Three-dimensional simulation of tracer transport dynamics in formations with high-permeability channels or fractures: Estimation of oil saturation

Abstract

We simulate flow and dispersion of tracers in three-dimensional fractured geometries obtained with Voronoi tessellations. “Fractures” are generated and discretized using a parallel in-house code. These “fractures” can also be regarded as the high-permeability flow paths through the rock or a network of the “super-k” channels. The generated geometry contains multiply-connected matrix and fracture regions. The matrix region represents a porous rock filled with solid, water, and oil. Tracers diffuse in both regions, but advection is limited only to the fractures. The lattice-Boltzmann and random-walk particle-tracking methods are employed in flow and transport simulations. Mass-transfer across the matrix–fracture interface is implemented using the specular reflection boundary condition. Tracer partitioning coefficients can vary among the tracer compounds and in space. We use our model to match a field tracer injection test designed to determine remaining oil saturation. By analyzing the time-dependent behavior of the fully resolved, three-dimensional “fracture”–matrix geometry, we show that the industry-standard approach may consistently overestimate remaining oil saturation. For a highly heterogeneous reservoir system, the relative error of the field-based remaining oil estimates may exceed 50%.