--> Abstract: A Methodology for Incorporating Geomechanically Constrained Fault Damage Zones Into Reservoir Simulation, by Pijush K. Paul, Mark D. Zoback, and Peter Hennings; #90078 (2008)
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A Methodology for Incorporating Geomechanically Constrained Fault Damage Zones Into Reservoir Simulation

Pijush K. Paul1, Mark D. Zoback1, and Peter Hennings2
1Geophysics, Stanford University, Stanford, CA
2Subsurface Technology, ConocoPhillips Ltd, Houston, TX

Secondary fractures and faults associated with reservoir scale faults affect both permeability and permeability Previous HitanisotropyNext Hit and hence may play an important role in controlling production from a faulted reservoir. It is well known from geologic studies that there is a concentration of secondary fractures and faults in a damage zone adjacent to larger-scale faults. Because there is usually inadequate data to incorporate permeability Previous HitanisotropyNext Hit due to these damage zone fractures and faults into reservoir flow models, in this study we utilize the principles of dynamic rupture propagation from earthquake seismology to predict the nature of fractured/damage zones associated with reservoir scale faults. We discuss the concepts of dynamic rupture propagation and propose a workflow to model damage zones on actual reservoir scale faults. The model we propose calculates the extent of the damage zone along the fault plane by estimating the stress perturbation associated with dynamic rupture propagation. To verify this technique, we compare our modeling results of damage zone width with field observations from the Nojima Fault where the damage zone was revealed by core samples from boreholes drilled through the fault. We found the methodology gives a good first-order approximation of the damage zone width. Fluid simulation studies at reservoir scale show that the fractures associated with the damage zone affects the permeability distribution in both horizontal and vertical directions and defines the permeability Previous HitanisotropyNext Hit of the reservoir. We propose a methodology to implement this Previous HitanisotropyTop in reservoir simulation models and demonstrate that reservoir simulations with damage zones show a significant improvement in history matching and should better predict the production behavior of the field.

 

AAPG Search and Discover Article #90078©2008 AAPG Annual Convention, San Antonio, Texas