RESERVOIR MODELLING AND SIMULATION TO STUDY FLOW IN POROUS MEDIA

Abstract

Hydrocarbon extraction is a very expensive process as it requires drilling wells to extract hydrocarbons to the surface. This makes it indispensable to know about reservoir conditions and fluid flow in the reservoir. Reservoir simulation is the means to analyse and predict fluid behavior in the reservoir over time using a numerical model of the petrophysical properties of the formation. Reservoir modelling and simulation is used to optimize reservoir performance to ensure hydrocarbon extraction is technically and economically feasible. To recover hydrocarbons natural energy or drive is required to bring them from the reservoir to the surface. Recovery using natural drive is usually low and external support and energy is required to recover the trapped hydrocarbons. To develop a reservoir model an understanding of petrophysical properties of reservoir is required. Several principles and flow mechanisms govern fluid now in porous media. Different models are used for reservoir simulation based on the composition of fluid, fluid properties and type of fluid flow. In this thesis the aim is to discuss the theoretical background required for understanding reservoir modelling and simulation in porous media. To imply this knowledge a case study based on a highly heterogeneous reservoir model is taken up and simulations are performed using Matlab to estimate production characteristics for the reservoir. The model is based on a case study from ninth SPE comparative solution project by Killough (1995) and the case study results are compared with the published results of different commercial simulators.