A review of the dynamic modeling approaches for characterizing fluid flow in naturally fractured reservoirs

Abstract

Fluid flow in fractured media has been studied for decades and received considerable attention in the oil and gas industry because of the high productivity of naturally fractured reservoirs. Due to formation complexity and reservoir heterogeneity, characterizing fluid flow with an appropriate reservoir model presents a challenging task that differs relatively from homogeneous conventional reservoirs in many aspects of view, including geological, petrophysical, production, and economics. In most fractured reservoirs, fracture networks create complex pathways that affect hydrocarbon flow, well performance, hence reservoir characterization. A better and comprehensive understanding of the available reservoir modeling approaches is much needed to accurately characterize fluid flow behavior in NFRs. Therefore, in this paper, a perspective review of the available modeling approaches was presented for fluid flow characterization in naturally fractured medium. Modeling methods were evaluated in terms of their description, application, advantages, and disadvantages. This study has also included the applications of these reservoir models in fluid flow characterizing studies and governing equations for fluid flow. Dual continuum models were proved to be better than single continuum models in the presence of large scale fractures. In comparison, discrete models were more appropriate for reservoirs that contain a smaller number of fractures. However, hybrid modeling was the best method to provide accurate and scalable fluid flow modeling. It is our understanding that this paper will bridge the gap between the fundamental understanding and application of NFRs modeling approaches and serve as a useful reference for engineers and researchers for present and future applications.