Fractured Reservoir Discrete Feature Network Technologies

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Effective drainage of the mobilized oil in the matrix into the fractures is an important component of the TAGS process. Efficiently producing the matrix via fractures requires knowledge of how well the fracture system accesses the matrix, and also how much of the fracture system is connected to injection and production wells. In this task, algorithms will be developed to automatically computer matrix block shapes, and to quantify matrix block volumes for fractured reservoirs, consistent with Yates field data.

Task 1.3.1: Improved Matrix Block Size Analysis

Matrix production efficiency in a fractured rock is strongly influenced by matrix block shape and size. In codes such as THERM-DK or ECLIPSE, matrix block sizes within a grid cell are specified in terms of a “sigma” factor that is a function of the average X-, Y- and Z-dimensions of fracture-bounded matrix blocks within the cell. In this task, an algorithm will be developed to automatically compute matrix block shapes within any specified grid cell, and to produce output consistent with THERM-DK and ECLIPSE.

Task 1.3.2: Drainage Volume Analysis

Computing the tributary drainage volume (or injection access volume) requires knowledge of both the block sizes as computed in Task 1.3.1 and the connectivity of the fracture network. In this task, we will evaluate and develop graph-theory based methods for estimating the connectivity of the network and a series of injection and production wells emplaced in a discrete fracture model. From this analysis, we will be able to calculate which matrix blocks are actually accessed by the wells, and which ones are not, leading to an improved effective sigma factor for THERM-DK or ECLIPSE.