Study of the Single Phase and Two Phase Flow Properties of the Berea Sand and Oil Sand; A Network Model Study

ABSTRACT

Porosity, permeability, and formation factor are among the most important rock properties since they can be used for evaluation of hydrocarbon recovery. Pore size distribution and throat size distribution have direct effect on porosity and a major effect on the permeability and formation factor of the medium. By being able to replicate the properties of the porous media, it can be possible to model and predict single phase and two phase flow properties. The goal of this work is to find the right pore body structure and distribution along with the corresponding throat size distribution in order to match the topology of said porous media and then use it for predicting multiphase flow properties. Full pore scale modeling (digital core analysis) is computationally expensive and time consuming. Laboratory measurements are considerably more expensive and considerably more time consuming than digital core analysis. The approach taken in this study is to represent pore space using 3D network models, and to tune these network models to be able to predict flow behaviour in tight rocks.

An abstract of this paper is available on GeoConvention Online.