Numerical Simulation of Rock Damage Induced by Steam Injection in a Horizontal Wellbore during the Crude Oil Production

Abstract

Application of damage mechanics to problems of thermal oil extraction is caused by a significant influence of structural evolution on permeability and porosity of rocks. In this work damage evolution in the reservoir is described in terms of the macroscopic structural parameter which has a physical meaning of the additional (structural) strain induced by the initiation and evolution of the defects. The specific feature of the work is application of the structural parameter to a comprehensive behavior of a multiphase porous media subjected to simultaneous mechanical and thermal loadings. A three-dimensional numerical simulation of the steam-assisted gravity drainage process with and without structural changes was carried out. As a result, it has been shown that defect-induced strains significantly affect the values of surface heave, porosity and permeability and, as a consequence, the oil production rate.