SPE 5719

Numerical Simulation of Water-Oil Flow in Naturally

Fractured
H. KAZEMI
MEMBER WE-AIME
L. S. MERRILL. JR
K. L. PORTERFIELD
P. R. ZEMAN
MEMBER SPE-AIME
ABSTRACT
A three-dimensional, multiple-well, numerical
simulator for simulating single- or two-phase flow
of water and oil is developed for fract ured reservoirs,
The simulator equations are two-phase fIow
extensions of the single-phase flow equations
derived by Warren and Root. 1 The simulator accounts
for rehtive fluid nobilities, gravity /orce, imbibition,
and variation in reservoir properties. The simulator
handles uniformly and nonuniformly distributed
fractures and/or no fractures at all. The simulator
c~n be used to simulate the water-oil displacement
process azd in the transient testing of fractured
reservoirs.
The simulator was used on the conceptual models
of two naturally fractured reservoirs: a quadrant of
a five-spot reservoir and a five-well dipping
reservoir with water drive. These results show tbe
significance of imbibition in recovering oil trom
the reservoir mck in reservoirs with an intercon-
nected fracture network.
INTRODUCTION
Numerical reservoir simulators are being used
extensively to simulate multiphase, multicomponent
flow in single-porosity petroleum reservoirs.
Such simulators generally cannot be used to study
flow behavior in the naturally fractured reservoirs
that are usually classified as double-porosity
systems. In the latter, one porosity is associated
with the matrix blocks and the other represents that
of the fractures and vugs. If fractures provide the
main path for fluid flow from the reservoir, then
usually the oil from the matrix blocks flows into
the fracture space, an d the fractures carry the oil
to the wellbore. When water comes in contact with
the oil zone, water ma; imbibe into the matrix
blocks to displace oil. Combine.tions of large flow
Original manuscript received in society of Petroleum Engineers
office NOV. 13, 197S. Paper accepted for publication Aug. 30,
1976. Revised manuscript received Oct. S, 1976. Paper (SPE
57 19) waa first presented at the SPE-AIME Fourth Symposium
on Numerical Simulation of Reservoir Performance, held in Loa
Angeies, Feb. 19-20, 1976. @ Copyright 1976 American Institute
of Mining, Metallurgical, and Petroleum Engineers, Inc.
This paper will be inciud.d in the 1976 Transactions voiume.
DECEMBER. 1976
Reservoirs
MARATHON OIL CO.
L lTTLETON, COLO.
rates, low matrix permeability, and weak imbibition
may result in water fingering through the fractures
into the wellbore. Once fingering of water occurs,
the water-oil ratio may increase to a large value.
None of the published theoretical work on
multiphase flow in naturally fractured systems has
been applied directly to the simulation of a
reservoir as a whole. Usually, only a segment of
the reservoir was simulated, and the results were
extrapolated to the entire reservoir. To simuiate a
reservoir as a whole, we have developed a
mathematical formulation of the flow problem that
has been programmed as a three-dimensional,
compressible, water-oil reservoir simulator.
The simulator equations are two-phase flow
extensions of the single-phase flow equations
derived by Warren and Root. 1 The theory is based
on the assumption of double porosity at each point
in a manner that the fractures form a continuum
filled by the noncontinuous matrix blocks. In other
words, the fractures are the boundaries of the
matrix blocks.
The flow equations are solved by a finite-
difference method. A typical finite-difference grid
cell usually contains one or several matrix blocks.
In this case, all the matrix blocks within the
finite-difference grid cell have the same pressure
and saturation. Gravity segregation within individual
matrix blocks is not calculated, but the over-all
gravity segregation from one grid cell to another is
accounted for. In many practical problems, this
approximation is acceptable. In some situations, a
matrix block encloses several finite-difference
grid cells. In this case, the gravity segregation
within the matrix block is calculated,
To include heterogeneity, a redefinition of local
porosities and permeabilities provides a method for
simulating situations where part of the reservoir is
fractured and where part is not fractured.
The above description points to the complexity
of the situations that one encounters. Therefore,
the judicious choice of the number of finite-
difference gri 3 cel!s with respect to the number of
matrix blocks becomes a critical engineering
decis;m. Later sections will provide insight to
alleviate such decisions.
