Sensitivity of Geomechanical Variables that Affect the Hydraulic Fracturing Using Finite Elements with Embedded Discontinuities
Leidy Laura Alvarez Berrop1; Aura Maria Zuleta Gomez1; Igor Fernandes Gomes1; Leonardo Guimaraes do Nascimento1; Licia Mouta1
1 Universidade Federal de Pernambuco
doi:10.20906/CPS/CILAMCE2017-0411
Resumo
Naturally fractured reservoirs are complex systems to characterize and predict. This kind of reservoir makes the engineering task more difficult. It is important to establish some basic criteria to identify when fractures are an important element in reservoir performance and also recognize the nature and characteristics of a naturally fractured reservoir. The conventional view of that kind of reservoirs it is a complex system composed of irregular matrix blocks surrounded by a network of more highly permeable fractures. These fractures are present in almost all hydrocarbon reservoirs, but its real importance is given when there is an interconnected network of these fractures because it has effects that affect the fluid flow behaviour. The hydraulic fracturing is a commonly used technique in petroleum engineering to enhance the well efficiency at this kind of reservoirs. Due to the importance of characterization of reservoir with natural fractures, a parametric sensitivity is developed in this work, for identifying the impact of elastic parameters, such as Young modulus, Poisson ratio, Biot coefficient and fluid properties like compressibility, in the development of a fluid injection in a natural fracture. The model was simulated in a numerical code that adopts a strong discontinuity approach to embedding discontinuities in a finite element mesh and provides a numerical fluid flow analysis in a deformable reservoir. The hydro-mechanical coupling has been determined by a law that relates the variation of permeability as a function of the displacement jump from the mechanical problem.
Palavras-chave: Embedded Discontinuities; Mechanical Properties; Hydraulic Fracturing; Finite Element; Sensitivity