Naturally fractured reservoir characterization: Advanced workflows for discrete fracture network modeling

Natural fractures in subsurface rocks are a source of heterogeneity that impacts flow and transport behaviour. The presence of fracture discontinuities needs to be modelled explicitly due to observed deviations from the continuum assumption of porous media. The departures are due to both individual properties (such as aperture, infill, and...

Investigating spatial heterogeneity within fracture networks using hierarchical clustering and graph distance metrics

Rock fractures organize as networks, exhibiting natural variation in their spatial arrangements. Therefore, identifying, quantifying, and comparing variations in spatial arrangements within network geometries are of interest when explicit fracture representations or discrete fracture network models are chosen to capture the influence of...

Large-scale natural fracture network patterns: Insights from automated mapping in the Lilstock (Bristol Channel) limestone outcrops

The Lilstock outcrop in the southern Bristol Channel provides exceptional exposures of several limestone beds displaying stratabound fracture networks, providing the opportunity to create a very large, complete, and ground-truthed fracture model. Here we present the result of automated fracture extraction of high-resolution photogrammetric...

Mapping the fracture network in the Lilstock pavement, Bristol Channel, UK: Manual versus automatic

The 100 000 m 2 wave-cut pavement in the Bristol Channel near Lilstock, UK, is a world-class outcrop, perfectly exposing a very large fracture network in several thin limestone layers. We present an analysis based on manual interpretation of fracture generations in selected domains and compare it with automated fracture tracing. Our dataset...

Linking natural fractures to karst cave development: A case study combining drone imagery, a natural cave network and numerical modelling

In carbonate rocks, channelized fluid flow through fracture conduits can result in the development of large and connected karst networks. These cavity systems have been found in multiple hydrocarbon and geothermal reservoirs, and are often associated with high-permeability zones, but also pose significant challenges in drilling and reservoir...

An automated fracture trace detection technique using the complex shearlet transform

Representing fractures explicitly using a discrete fracture network (DFN) approach is often necessary to model the complex physics that govern thermo-hydro-mechanical-chemical processes (THMC) in porous media. DFNs find applications in modelling geothermal heat recovery, hydrocarbon exploitation, and groundwater flow. It is advantageous to...

A new methodology to train fracture network simulation using Multiple Point Statistics.

Natural fracture network characteristics can be establishes from high-resolution outcrop images acquired from drone and photogrammetry. Such images might also be good analogues of subsurface naturally fractured reservoirs and can be used to make predictions of the fracture geometry and efficiency at depth. However, even when supplementing...

The MPS-Based Fracture Network Simulation Method: Application to Subsurface Domain

Natural fractures conduct fluids in subsurface reservoirs. Quick and realistic predictions of the fracture network organization and its fluid flow efficiency from limited amount of data is critical to optimize resources productivity. We recently developed a method based on multiple point statistics (MPS) technique to produce geologically...

3D Outcrop Study of Hypogene Karst Caves of Brazil using LIDAR and Drone Imagery

The fieldwork was focussed on quantification of the morphological features of hypogenic karst caves in Brazil using 3D LIDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) and Drone Imagery. The fieldwork was conducted along with several partners as part of the Porocarste 3D project which is a consortium of three Brazilian universities (UFRN, UFRJ and UnB) and...

Characterizing Dynamic Stress Sensitive Fracture Apertures in A DFN Representation: An Example From the Island of Pag (Croatia)

Improving the understanding of fluid flow through fracture networks is crucial to the optimum recovery of hydrocarbons in naturally fractured reservoirs. In explicit dual continuum representations of matrix and fractures, it is not just the intensity of fracturing and the topological relationships in the network but also connectivity of...

Pore pressure effects on fracture net pressure and hydraulic fracture containment: Insights from an empirical and simulation approach

Pore pressure and its relationship with fracture net pressure has been reported qualitatively from both field and experimental observations. From a modeling perspective, the ubiquitously used pseudo 3D (P3D) models that are based on linear elastic fracture mechanics (LEFM) do not include the effect of reservoir depletion (or overpressure)....

Moist Rayleigh-Benard Convection

We report the observations from turbulent thermal Rayleigh-Benard convection experiment with a two-phase liquid-vapor binary mixture. Evaporation/condensation processes in a turbulent convection are accompanied by the formation of cloud like structures above the liquid-vapor interface. We also found that a liquid film condensation on the...