317
. . . ,. ..
REVIEW OF P .LATED LITERATURE
Numerous papers on single- and two-phase flow
in naturally fractured porous media (usually referred
to as two-porosity systems) have appeared in the
literature. In single-phase flow, Barenblatt ?t al. 2
laid a general foundation of flow behavior in such
two-porosity systems. Later, Warren and Root 1
developed a one-dimensional radial model for well
transient testing purposes. Kazemi3 extended
Warren and Roots model to a more complex
situation in two dimensions. Virtually all the work
in single-phase flow has b:e~ directed toward
transient testing applications. -
In two- base flow, the works of Birks7 and Mattax
!
and Kyte, although quite different in their approach,
gave practical ways of calculating oil recovery
from the matrix blocks. The methods represented
by these papers required only a slide rule. Birks
formulated the mechanics of oil displacement from
the matrix blocks (either by water or gas drive)
first by an idealized capillary model, and second
by a simple relative-permeability model. Mattax and
Kyte were concerned with imbibition oil recovery
from matrix blocks in water-drive reservoirs. They
developed an oil-recovery prediction technique
based on the semi empirical relation that t the time
required to recover a given fraction of oi 1 from a
matrix block is proportional to the square of the
distance between fractures. Recently, a very
specialized gas-oil, multicomponent (compositional)
numerical simulator was deveJoped by Yamamoto et
al. 9 This simulator accounts for the interphase
mass transfer between the oil and the gas in a
single matrix block and its adj scent fracture. It
further considers interporosity flow be~ween a given
matrix block and the surrounding fractures.
Other multiphase fracture flow work includes the
theoretical works of Barenblatt 10 and Braester. 1112
Barenblatt considers the reservoir as two overlap-
ping continua one being the matrix and the other
the fractures. He then formulates the immiscible
two-phase flow for each continuum using
conservation of mass principles; and flow between
the matrix blocks and the fractures is accounted
for by source functions. These source functions
are virtually Darcys law expressed over some
mean path between the matrix-block centers and
the adjacent fracture centers. !3raester uses a
formulation similar to Barenblatts except for the
source function. His source function is defined in
terms of the potential gradient in the fractures, the
capillary-pressure difference between the liquid in
the fractures and the matrix blocks, and the density
difference between liquid phases. Barenblatt does
not give any solution to his formulation, but Braester
offers a solution foi one-dimensional vertical
displacement in Ref. 11 and a similar solution for
one-dimensional horizontal displacement in Ref. 12.
Several papers
8,13-15 have been published on
the experimental work on flow in fractured media.
These papers have been concerned primarily with
imbibition aspects of the flow mechanism in the
matrix more than with the ~otal flow problem in the
fracture-matrix system. For instance, Mattax and
Kyte8 developed equations for scaling up imbibition
effects. Parsons and Chaney15 used these equations
in a study of imbibition effects in carbonate rocks.
lffly et al., 13 in addition to the experimental work,
used a one-dimensional, two-phase, semi-implicit
mathematical model to match the experimental oil
recoveries from the matrix blocks. Their model
treated the flov, in the fractures as a boundary
condition for the flow equations in the matrix
blocks. This approach is usually suitable for the
conceptual studies prevailing in the common
laboratory experiments. However, the method is not
rigorous enough for field applications where the
reservoir geometry is far more complex than the
laboratory cores. A similar mathematical model in
two dimensions was used by Kleppe and Morse 16
to match imbibition experiments.
FLOW EQUATIONS
Consider an elemental reservoir volume as shown
in Fig. 1. We assume the fractures form a continuum,
but the matrix blocks are noncontinuous; the frac-
tures are the boundaries of the matrix blocks. An
idealization of such a system, as was conceived
by Warren and Root: is shown in Fig. 2.
x
M$Mvoln
4
/
F&IN
FIG. 1SCHEMATIC OF AN ELEMENTAL RESERVOIR
VOLUME IN A NATURALLY FRACTURED RESERVOIR
r
ELEMENTAL
VOLUME AV
L
FRACTURE
M&x
1
FLOW OIRKTION, x
FIG. 2 IDEALIZATION OF FLOW AND ELEMENTAL
RESERVOIR VOLUMES CONTAINING MATRIX BLOCKS
IN A NATURALLY FRACTURED RESERVOIR,
318 SOCIETY OF PETROLEUM ENGINEERS JOURNAL
Assuming that Darcys law holds, a mass balance
on an elemental volume yields Eq. 1 for flow in the
fractures and Eq. 2 for flow in the matrix blocks:
Wapa(waf - & vDf)]
- [Tama(Sama) (Vaf - $&ma) ~
+ qa6( x-
S/ B)
Xo) = *% (@f af af
. . . . . . . . . . . . . *. . . . .
