Low velocity non-linear flow in ultra-low permeability reservoir

Abstract

Experimental equipment is designed to investigate single-phase oil/water flow in ultra-low permeability cores, using capillary flow meter to achieve accurate measurement of fluid volume. The results confirm that the single-phase oil/water flow in ultra-low permeability cores is not consistent with Darcy's Law. Typical flow curve is a combination of straight line and concave curve. The lower permeability the core has, the stronger non-linearity the concave curve shows. Pseudo (minimum) threshold pressure gradient exists widely in utra-low permeability cores for different fluid. Physical simulation and theoretical studies have shown that the relationship between threshold pressure gradient and permeability is a power function with the power of −1. Nonlinear factor is defined to describe nonlinear flow characteristics. Higher viscosity leads to larger nonlinear factor and wider distribution of pressure. The minimum threshold pressure gradient can be calculated by pseudo threshold pressure gradient and nonlinear factor.