Black-oil simulations for three-component - three-phase flow in fractured porous media

Discrete-fracture modeling and simulation of two-phase flow in realistic representations of fractured reservoirs can now be used for the design of IOR and EOR strategies. Thus far, however, discrete fracture simulators fail to include a third compressible gaseous phase. This hinders the investigation of the performance of gas-gravity drainage, water alternating gas injection, and blow-down in fractured reservoirs.

Here we present a new numerical method that expands the capabilities of existing Black-Oil models for three-component – three-phase flow in three ways: (i) It utilizes a finite element - finite volume discretization generalized to unstructured hybrid element meshes. (ii) It employs higher-order accurate representations of the flux terms. (iii) Flash calculations are carried out with an improved equation of state allowing for a more realistic treatment of phase behavior.

We illustrate the robustness of this numerical method in several applications. First, quasi-1D simulations are used to demonstrate grid convergence. Then, 2D discrete fracture models are employed to illustrate the impact of mesh quality on predicted production rates in discrete fracture models. Finally, the proposed method is used to simulate three-component – three-phase flow in a realistic 2D model of fractured limestone mapped in the Bristol Channel, U.K. and a 3D stochastically generated discrete fracture model.