(1)
. . . . . . . . . . . . G G
(2)
where a = W, nw represent Wett@ and nonwettif%
For undersaturated oil and water, B m 1/p. Thus,
~ (@f Paf suf ) = ~ hf Saf / Baf )
at ! )
sapaf [Paf +f c$f
+ pa f@fca] *
aSaf
+ %f $f at
. . . . . . . . . . . (10)
Substitution of the above identity into Eq. 1 and
substitution of its matrix counterpart into Eq. 2
leads to the governing equations used in the
simulator:
+ Qm - +-) =
5. 6!46 (saf / B&)
phases, respectively.
A = 0. 0011271
af
Tama(Sama) = 0. 00
p dp
$a =
J
*
P.
s
+s
Wf nwf =
1,
. . . . . . . . .
k kar
1)
~f . (3)
()
k kar
1271
(4)
U~Ba mau .
~~a(s~m$aaf - area)=
5. 6; 46 {( ci ma B~)mac$,ma + macct)
. . . . . . . . . . (5)
where
s
+s
nwma =
1.
wma
. . . . . . . . . . (6)
Pnwf - Pw. f = pc#wf ) s
P
nwma
- Pwma = ~ma(swma) G . . 7)
For single-phase flow applications, Warren and
Root have derived the following equation for o: *
cr=4N(N +2)/L2, . . . . . . ...(8)
where N = number of normal sets of fractures: 1, 2,
or 3.
If matrix blocks have dimensions Lx, ~Y, and Lz,
then
[
Lx f or N = 1
L =) 2LxLy/ (Lx + Ly) f or N = 2
[
3LXLYLZ1(LXLY + LYLZ + q- x)
f or N=3
. . . . . . . . . . . ...* . . . . (9)
aa
P
aS
Uma + ma
~ma
at
} . . (12)
B at
a
af
= Paf -
paD/ l 44 and
@
=
ama
P
ama
- PaD/ 144 J . . . . (13)
Eqs. 11 and 12 are the final form of the flow
equations and are used in the finite-difference
simulator, as explained in Appendix A.
TEST OF THE SIMULATOR
Two degenerate forms of the simulator, which
had zero matrix permeability and porosity, were
tested against a single-phase simulator and a
two-phase waterflood simulator. The agreement was
quite satisfactory. In fact, the reader can recognize
a prronthat, in the above degenerate forms, the
equations and the method of solution are the same
as those published for standard reservoir simulators.
CONCEPTUAL EXAMPLES
To test the simulator, we made several conceptual .
runs with applications to a quadrant of a five-spot
*In finite-difference formulation, It can be shown that for a
full three-dimensional c a se,
Q=4
(
1
)
-1+-+~.
LX2 LY2 LZ2
DECEMBER.1976
319
FIG.
1.0
m -
Qb
Ot
/\
hmo I
..-
OD a? 0.4 06 08 ID
wATER 5ATURATION, S.
3 RELATIVE. PERMEABILITY FOR OIL AND
WATER IN A FRACTURED RESERVOIR.
WATER SATURATION, S-
FIG. 4CAPILLARY PRESSURE FOR A FRACTURED
RESERVOIR WITH IMBIBITION.
