Streamline modeling of fluid transport in naturally fractured porous medium

Abstract

To better understand the roles natural fractures play in porous media, an embedded discrete fracture model and streamline modeling method were combined to model natural fractures and compute the flow trajectory and time of fluid in matrix and fractures systems. The effects of fracture conductivity, number of fractures and fracture locations on fluid flow trajectory and time were examined through analyzing the differences in water breakthrough time and sweeping volume of reservoirs with different fracture networks. When other conditions are the same, compared with homogeneous reservoir without fractures, the fractured reservoir has water breakthrough time 30% sooner and swept volume 10% smaller. Although increase of single fracture can lead to faster water breakthrough and smaller swept volume, adding more fractures wouldn't necessarily reach the same effect. The effect of water flooding is also related to the strike and position of fractures. Fractures in different strikes and positions can result in 20% discrepancy in water breakthrough time and 9% gap in swept volume. The shorter the fracture, the less its effect on fluid flow trajectory and time will be. The position of fracture has a strong influence on sweeping efficiency, and the change of one fracture position could bring about 1% variation in swept volume. Key words: multiphase flow, water flooding, embedded discrete fracture model, streamline simulation, natural fracture