Production Enhancement of Naturally Fractured Reservoirs

K. Bennaceur

The most effective techniques for increasing the production of fissured reservoirs consist of hydraulic fracturing of the formation. A model developed to simulate the behavior of a naturally fractured reservoir intercepted by a vertical fracture of finite or infinite conductivity is based on a numerical discretization of the formation, which is represented by a double porosity model. Both pseudostate-state and transient interporosity solutions are considered. The limiting cases for the problem correspond to: the nonstimulated reservoir for which solutions have been published; the homogeneous reservoir, with classical infinite and finite conductivity solutions; and the infinite conductivity fracture for which uniform flux solutions have been published.

Because most of the naturally fractured reservoirs exhibit a degree of anisotropy, the orientation of the hydraulic fracture with respect to the fissure planes, and the ratio between the directional permeabilities have an effect on pressure drawdown and ultimately on cumulative production. During the drawdown, closure of the fissures is induced by the increase in effective stresses.

AAPG Search and Discovery Article #91030©1988 AAPG Annual Convention, Houston, Texas, 20-23 March 1988.