1
i
/
ffMclRt DmcK /
Wml oul I l mmum /
m mx,uim m.x
am 403 WJ mm ml
1M M,$
0
FIG. 5 COMPARISON OF WOR FOR FRACTURED
AND NONFRACTURED ROCK WITH AND WITHOUT
IMBIBITION IN A QUADRANT OF A FIVE-SPOT
PATTERN,
320
pattern, and a five-well reservoir having dip and
natural water influx. The relative permeabilities
and the capillary-pressure curves used are shown
in Figs. ? and 4, respectively. It should be noted
that the relative permeability to oil and water in
the fracture covers the full spectrum of saturations
from O to 1. The relative permeability in the matrix
is restricted to the mobile saturation range from
s = 0.25 to Sw = 0.70, The matrix capillary
p~essure is generally much greater than the fracture
capillary pressure. The capillary - pressure end-
points in both the fracture and the matrix are the
same, so the transition zones are identical in the
fracture and the matrix. This is necessary, otherwise
a static equilibrium for saturation and pressure
distribution is not possible.
QUADRANT OF A FIVE-SPOT MODEL
As shown in Fig. 4, the capillary pressure in the
fracture declines rapidly with increased water
saturation. This sets up a pressure differential
from the matrix to the fracture causing oil to flow
to the fracture and water to flow to the matrix. This
is the imbibition effect, but other forces such as
gravity and viscous forces are also simultaneously
effective.
Fig. 5 compares WOR for the fractured and the
unfractured rock, with and without imbibition, for a
quadrant of a five-spot system. Assumed reservoir
properties are reported in Table 1. In the unfractured
rock, water breakthrough occurred in the producing
well at about 400 days. The WOR then increased to
about 1.0 at 775 days and to 5.0 at 1,200 days. In
the fractured rock with imbibition, water break-
through occurred very early within about 30 days.
However, because of water imbibition into the
matrix and countercurrent flow of oil from the matrix
into the fracture, the WOR stayed relatively low,
reaching 1.0 in about 530 days. It is interesting to
note that the WOR reached about 5 at 1,200 days
nearly the same as in the unfractured system. In
fact, at this time, the curves crossed over and the
unfractured systems WOR increased at a faster
rate than the fractured rock with imbibition.
By setting the ca~illary effects to about zero and
TABLE 1 RESERVOIR PROPERTIES FOR THE
CONCEPTUAL FIVE-SPOT PATTERN
~i = 1.0 d
= 10,OOOmd
Reservoir grid: 8 x 8 x 1
~x=~y=?5ft, h=30ft
o = 0,08 ft-2 matrix block size: 10 x 10 x 30 ft
$Tf : :;
C@* = c&a = 3.0 X 10+ pSi-l
/lw = o.5q3
Po
= 2.0 Cp
pw = 0. 4444psl/ft = 84 1~/cu ft
PO
= 0.3611 psl/ft = S2 lbm/cu ft
/3w = 1.0 at p = O psl~ Bw = 0.9760 at p = 8,000 psia
60 = 1.0 at P = O pslix 80 = 0.9200 at p = 8,000 psia
Pi = 3,=39.89 PSI$3
qin
= -200 STB/D
flat
= 210 STB/D
SOCIETY OF PETROLEUM ENGINEERS JOURNAL
thus eliminating water imbibition, the WOR in the
fractured rock increased very rapidly reaching a
value of 5.0 in about 150 days. In effect, water is
channeling through the fractures from the injection
to the producing well without much oil recovery
from the matrix.
Fig. 6 depicts the saturation distribution with
time, along the diagonal of the above quadrant of
the five-spot pattern for both the matrix arid the
fracture components of the fractured reservoir with
imbibition. Notice that by about 1,200 days, the
water saturation in the matrix in the injection-well
node is close to 59 percent and the water saturation
in the fracture is nearly 97 percent. An observation
of the time data indicates that imbibition has nearly
spent itself. At the producing-well node, imbibition
is still active because of the lower water saturation.
