Physical Simulation and Mathematical Model of the Porous Flow Characteristics of Gas-Bearing Tight Oil Reservoirs

Abstract

The separation of solution gas has great influence on the development of gas-bearing tight oil reservoirs. In this study, physical simulation and high-pressure mercury intrusion were used to establish a method for determining the porous flow resistance gradient of gas-bearing tight oil reservoirs. A mathematical model suitable for injection–production well networks is established based on the streamline integral method. The concept of pseudo-bubble point pressure is proposed. The experimental results show that as the back pressure decreases from above the bubble point pressure to below the bubble point pressure, the solution gas separates out. During this process, the porous flow resistance gradient is initially equal to the threshold pressure gradient of the oil single-phase fluid, then it becomes relatively small and stable, and finally it increases rapidly and exponentially. The lower the permeability, the higher the pseudo-bubble point pressure, and the higher the resistance gradient under the same back pressure. For tight reservoirs, the production pressure should be maintained above the pseudo-bubble point pressure when the permeability is lower than a certain value. When the permeability is higher than a certain value, the pressure can be reduced below the pseudo-bubble point pressure, and there is a reasonable range. The mathematical results show that after degassing, the oil production rate and the effective utilization coefficient of oil wells decline rapidly. These declines occur later and have a flat trend for high permeability formations, and the production well pressure can be reduced to a lower level. Fracturing can effectively increase the oil production rate after degassing. A formation that cannot be utilized before fracturing because of the blocked throats due to the separation of the solution gas can also be utilized after fracturing. When the production well pressure is lower than the bubble point pressure, which is not too large, the fracturing effect is better.