Simulation Studies to Evaluate the Effect of Fracture Closure on the Performance of Fractured Reservoirs; Final Report PDF Download

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Book Description
A three-year research program to evaluate the effect of fracture closure on the recovery of oil and gas from naturally fractured reservoirs has been completed. The overall objectives of the study were to: (1) evaluate the reservoir conditions for which fracture closure is significant, and (2) evaluate innovative fluid injection techniques capable of maintaining pressure within the reservoir. The evaluations of reservoir performance were made by a modern dual porosity simulator, TETRAD. This simulator treats both porosity and permeability as functions of pore pressure. The Austin Chalk in the Pearsall Field in of South Texas was selected as the prototype fractured reservoir for this work. During the first year, simulations of vertical and horizontal well performance were made assuming that fracture permeability was insensitive to pressure change. Sensitivity runs indicated that the simulator was predicting the effects of critical reservoir parameters in a logical and consistent manner. The results confirmed that horizontal wells could increase both rate of oil recovery and total oil recovery from naturally fractured reservoirs. In the second year, the performance of the same vertical and horizontal wells was reevaluated with fracture permeability treated as a function of reservoir pressure. To investigate sensitivity to in situ stress, differing loading conditions were assumed. Simulated natural depletions confirm that pressure sensitive fractures degrade well performance. The severity of degradation worsens when the initial reservoir pressure approaches the average stress condition of the reservoir, such as occurs in over pressured reservoirs. Simulations with water injection indicate that degradation of permeability can be counteracted when reservoir pressure is maintained and oil recovery can be increased when reservoir properties are favorable.