Simulation of Oil-Water Flow in Shale Oil Reservoirs Based on Smooth Particle Hydrodynamics

Abstract

A Smooth Particle Hydrodynamics (SPH) method is employed to simulate the two-phase flow of oil and water in a reservoir. It is shown that, in comparison to the classical finite difference approach, this method is more stable and effective at capturing the complex evolution of this category of two-phase flows. The influence of several smooth functions is explored and it is concluded that the Gaussian function is the best one. After 200 days, the block water cutoff for the Gaussian function is 0.3, whereas the other functions have a block water cutoff of 0.8. The effect of various injection ratios on real reservoir production is explored. When 14 and 8 m 3 /day is employed, the water breakthrough time is 130 and 170 days, respectively, and the block produces 9246 m 3 and 6338 m 3 of oil cumulatively over 400 days.