Reservoir transport equations by compositional approach

The objective of this paper is to present an overview of the fundamental equations governing transport phenomena in compressible reservoirs. A general mathematical model is presented for important thermo-mechanical processes operative in a reservoir. Such a formulation includes equations governing multiphase fluid (gas-water-hydrocarbon) flow, energy transport, and reservoir skeleton deformation. The model allows phase changes due to gas solubility. Furthermore, Terzaghi's concept of effective stress and stress-strain relations are incorporated into the general model. The functional relations among various model parameters which cause the nonlinearity of the system of equations are explained within the context of reservoir engineering principles. Simplified equations and appropriate boundary conditions have also been presented for various cases. It has been demonstrated that various well-known equations such as Jacob, Terzaghi, Buckley-Leverett, Richards, solute transport, black-oil, and Biot equations are simplifications of the compositional model.Notation List B reservoir thickness - B formation volume factor of phase - Cⁱ mass of component i dissolved per total volume of solution - C ⁱ mass fraction of component i in phase - C heat capacity of phase at constant volume - C_p heat capacity of phase at constant pressure - D ⁱ hydrodynamic dispersion coefficient of component i in phase - D_MTf thermal liquid diffusivity for fluid f - F = F(x, y, z, t) defines the boundary surface - f_p fractional flow of phase - g gravitational acceleration - H_p enthalpy per unit mass of phase - J_p volumetric flux of phase - k_rf relative permeability to fluid f - k₀ absolute permeability of the medium - M_p ⁱ mass of component i in phase - n porosity - N rate of accretion - P_f pressure in fluid f - p_ca capillary pressure between phases and =p-p - Rⁱ rate of mass transfer of component i from phase to phase - Rⁱ _source source rate of component i within phase - S saturation of phase - s gas solubility - T temperature - t time - U displacement vector - u velocity in the x-direction - v velocity in the y-direction - V volume of phase - V_s velocity of soil solids - W_i body force in coordinate direction i - x horizontal coordinate - z vertical coordinate Greek Letters _p volumetric coefficient of compressibility - _T volumetric coefficient of thermal expansion - _ij Kronecker delta - volumetric strain - _m thermal conductivity of the whole matrix - internal energy per unit mass of phase - gf suction head - density of phase - _ij tensor of total stresses - _ij tensor of effective stresses - volumetric content of phase - f viscosity of fluid f