Print this pageApplication of 
Fractured
Reservoir Simulation Concepts-Teapot
Dome
Around the oil patch there has been much grumbling about the
complications, inefficiencies and disappointments that seem to multiply in
fractured reservoirs. Oil fields start out fine, but “fall apart” as they
exhibit their fractured nature.
An overview of the evolving methods applied to fractured reservoir
characterization is presented to set the stage for three topics; 1) Flow
characterization concepts formed during a six-year DOE-funded effort to develop
and apply new fractured reservoir characterization tools, 2) Current simulation
approaches for fractured reservoirs, and 3) Example applications at the Teapot
Dome Field, Wyoming.
The concepts applied to Teapot Dome Field will be visually emphasized using
outcrop photos, physical fracture models, simulated fracture networks, and
fluid flow models. Improved assessment of the relative degree of reservoir
fracturing improves reservoir modeling and justifies data collection for
improved simulation constraint.
Fractured reservoir modeling is improved by a parallel effort in reservoir
storage and reservoir flow characterization (beyond classification by
permeability and porosity levels). Flow characterization recognizes the
hierarchy of flow across scales; reservoir, area, pattern, well, and
completion. Assessment of reservoir oil mobility and our ability to impact it
is improving as the range is expanded for scale-dependant relative
permeability, capillary number, and matrix to fracture fluid transfer.
A fractured reservoir
is broken, but it may still perform in a predictable
and profitable manner.