Numerical Simulation for the Flow Characteristics of Shale Oil in Fractured Shale Reservoirs

Abstract

Compared to conventional reservoirs, shale reservoirs are characterize by the extraordinary low porosity and permeability, which contribute to the large-scale application of the technology of hydraulic fracturing in the development. The flow characteristics of shale oil is quite complicated in the hydraulic and natural fractures and the flow characteristics of shale oil in fractures is vital significant to oilfield development. In this paper, a model is developed to simulate the flow characteristics in fractured shale reservoirs, which fully coupling the geomechanics and fluid flow. Specifically, an embedded discrete fracture model is adopted to characterize the hydraulic fractures and the flow between natural and hydraulic fractures. Correspondingly, the Multiple Interacting Continua model is adopted to characterize the flow between matrix and natural fractures. The influence on production caused by the stress sensitivity of two kinds of fractures is considered. Then, the sequential iterative solution method is adopted to solve the model which coupled the geomechanics and fluid flow, and the finite volume method and the finite element method are applied to solve the fluid-governing equations and geomechanics-governing equations, respectively.