Development of an Analytical Time-Dependent Matrix/Fracture Shape Factor for Countercurrent Imbibition in Simulation of Fractured Reservoirs

In dual porosity modeling of naturally fractured reservoirs, fluids exchange between the high porous matrix blocks and high permeable fracture systems is governed by transfer function. Therefore, transfer function, and specially shape factor as the main part of it, control fluids flow behavior, which certainly have significant effects on development and management plan of naturally fractured reservoirs. Also several formulations have been proposed for shape factor by a number of researchers, nearly all of them derived for expansion mechanism. But, shape factor is a phase sensitive parameter that can greatly affect results of simulation. Moreover, several shortcomings are inherent in the derived expressions of shape factor for imbibition process. The main aim of this work is to develop a new time-dependent matrix–fracture shape factor specific to countercurrent imbibition. In this study, fluid saturation distribution within a matrix block is analytically derived by solving capillary–diffusion equation under different imposed boundary conditions for the process where countercurrent imbibition is the dominant oil drive mechanism. The validity of the solutions is checked against literature experimental data (Bourbiaux and Kalaydjian, SPERE 5, 361–368, SPE 18283, 1990) and also by performing single porosity fine grid simulations. Then, the concept of analogy between the transport phenomena is employed to propose a new expression for matrix–fracture transfer function that is used to derive transient shape factor. It is illustrated in this article that time variation of imbibtion rate and shape factor can be used to diagnose different states of imbibition process. Although, the displacement process and employed approaches are completely different in this and other studies (Chang, Technical report, 1993; Kazemi and Gilman (eds.) Flow and contaminant transport in fractured rock. Academic Press, San Dieg, 1993; Zimmerman et al., Water Resour Res, 29, 2127–2137, 1993; Lim and Aziz, J Pet Sci Eng 13, 169–178, 1995), but we arrived at the consistent values of shape factor under limiting condition of pseudo steady state flow. This means that after establishment of pseudo steady state, shape factor is only controlled by matrix geometry regardless of the displacement process, i.e., expansion or imbibition mechanism, However, shape factor is completely phase sensitive and process dependent during unsteady and late-transient states. Finally, boundary condition dependency of shape factor is investigated.