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Dual-Porosity/Dual-Permeability Modeling of a Fractured Carbonate Reservoir

 

Meurer, M. Ellen1, Ping Li1, Lester Landis1, Michele Thomas1, Susan Stark2 (1) ExxonMobil Upstream Research Company, Houston, TX (2) Imperial Oil Resources, Calgary, AB

 

As the world’s fractured reservoir assets become increasingly important, new approach­es must be developed in fractured reservoir modeling and simulation to maximize produc­tivity, improve economic forecasts, and inform business judgements. To address this need, we developed and validated a fractured reservoir modeling and simulation workflow, that integrates fracture characterization, geologic modeling, and fractured reservoir simulation technologies. The workflow includes 1) using a common-scale framework for geologic and simulation models, 2) simulating fine-scale element models to compute effective matrix per­meabilities, 3) analyzing fracture data obtained from core, FMI logs, and outcrop, and 4) integrating analysis of field performance, structure, stratigraphic facies, and regional geolo­gy. Directional equivalent fracture permeabilities, porosity, and matrix block dimensions were estimated using a 3D geologic model-based discrete fracture network (DFN) model. Dual-porosity/dual-permeability reservoir simulation models were built using similar grid geometry and discretization scale, the new effective matrix properties, and the DFN-gener-ated fracture properties. Simulation results were compared with a long history of multiphase production, with the new model showing a better history match than the previous single­medium model. We conclude that for our test case, a dual-porosity/dual-permeability model more accurately captures the impact of fractures on fluid flow than does a single-medium model; and our study demonstrates an effective and efficient dual-porosity/dual-permeabil-ity fractured reservoir modeling and simulation strategy.