TY - JOUR

T1 - Fracture capillary pressure based on the liquid bridge dynamic stability study

AU - Miri, R.

AU - Shadizadeh, S. R.

AU - Kharrat, Riyaz

N1 - Funding Information: The authors gratefully acknowledge the research grant received through the IOOC (Iranian Offshore Oil Company). Publisher Copyright: © Copyright Taylor & Francis.

PY - 2014/11/11

Y1 - 2014/11/11

N2 - Performance study of gas oil gravity drainage in stacks of overwhelmed blocks in a gas-invaded zone of naturally fractured reservoirs presents difficult challenges to petroleum engineers. It is believed that there exists some degree of block-to-block interaction that may lead to capillary continuity in fractured reservoirs. Effect of such continuity in gravity drainage is much more pronounced as it increases the height of the continuous fluid column in a reservoir and thereby the recovery of oil as height is a key parameter in gravity drainage mechanisms. It has been experimentally proven that liquid or solid bridges in horizontal fracture can contribute to wetting phase transfer across the horizontal fracture, but there is no mathematical model that predicts the probability of such continuity. In this article, a mathematical model developed by using 1-D Navier-Stock for the free surface flow equation and Young-Laplace of capillary for breakage of the stable liquid bridge held between two pairs of support while stretching. The model gives critical length of fracture aperture, which surely provides capillary continuity. Moreover, the developed model shows flow dependency of fracture capillary pressure and predicts a nonzero value for this parameter, while in the past many researchers used zero fracture capillary pressure for history matching of fractured reservoirs.

AB - Performance study of gas oil gravity drainage in stacks of overwhelmed blocks in a gas-invaded zone of naturally fractured reservoirs presents difficult challenges to petroleum engineers. It is believed that there exists some degree of block-to-block interaction that may lead to capillary continuity in fractured reservoirs. Effect of such continuity in gravity drainage is much more pronounced as it increases the height of the continuous fluid column in a reservoir and thereby the recovery of oil as height is a key parameter in gravity drainage mechanisms. It has been experimentally proven that liquid or solid bridges in horizontal fracture can contribute to wetting phase transfer across the horizontal fracture, but there is no mathematical model that predicts the probability of such continuity. In this article, a mathematical model developed by using 1-D Navier-Stock for the free surface flow equation and Young-Laplace of capillary for breakage of the stable liquid bridge held between two pairs of support while stretching. The model gives critical length of fracture aperture, which surely provides capillary continuity. Moreover, the developed model shows flow dependency of fracture capillary pressure and predicts a nonzero value for this parameter, while in the past many researchers used zero fracture capillary pressure for history matching of fractured reservoirs.

KW - capillary continuity

KW - fractured reservoirs

KW - gravity drainage

KW - liquid bridge

KW - simulation

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84941641601&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1080/15567036.2010.503226

DO - 10.1080/15567036.2010.503226

M3 - Article

AN - SCOPUS:84941641601

VL - 36.2014

SP - 2536

EP - 2545

JO - Energy Sources, Part A: Recovery, Utilization and Environmental Effects

JF - Energy Sources, Part A: Recovery, Utilization and Environmental Effects

SN - 1556-7036

IS - 23

ER -