Abstract
Use of fractured reservoir simulators can help reservoir engineers in the understanding of the main physical mechanisms and in the choice of the best recovery process and its optimization. Significant progress has been made since the first publications on the dual porosity concept in the sixties. This paper presents the current techniques of modeling used in industrial simulators. Following a description of the recovery processes and of the main physical mechanisms involved, a history of the fractured reservoir simulation is presented. Then the general mathematical formulation of dual porosity simulators is described. The paper ends with a presentation of the numerical simulation of flow in fractures and faults and of well modeling. The matrix-fracture transfer formulations, as well as techniques for uncertainty analysis and geology&flow-constrained history matching, will be addressed in the companion paper, Part 2: Matrix-Fracture Transfers and Typical Features of Numerical Studies.
Highlights
Petroleum field development has a very high cost and a strong degree of uncertainty
The authors concluded that minimum miscibility pressure/enrichment levels for fractured reservoirs are significantly higher than for conventional single-porosity reservoirs, due to the impact of fractures that play as major heterogeneities, and to necessary transfers into the matrix by molecular diffusion
A significant amount of the world hydrocarbons reserves is located in naturally fractured reservoirs
Summary
L’article se termine sur une présentation de la simulation numérique de l’écoulement dans les fractures et les failles et de la modélisation des puits. La formulation des échanges matrice-fracture ainsi que les techniques d’analyse des incertitudes et de calage d’historique contraint par la géologie et l’écoulement sont traitées dans un second article, associé à celui-ci, Partie 2 : Échanges matrice-fracture et spécificités des études numériques. Following a description of the recovery processes and of the main physical mechanisms involved, a history of the fractured reservoir simulation is presented. The paper ends with a presentation of the numerical simulation of flow in fractures and faults and of well modeling. The matrix-fracture transfer formulations, as well as techniques for uncertainty analysis and geology&flow-constrained history matching, will be addressed in the companion paper, Part 2: Matrix-Fracture Transfers and Typical Features of Numerical Studies. Subscripts g Hydrocarbon gas phase i Direction, x, y or z; matrix block face index k Component o Hydrocarbon liquid phase p Phase w Water phase
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