Open Access

ARTICLE

Simulation of the Pressure-Sensitive Seepage Fracture Network in Oil Reservoirs with Multi-Group Fractures

by Yueli Feng^1,2, Yuetian Liu^1,2,*, Jian Chen^1,2, Xiaolong Mao^1,2

1 State Key Laboratory of Petroleum Resources and Prospecting, China University of Petroleum (Beijing), Beijing, 102249, China
2 College of Petroleum Engineering, China University of Petroleum (Beijing), Beijing, 102249, China

* Corresponding Author: Yuetian Liu. Email:

Fluid Dynamics & Materials Processing 2022, 18(2), 395-415. https://doi.org/10.32604/fdmp.2022.018141

Received 01 July 2021; Accepted 03 October 2021; Issue published 16 December 2021

Abstract

Stress sensitivity is a very important index to understand the seepage characteristics of a reservoir. In this study, dedicated experiments and theoretical arguments based on the visualization of porous media are used to assess the effects of the fracture angle, spacing, and relevant elastic parameters on the principal value of the permeability tensor. The fracture apertures at different angles show different change rates, which influence the relative permeability for different sets of fractures. Furthermore, under the same pressure condition, the fractures with different angles show different degrees of deformation so that the principal value direction of permeability rotates. This phenomenon leads to a variation in the water seepage direction in typical water-injection applications, thereby hindering the expected exploitation effect of the original well network. Overall, the research findings in this paper can be used as guidance to improve the effectiveness of water injection exploitation in the oil field industry.

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Keywords

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