Non-Darcy and Multiphase Flow in Propped Fractures: Case Studies Illustrate the Dramatic Effect on Well Productivity

Vincent, Michael C.; Pearson, C. Mark; Kullman, J.

doi:10.2118/54630-ms

Cited by 84 publications

(38 citation statements)

References 20 publications

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“…Multiphase and non-Darcy flow effects in hydraulically fractured gas reservoirs also reduce fracture productivity in the field (Vincent et al, 1999;Schubarth et al, 1995). Flowers et al (2003) found that gas reserves for each well could be increased with increased fracture conductivity.…”

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Impact of Gravity Segregation on Multiphase Non-Darcy Flow in Hydraulically Fractured Gas Wells

Dickins

McVay

Schubarth³

2008

SPE Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition

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Multiphase and non-Darcy flow effects in hydraulically fractured gas wells reduce effective fracture conductivity. Typical proppant pack laboratory experiments are oriented in such a way such that phase segregation is not possible, which results in mixed flow. Tidwell and Parker (1996), however, showed that in proppant packs, gravity segregation occurs for simultaneous gas and liquid injection at laboratory scale (1500 cm 2 ). Although the impact of gravity on flow in natural fractures has been described, previous work has not fully described the effect of gravity on multiphase non-Darcy flow in hydraulic fractures. In this work, reservoir simulation modeling was used to determine the extent and impact of gravity segregation in a hydraulic fracture at field scale. I found that by ignoring segregation, effective fracture conductivity can be underestimated by up to a factor of two.An analytical solution was developed for uniform flux of water and gas into the fracture.The solution for pressures and saturations in the fracture agrees well with reservoir simulation. Gravity segregation occurs in moderate-to-high conductivity fractures.iv Gravity segregation impacts effective fracture conductivity when gas and liquid are being produced at all water-gas ratios modeled above 2 Bbls per MMscf. More realistic, non-uniform-flux models were also run with the hydraulic fracture connected to a gas reservoir producing water. For constant-gas-rate production, differences in pressure drop between segregated cases and mixed flow cases range up to a factor of two. As the pressure gradient in the fracture increases above 1 to 2 psi/ft, the amount of segregation decreases. Segregation is also less for fracture half-length-to-height ratios less than or close to two. When there is less segregation, the difference in effective conductivity between the segregated and mixed flow cases is reduced. I also modeled the water injection and cleanup phases for a typical slickwater fracture treatment both with and without gravity effects and found that for cases with segregation, effective fracture conductivity is significantly higher than the conductivity when mixed flow occurs.Gravity segregation is commonly ignored in design and analysis of hydraulically fractured gas wells. This work shows that segregation is an important physical process and it affects effective fracture conductivity significantly. Hydraulic fracture treatments can be designed more effectively if effective fracture conductivity is known more accurately.v ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

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Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Impact of Gravity Segregation on Multiphase Non-Darcy Flow in Hydraulically Fractured Gas Wells

Dickins

McVay

Schubarth³

2008

SPE Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition

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“…At higher Reynolds numbers, the velocity and hydraulic gradient do not exhibit a linear relationship. Therefore, use of Darcy's law can cause considerable error in the post-laminar conditions such as the calculation of well productivity [3] and the discharge measurement and design of pumping wells, hydraulic structures such as rock fill dams [4,5], water treatment filters and fissured rocks. Therefore, the characterization and modeling of flow through porous media is pertinent since the issue aptly addresses the abovementioned challenges.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

An Investigation of Parallel Post-Laminar Flow through Coarse Granular Porous Media with the Wilkins Equation

et al. 2018

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Abstract:Behaviour of flow resistance with velocity is still undefined for post-laminar flow through coarse granular media. This can cause considerable errors during flow measurements in situations like rock fill dams, water filters, pumping wells, oil and gas exploration, and so on. Keeping the non-deviating nature of Wilkins coefficients with the hydraulic radius of media in mind, the present study further explores their behaviour to independently varying media size and porosity, subjected to parallel post-laminar flow through granular media. Furthermore, an attempt is made to simulate the post-laminar flow conditions with the help of a Computational Fluid Dynamic (CFD) Model in ANSYS FLUENT, since conducting large-scale experiments are often costly and time-consuming. The model output and the experimental results are found to be in good agreement. Percentage deviations between the experimental and numerical results are found to be in the considerable range. Furthermore, the simulation results are statistically validated with the experimental results using the standard 'Z-test'. The output from the model advocates the importance and applicability of CFD modelling in understanding post-laminar flow through granular media.

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“…There is more evidence that the non-Darcy flow at high flow rates occurs in many subsurface, engineering porous and biological porous flow systems (Schfer and Lohnert, 2006;Vafai, 2010;Wu et al, 2011). Motivated by its importance in practical applications and scientific interest, understandings about the flow behavior at high flow rates have been developed by means of experimental and numerical analysis (Evans et al, 1987;Huang and Ayoub, 2008;Mayaud et al, 2014;Pereira et al, 2006;Vincent et al, 2000;Ye et al, 2014). The Forchheimer equation has been used extensively to describe such high velocity flow (Ergun, 1952;Forchheimer, 1901;Wu, 2001;Wu, 2002), which adds a quadratic flow term to account for high velocity inertial effects.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Non-Darcy displacement by a non-Newtonian fluid in porous media according to the Barree-Conway model

Huang

Zhang

et al. 2017

Adv. Geo-Energ. Res.

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An analytical solution for describing the non-Darcy displacement of a Newtonian fluid by a non-Newtonian fluid in porous media has been developed. The two-phase non-Darcy flow is described using the Barree-Conway model under multiphase conditions. A power-law non-Newtonian fluid, whose viscosity is a function of the flow potential gradient and the phase saturation, is considered. The analytical solution is similar to the Buckley-Leverett theoretical solution, which can be regarded as an extension of the Buckley-Leverett theory to the non-Darcy flow of non-Newtonian fluids. The analytical results revel how non-Darcy displacement by a non-Newtonian fluid is controlled not only by relative permeabilities but also by non-Darcy flow coefficients as well as non-Newtonian rheological constitutive parameters and injection rates. The comparison among Darcy, Forchheimer and Barree-Conway models is also discussed. For application, the analytical solution is then applied to verify a numerical simulator for modeling multi-phase non-Darcy flow of non-Newtonian fluids.Keywords: Non-Newtonian fluid, non-darcy flow, barree-conway model, buckley-leverett type solution, two-phase immiscible flow.Citation: Huang, Z., Zhang, X., Yao, J., et al. Non-Darcy displacement by a non-Newtonian fluid in porous media according to the Barree-Conway model.

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Non-Darcy and Multiphase Flow in Propped Fractures: Case Studies Illustrate the Dramatic Effect on Well Productivity

Abstract: This paper was prepared for presentation at the 1999 SPE Western Regional Meeting held in Anchorage, Alaska, 26–28 May 1999.

Cited by 84 publications

References 20 publications

The Impact of Gravity Segregation on Multiphase Non-Darcy Flow in Hydraulically Fractured Gas Wells

The Impact of Gravity Segregation on Multiphase Non-Darcy Flow in Hydraulically Fractured Gas Wells

An Investigation of Parallel Post-Laminar Flow through Coarse Granular Porous Media with the Wilkins Equation

Non-Darcy displacement by a non-Newtonian fluid in porous media according to the Barree-Conway model

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