Although flow through fractured rocks involves many different length-scales, it is crucial for the prediction of continuum-scale single- and multi-phase flow functions to understand, at the pore-scale, the interaction between the rock matrix and fractures. Here we present a pore-network extraction method in which the pore diameters and fracture apertures are of similar size. The method involves a shrinking algorithm to extract a hybrid skeleton of medial axes and surfaces, and it includes a workflow to convert the medial surfaces of fractures into dense networks of virtual medial axes, allowing generation of an integrated pore-network for the entire pore space. Appropriate single- and two-phase flow properties are assigned to network elements representing the fractures. We validate the method via comparisons between pore network flow simulations and an analytical solution, direct flow simulations and experimental observations. The network calculations are several orders of magnitude faster than the direct simulations.@en

We have developed a new finite element - finite volume based simulation approach to study flow and transport processes at sub-grid scales, i.e. at scales below the typical size of a reservoir simulation grid block, using real 3D geometries in carbonate reservoirs. We complement the simulations by high-resolution X-Ray CT experiments which provide us with the 3D structures, allow us to visualise flow processes at the core-scale in real time, and help us to compare the observed processes to numerical simulations to validate and verify the latter. We use this combined numerical-experimental approach to analyse the fundamental processes controlling fluid flow in carbonates at sub-grid scales. Results can be incorporated in existing reservoir simulation workflows to increase the confidence in reservoir performance forecasting. We show applications related to fractured carbonate reservoirs and enhanced oil recovery processes due to injection of low-salinity fluids and hot water.@en

Porosity and permeability of carbonate sediments evolve markedly with burial depth, reflecting the combined effects of mechanical compaction, chemical compaction, dissolution and cementation. While trends in porosity change with depth can be qualified, the evolution of permeability remains problematic. Here, we create a theoretical series of 2D images of major pore-occluding and pore enhancing diagenetic processes linked to their depth of occurrence. These images were then used to create 3D pore architecture models using Markov Chain Monte Carlo simulation, from which pore network were extracted to obtain multiphase fluid flow properties. The modelled porosity and permeability evolution from three different diagenetic pathways display several tipping points where the decrease in permeability is significantly larger than the associated drop in porosity. Such diagenetic pathway models can provide constraints on the predicted behaviour of carbonates during burial and/or uplift scenarios.@en

Carbonate reservoirs have structural heterogeneities at all length-scales (triple porosity: pore-vug-fracture) and tend to be mixed- To oil-wet. The interplay of structural and wettability heterogeneities impacts the sweep efficiency and oil recovery. The choice of an enhanced oil recovery process and the prediction of oil recovery require a sound understanding of the fundamental controls on fluid flow in mixed- To oil-wet carbonate rocks, as well as physically robust flow functions, i.e. relative permeability and capillary pressure functions. Obtaining these flow functions is a challenging task, especially when three fluid phases coexist, such as during water-alternating-gas injection (WAG). We have developed a new three-phase flow pore-network model, which comprises a novel thermodynamic criterion for formation and collapse of oil layers that strongly depends on the fluid spreading behaviour and the rock wettability. The criterion affects in particular the oil relative permeability at low oil saturations and the accurate prediction of residual oil saturations. Additionally, multiple displacement chains have been implemented, where injection of one phase at the inlet triggers a chain of interface displacements throughout the network. This allows accurate modelling of the mobilization of the many disconnected phase clusters that arise during higher order WAG cycles. Pore-networks extracted from pore-space reconstruction methods and CT images are used as input for the pore-scale simulations and the model comprises a constrained set of parameters that can be tuned to mimic the wetting state of a given reservoir. Three-phase flow functions generated from networks with carbonate pore geometries and connectivities have been used in a heterogeneous carbonate reservoir model and we demonstrate their impact on the sweep efficiency after gas injection and WAG for a range of realistic wettability scenarios. We also show that the network generated flow functions give distinctly different recovery curves compared to recoveries for traditional three-phase flow relative permeability functions, such as Stone's.@en

WAG flooding of an oil reservoir can give rise to large regions of three-phase flow, where the flow parameters, i.e. capillary pressure and relative permeability, are history dependent. This means that three-phase capillary pressure and relative permeability data have to be updated during the flow to account accurately for hysteresis. The idea of this work is to connect a pore-scale model that calculates capillary pressure and relative permeability for given saturations to a three-phase reservoir simulator. This will allow us to calculate the actual saturation paths based on pore-scale physics. The pore-scale model comprises a bundle of cylindrical capillary tubes of different radii and wettability, which are randomly distributed according to the given density functions. Within the bundle the capillary pressure controls the displacement sequence, and for given capillary pressures it is therefore possible to find the corresponding phase saturations in the bundle. However, for using the pore-scale model in the reservoir simulator it is required to obtain capillary pressure and relative permeability from saturation data, rather than the other way around. We hence invert the capillary bundle model iteratively to find the capillary pressures for given saturations. Depending on the required accuracy, these calculations can be time consuming, especially when the behaviour changes between two-phase and three-phase. A capillary bundle is completely accessible, so there will not be any trapped or residual saturations. In principle a more complex network model including residual saturations could be used. Incorporation of the bundle model into the simulator demonstrates the effects of consistent pore-scale based three-phase capillary pressure and relative permeability for different wettability on the continuum, i. e. reservoir scale. This also shows under which conditions pore-scale displacement paths can be reproduced by the macro-scale model.@en

Carbonate reservoirs have textural heterogeneities at all length-scales (triple porosity pore-vug-fracture) and tend to be mixed- to oil-wet The choice of an enhanced oil recovery process and the prediction of oil recovery require a sound understanding of the fundamental controls on fluid flow in mixed- to oil-wet carbonate rocks, as well as physically robust flow functions, i e relative permeability and capillary pressure functions Obtaining these flow functions is a challenging task, especially when three fluid phases coexist, such as during water-alternating-gas injection (WAG) We have recently developed a method for integration of pore-networks derived from micro CT images at different length-scales, thus capturing pore structures from different types of porosity The network integration method honours the connectivity between different pore types, including micro-fractures, and their spatial distribution In this work, we use these multi-scale networks as input for our three-phase flow pore-network model, which comprises a novel thermodynamic criterion for formation and collapse of oil layers that strongly depends on the fluid spreading behaviour and the rock wettability The criterion affects in particular the oil relative permeability at low oil saturations and the accurate prediction of residual oil saturations We generate three-phase flow functions for gas injection and WAG from networks with carbonate pore geometries and connectivities and we demonstrate the impact on residual saturations of the different types of porosity and the interaction with different realistic wettability scenarios We also show that the network generated three-phase flow relative permeabilities are distinctly different from traditional models, such as Stone's The flow functions will be used in a heterogeneous carbonate reservoir model and to demonstrate their impact on the sweep efficiency.@en