PREDICTED MODEL OF RELATIVE PERMEABILITY CONSIDERING WATER DISTRIBUTION CHARACTERISTICS IN TIGHT SANDSTONE GAS RESERVOIRS

Abstract

A novel predictive model for calculating relative permeability was derived based on a capillary tube model with fractal theory. Different forms of immovable water including water film (WF) and microcapillary water were incorporated in the new model. Special immovable water called lost dynamic water (LDW) was introduced in the proposed model. The results of verification show that there is agreement between the calculated results and the published experimental data and analytical model. The results indicated that the effect of LDW, WF, and stress dependence had a significant influence on the relative permeability, which cannot be neglected. A larger LDW coefficient, more dead-end pores, and corners in porous media yielded a more complex pore structure. Therefore, more water was trapped in the pore and became connate water, resulting in higher gas relative permeability and lower water relative permeability at a given water saturation. Due to the microcapillary effect, the relative permeability of the water/gas increased/decreased as the drawdown pressure increased at the same water saturation. Higher effective stress was more likely to cause rock deformation, resulting in higher gas relative permeability and lower water relative permeability at a given water saturation. This study provides a significant reference for reservoir engineers conducting water and gas two-phase flow analysis. The theoretical model is beneficial for research into the interpolation of relative permeability via numerical simulation.