Dhabi

Abstract

Abstract A set of Petrophysical properties including porosities, absolute permeabilities, resistivity indices, elastic properties and Archie’s cementation exponent "m" were determined for a number of carbonate core plugs representing four common reservoir rock types (RRTs) of the a Cretaceous Formation Abu Dhabi. The same core plugs were then used to estimate SCAL properties including water-oil relative permeabilities using digital rock physics (DRP). DRP is referred to in this paper as the combination of advanced 3D imaging techniques such as X-ray computed tomography (CT) scanning, and the use of the Lattice Boltzmann Method (LBM) for fluid flow modeling. The plugs were scanned, using X-ray Computed Tomography (CT), at several scales to establish the distribution of macro- and micro-porosity fractions of the carbonate samples, and identify the primary flow units. Comparison of direct measurement results with the LBM-based modeling was used as a validation of its practical ability to predict two-phase flow properties for carbonates for carbonates. Results of this study indicated that the LBM-based method achieved a good to reasonable prediction for several reservoir characterization properties such as residual fluid saturations. Some deviations were present and discussed. Finally, an up-scaling process for determining water-oil relative permeabilities for a carbonate sample exhibiting a bimodal porosity distribution was presented using one of the cores in the study as an example.