Stress-Dependent Permeability of Fractures in Tight Reservoirs

Nai Cao, Gang Lei, Pingchuan Dong, Hong Li, Zisen Wu and Yudan Li
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Nai Cao: College of Petroleum Engineering, China University of Petroleum Beijing, Beijing 102249, China
Gang Lei: College Petroleum of Engineering & Geoscience, King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals, Dhahran 31261, Saudi Arabia
Pingchuan Dong: College of Petroleum Engineering, China University of Petroleum Beijing, Beijing 102249, China
Hong Li: College of Petroleum Engineering, China University of Petroleum Beijing, Beijing 102249, China
Zisen Wu: College of Petroleum Engineering, China University of Petroleum Beijing, Beijing 102249, China
Yudan Li: College of Petroleum Engineering, China University of Petroleum Beijing, Beijing 102249, China

Energies, 2018, vol. 12, issue 1, 1-16

Abstract: Permeability is one of the key factors involved in the optimization of oil and gas production in fractured porous media. Understanding the loss in permeability influenced by the fracture system due to the increasing effective stress aids to improve recovery in tight reservoirs. Specifically, the impacts on permeability loss caused by different fracture parameters are not yet clearly understood. The principal aim of this paper is to develop a reasonable and meaningful quantitative model that manifests the controls on the permeability of fracture systems with different extents of fracture penetration. The stress-dependent permeability of a fracture system was studied through physical tests and numerical simulation with the finite element method (FEM). In addition, to extend capability beyond the existing model, a theoretical stress-dependent permeability model is proposed with fracture penetration extent as an influencing factor. The results presented include (1) a friendly agreement between the predicted permeability reduction under different stress conditions and the practical experimental data; (2) rock permeability of cores with fractures first reduces dramatically due to the closure of the fractures, then the permeability decreases gradually with the increase in effective stress; and (3) fracture penetration extent is one of the main factors in permeability stress sensitivity. The sensitivity is more influenced by fracture systems with a larger fracture penetration extent, whereas matrix compaction is the leading influencing factor in permeability stress sensitivity for fracture systems with smaller fracture penetration extents.

Keywords: fractured tight reservoir; stress-dependent permeability; fracture penetration extent; theoretical model (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018
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