It should be noted that, if reservoir parameters
different from those in Table 1 and Figs. 3 and 4
FIG. 6 Saturation DISTRIBUTION ALONG A
DIAGONAL OF A QUADRANT OF A FIVE-SPOT PAT-
TERN FOR MATRIX AND FRACTURE COMPONENTS
OF THE RESERVOIR,
,
~::
+4
FIG. 7A RESERVOIR-MODEL NODE ARRANGEMENT
AND A SINGLE CELL CONTAINING A FRACTURE,
TABLE 2 RESERVOIR PROPERTIES FOR THE
CONCEPTUAL FIVE-WELL FRACTURED RESERVOIR MODEL
~. = I.omd
kf = 21,000md
k+: ::;
.
u = 0.0006 ft+matrix block size: 100 x 100 x 90 ft
ReServolr grid: 13 x 6 x 1
Ax= Ay=wft, h=wft
C$; : :~; . 3 . 0 x ,0-6 ~s,.l
/J . = 2:0 sp
~ = 0.4385 psi/ft = 63.14 lbm/cu ft
= 0;3811 pel/ft = 52.00 1~/cu ft
Bw = 1.0 at p = 0 psl~ 8W = 0.9760 at p = 8,000 psla
80 = 1,0 at p = O psi= 80 = 0.9200 at p = 8,000 psla
pi = 3,963.75 Psla
were assumed, recoveries and WORs substantially
different from the result reported above would have
been obtained.
FIVEWELL FRACTURED RESERVOIR MODEL
Fig, 7 shows the node arrangements for a
conceptual, five-well fractured reservoir. The
reservoir properties are shown in Table 2. The
model has 13 nodes in the x direction, 5 nodes in
the y direction, and 1 node in the z direction. The
reservoir nodes are 500 ft on each side and the
reservoir thickness is 90 ft. The wells are arranged
along a center line in the x direction, and the
reservoir is tilted in the x direction at an angle of
50. A constant influx of 2,800 STB/D of water was
assigned along the lowest part of the reservoir from
Cell (1,1,1) to Cell (1,5,1).
Each reservoir node is further divided into 25
matrix blocks 100 ft on each side in the x and y
directions. The matrix cells are 90 ft thick. Thus,
there are 1,625 matrix blocks in the reservoir.
Wells 1, 3, and 5 were produced at a rate of 1,000
STB/D. When Well 1 went to a high WOR, it was
shut in and Well 4 was opened at the same rate.
Well 2 was never produced because of its high
water saturation. The WOR for each well is shown
in Fig. 8.
Fig. 9 illustrates the saturation distribution
along the central axis of the reservoir in the x
direction for both the matrix and the fracture.
I llw , !
n- , . m!
FIG. 8 WOR IN PRODUCING WELLS UPDIP FROM
WATER-INFLUX POINT IN THE FIVEWELL FRAC-
TURED RESERVOIR
321
Notice that because of the size of the matrix
blocks, the saturation in the matrix has not changed
significantly.
SIMULATOR CAPABILITY
The following is a Iist of the simulator capa-
bilities.
1. It can handle single-phase flow of oil or water
and two-phase flow of oil and water.
2. It can handle uniformly and nonuniformly
distributed fractures and/or no fractures at all. In
the latter application, suppose we wish to have no
fractures in one-half of a field and fractures and
matrix in the remaining half. In the first half we
set the matrix properties equal to zero. Then we
make the properties of the fracture the same as
what we originally wanted the matrix to be. In the
second half we assign proper properties to the
fracture and the matrix. Similar approaches were
used to simulate fracture trends: along such a trend
we used a double porosity consisting of the fracture
and the matrix components. In the remaining portion
of the field we used fractures having the propertic c
of matrix and then we set matrix properties equal
to zero.
3. The simulator accounts for imbibition, but it
also considers gravity, relative mobility, and
variation in reservoir properties.
4. The simulator also can be used as either a
single- or a two-phase simulator for transient
testing of fractured reservoirs.
CONCLUSIONS
1. A three-dimensional, numerical simulator ior
for simulating single- or two-phase flow of water
and oil is developed for fractured reservoirs.
2. The simulator accounts for relative fluid
nobilities, gravity force, imbibition, and variation
in reservoir properties.
3, The simulator can handle uniformly and
nonuniformly distributed fractures and no fractures
at all.
t o
i
Dmtmc e A1241$ Th Array of Prodwmg Walls, f2
FIG. 9 SATURATION DISTRIBUTION ALONG THE
CENTRAL AXIS OF THE FIVEWELL FRACTURED
RESERVOIR.
3JJ
4. The simulator can be used to simulate the
water-oil displacement process and in the transient
testing of fractured reservoirs.
NOMENCLATURE
B = formation volume factor, RB/STB
c = compressibility, psi-l
D=
k=
k, =
L=
Lx =
LY =
L= .
