Modelling Full Tensor Permeability in Fractured Carbonates Using Advanced Discretization Schemes

Abstract

Summary Naturally fractured reservoirs (NFR’s) present complex physical flow conditions and form the vast majority of oil and gas reserves in the world, and exhibit complex flow regimes that prove to be challenging in reservoir modelling. In this work, we present the efficiency of utilizing a Mimetic Finite Difference based simulator for discrete fractures to predict hydrocarbon recovery when full tensor permeability is used. The results shed the light on the importance of mapping and realistically representing the highly heterogeneous porous media in the reservoir simulation using full tensor permeability. The orientation of the tensor will help accurately mimic the field conditions for oil flow. Moreover, this approach is powerful and can yield accurate results for hydrocarbon recovery, yet needs to be treated with care. The choice of the rotation axis and the angle for the full tensor permeability construction will greatly affect the flow in fractures and will result in early water breakthrough times in some cases.