A new technique to predict relative permeability for two-phase gas/oil system at different interfacial tension

Many physical factors are affecting relative permeability. These factors could be wettability, interfacial tension, and pore size distribution of the porous media. All these factors significantly change the shape of the relative permeability curve. The change of interfacial tension of flowing phases can considerably change flow characteristics especially in gas condensate reservoir or gas injection into wells with near miscible conditions. Assuming that physical core properties and experiment conditions are constant, interfacial tension as the only variable would change relative permeabilities. Here our objective is to estimate relative permeability at lower interfacial tensions from immiscible relative permeability. We will also estimate the change of residual oil saturation with interfacial tensions. In this paper, we have implemented Michaelis Menten Kinetics model to evaluate residual oil as a function of interfacial tension. Also, a new set of correlations was purposed to calculate gas and oil relative permeability at different IFT. The accuracy of the model is then assessed against experimental data available in literature and predictions of a default model in commercial simulators (Coat’s model). Although the model needs fewer input data and it requires fewer calculations than Coat’s model, it improved predictions.