N=
p=
P= =
P=, =
P
cma =
q.
s, =
s
ma =
t=
T
ama 4
Vp=
x.
y=
z=
x.
X. =
a.
a(x--xo).
Att$ .
AtS =
Au, =
p=
~=
u=
+f =
$ma =
depth measured from datum plane (posi -
tive downward), ft
absolute permeability, md
relative permeability
characteristic dimension of the matrix
block, ft
matrix-block length, ft
matrix-block width, ft
matrix-block height, ft
number of normal sets of fractures: 1, 2,
or 3
pressure., psi
capillary pressure, psi
fracture capillary pressure, psi
matrix capillary pressure, psi
flow rate, STB/D; injection is positive,
production negative
phase saturation in fracture, fraction
phase saturation in matrix, fraction
time, days
matrix transmissivity coefficient for
phase a, md/cp/sq ft (R B/STB)
pore volume, bbl
x coordinate (horizontal), ft
y coordinate (horizontal), ft
z coordinate (vertical), ft
(x, Y, Z) = coordinates of a point
(~, yo, Zo) = coordinates of the production
or injection wells
index: (w, nw); w is wetting phase and nw
is nonwetting phase
Dirac-delta function = 1 for X = Xo, O
otherwise
incremental potential change from n to
n+l, psi
incremental saturation change from n to
n+l
mobility coefficient of phase a in the
fracture (a function of phase satura-
tion), md/cp/(IU3/STB)
viscosity, cp
phase density, lbm/cu ft
shape factor reflecting the geometry of
the matrix elements; it controls the
flow between the matrix and the frac-
ture, ft-2
fracture porosity, fraction of the bulk
rock volume
matrix porosity, fraction of the bulk rock
volume
SOCIETY OF PETROLEUM ENGINEERS JOURNAL
,
@ = potential, psi, Eq. 13
~ = defined by Eq. 5, psi/(ibm/cu ft)
SUBSCRIPTS
c = capillary
/ = fracture
i= x-direction node index
j = y-direction node index
k = z-direction node index
rna = matrix
nw = nonwetting phase
nw/ = nonwetting phase in fracture
nwrna = nonwetting phase in matrix
o = designates source of sink as in X.
o~ = oil in fracture, Fig. 3
orrza = oil in matrix, Fig. 3
w = wetting phase
wf . watei in fracture
wma . water in matrix
x = in x direction
y = in y direction
z = in z direction
q5 = porosity
SUPERSCRIPTS
1 = iteration-number index
n = old time level
r2+ 1 = current time level
= derivative with respect to S
OPERAIORS
V. = divergence of a vector
V = gradient of a scalar function
Ax = central difference in x direction
AY = central difference in y direction
Az = central difference in z direction
At = backward difference in time
ACKNOWLEDGMENT T
We thank the management of Marathcn Oil Co. for
permission to publish this paper.
REFERENCES
1, Warren, J. IL and Root, P. J.: he Behavior of
Naturally Fractured Reservoirs, SOC. Pet. Eng. J,
(Sept. 1963) 245-25S; Trans., AIME, Vol. 228.
2. Barenblatt, G. L, Zheltov, Iu. P., and Kochina, I. N.:
Basic Concepts in the Theory of Seepage of
3,
4.
5,
6,
7,
8,
9.
10.
11.
12
130
14.
15.
16.
17.
Homogeneous Liquids in Fissured Rocks, PM&t
( 1960) Vol. 24, No, 5.
Kazemi, H.: Pressure Transient Analysis of
Naturally Fractured Reservoirs With Uniform Fracture
Distribution, Sot. Pet. Eng. j. (Dec. 1969) 451-462;
~Wt l St , AIME, vol. 246.
Odeh, A. S.:
t~Unsteady.State Behavior of Naturally
Fractured Reservoirs,~ Sot. Pet. Erzg. J. (March
1965) 60-66; Trans., AIME, Vol. 234,
Kszemi, H., Seth, M. S., and Thomaa, G, W,: The
Interpretation of Interference Tests in Naturally
Fractured Reservoirs With Uniform Fracture Distri.
bution, Sot. Pet. Ens J. (Dec. 1969) 463-472;
Trans., AIME, Vol. 246,
Chiang, C. P. and Kennedy, W. A.: Numerical
Simulation of Pressure Behavior in a Fractured
Reservoir, tt paper SPE 3067 presented at the SPE.
