Comparative analysis of fractured reservoir modeling methods: from discrete fracture networks to upscaling into dual-porosity and single-porosity models

The article discusses approaches to hydrodynamic modeling of fractured porous reservoirs. The purpose of the work is a comparative analysis of three models (EDFM, dual permeability, and single porosity) in terms of computational time, the possibility of adapting integral technological indicators, and the ability to reproduce spatial reserve depletion patterns. The study was performed on a synthetic test model with 25 fractures (aperture 3 mm, fracture permeability 100 D, matrix permeability 1 mD). The dual-permeability and single-porosity models were calibrated to the reference EDFM model by modifying the sigma factor, permeability, and endpoints of relative permeability curves. The flow-based upscaling method was used to upscale properties from the discrete fracture network (DFN) to the dual-medium model. It was found that the dual-permeability and single-porosity models are faster than EDFM in terms of computational time. Calibration of integral production indicators can be successfully accomplished for both simplified models. However, the spatial pattern of reserve depletion (maps of mobile oil reserves) differs for each approach. The results show that calibration based on integral indicators alone is insufficient for predicting reserve depletion patterns.

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