AIME 45th Annual Fall Meeting, Houston, Oct. 4-7,
1970.
Birks, J,:
~tA Theoretical Investigation Into the
Recovery of Oil From Fissured Limestone Formations
by Water-Drive a~d Gas Cap Drive,) Proc,, Fourth
World Pet. Cong., Rome ( 1955) Sec. H/F, 425-440,
Mattax, C. C, and Kyte, J. R,: Imbibition Oil
Recovery From Fractured, Water-Drive Reservoir,~
Sot. Pet. Eng. J. (June 1962) 177-18* Traias,, AIME,
Vol. 225,
Yamamoto, R. H., Padgett, J. D,, Ford, W. T., and
Boubeguira, A.:
~/Compositional Reservoir Simulator
for Fissured Systems The Single-Block Model,
Sot, Pet. Eng. ~. (June 1971) 113-128.
Barenblatt, G. I.: On the Motion of a Gas-Liquid
Mixture in Porous Fissured Media, l ZV. Akad. Nau.k
SSSR, Mekb, Macbionst. ( 1964) No. 3, 47-50.
Braester, C.: 84AShock Wave in Immiscible Di splac-
ment in a Fissured Porous Medium, Israel J, Tech,
(197 1) Vol. 9, No, 5, 433-438.
Braester, C.:
~~simultaneous Flow of Immiscible
Liquids Through Porous Media, Sot. Pet. Erzg. ./.
(Aus, 1972) 297-305.
Iffly, R., Rousselet, D. C., and Verrneulen, J. L.:
({Fundamental Study of Imbibition in Fissured Oil
Fields, paper SPE 4102 presented at the SPE.AIME
47th Annual Fall Meeting, San Antonio, Tex., Oct.
8-11, 1972.
Mannon, R. W. and Chilingar, G. V.: Experiments
on Effect of Water Injection Rate on Imbibition Rate
in Fractured Reservoirs, paper SPE 4101 presented
at the SPE-AIME 47th Annual Fall Meeting, San
Antonio, Tex., Oct. 8-11, 1972,
Parsons, R. W. and Chancy, P. R.: {Imbibition Model
Studies on Water-Wet Cart mate Rock s, Sot. Pet,
Eng. J. (March 1966) 26-3% Trans., AIME, Vol. 237.
Klep~ e, J. and Morse, R. A.: Oil Production From
Fractured Reservoirs by Water Displacement, paper
SPE 50S4 presented at the SPE-AIME 49th Annual
Fall Meeting, Houston, Oct. 6-9, 1974.
Nolen, J. S. and Berry, D. W.: Tests of the Stability
and Time-Step Sensitivity of Semi-ImpI icit Reservoir
Simulation Techniques, Sot. Pet. Errg. J. (June
1972) 253-266 Trans., AIME, Vol. 2S3.
APPENDIX
NUMERICAL METHODS
SEMI-IMPLICIT FINITEDIFFERENCE EXPANSION
We used a semi-implicit, finite-difference expansion for Eqs. 11 and 12 as has been explained in detail
elsewhere: 17
DI?CEMSZR, 1976 323
I
~- l
Q
+
+
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
s
&
+
w
-
w
0- %
Q*
-b+
I
2!
+
n
+
I-J
x
Q+!
x
c-
X
Q%
-b~
+
.
.
.
u
+
G
x
-1
E-
D
d
w
Q
-h
D
x
: *3
+
.
G
G
u
d
-
-P
.
II
o
.
Q%
N
Q%
x
II II II
0
.
0
0
. .
0
L
o
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
II
+
+
u
.
It
+
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
:
L
w
. .
[AxT:xAx(At@af) +
. . . ] + [Ax(T;xAtSaf)AxO~f + . ..1
- (AXAYAZ)(T& + TJmaAtSm.J [(At& - At13~wj)+ (@~f - @~m) ]
+ (q: + q:Atswf) = } + [ Saf ( c$f
+Ca) At Oaf +At saf ] - [AxT~xAXQ~f + . ..].
a
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .* *... . . . . . . G *
(A-4)
Eq. A-2 also can be writtenas
(T~ma+T;maAtSma) [( AtOaf -AtOama) +(onf - o~ma)]
a
@m
= Kik16 i&iE Sama( C$ma
+ Ca)A~@ama + A~Sama]. . . . . . . . . . . G . (A-s)
Eqs. A-4arid A-5 must be solved to obtain At@aP
t@~ma
AtSaf , and AtS@ma f or a= w, nw.
METHODSOF SOLUTION
Method 1. The block Gauss-Seidel method was used to obtain solutions. The blocked matrix is of order 2.
Eqs. A-4 and A-5 form four equations in eight unknowns-At Qaf, At@ama, At Sat, and At Sama. The following
substitutions reduce the number of unknowns to four:
s
nwf =
1 - Swf
or At snwf =- At swf
s
=
1- Swa or Atsnma = - AtSma
nwma
+ (p: ;
- ~f ) - & (Atpnw-
AtPw) ~ A# wf + p; f AJ w. f
t@nwf = twf
+ (P: : : -
~ma)- & (Atpnw- tpw) ~ t@wma + ~maAtswma
t@nwma = t %ma
After substitution and some approximation, we get
(g+l) +
[AxT~xAxAt@wf
. ..] + [AX(T~xAtSWf)AX@~f + . ..]
- (AXAYAZ)(T&a) [At@~~ )
($)
- t%ma + I f - ha
1
- (AxAYAz)(T&aAtS~J) (~~f - a~aj + (q: + q; AtSwf )
g+l ] - [AxT~xAx@~f+ ...]G + . . .(A-6) ~ L [S:f(cof
= At Bw
+ Cw) At @wf
( +1) + AtSwf
DECEMBER, 1976 323
(2+1) + p&Atswf ) +
G G u1 + [A{: wxAtswf )AxQ: wf + -
1
[AxT; wxAx(Atowf
k) ) ( ~~wf - ~wma; + q~W
- (AxAYAz)(T nmaAtswa + q;wAtswf)
,=
~+ [(1
S: f )(c$f c )(At@: ; ; l ) +P AS(R+l )) - @+ l )]
nw
nw
Cf t Wf t Wf
- rAxT; wxAx $ ; wf + G**I
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ,,
(A-7)
(2+1 )
T&a[At@wf
Q+)) + (@;f - I &a)] = -T;AtS&)(@;f - Q&a)
- fwma
0
+ 5.6]46 13~t Sha(c$rmi
+ cw)At@j #) + AtS~l )] . . . . . . . . . . (A- r3)
~ma(At#l )
~+1) + p;fAtS:+l) -p:maAts&l ) + Q;wf - @n )
Tn
- t%ana nwma
x [(1 - s~a
)(coma+c )(AtO#)+P A S(2+1) - A S(L+l ))]
W cma t wma twma .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ,.. ..O (A-9)
Eqs. A-6 through A-9 are in the form A~ = $, where ? is ~ column vector with components At@$~l),
At ~$1), At@$~~J, and t ~S$zJ~). A is the coefficient matrix, b is a constant vector, and 2 is the iteration
number.
To obtain a solution, e solve Eqs. A-6 and A-7 for At@$l)
Then, At@$fl) and At S$$l) are substituted in Eqs. A-8 and i
and AtS$$l), using At@# and Ats#Ja.
.$J to obtain At@~l~~) and At&~). ~~e itera.
tions are carried out for 1 = 0, I, 2, . . . , until convergence is reached within a specified pressure and
saturation tolerance.
Method 2. Eqs. A-6 through A-9 can be solved simultaneously for AtQUk AtSW;, ~~wma, -d AJ ma by
Gaussian elimination. This method requires more storage and takes several times more computing time than
Method 1. Method 2, however, should be useful when taking larger time steps.
Method 3. When the number of nodes is more than 1,000, an iterative scheme such as point SOR, ADIP, or
SIP should be used.
Method 4, Method 1 can be extended to become a block SOR by adding a proper acceleration factor. We
anticipate use of much larger time steps with Method 4 at very little cost.
*+*