(7gm) Pore-Level Multiscale Simulation of SAGD

A numerical framework is presented to simulate SAGD in multi-scale porous media images. To leverage pore-scale data sets and evaluate residual oil saturation and performance of the SAGD as a complex EOR method, it is essential to provide comprehensive computationally cheap algorithms for multi-phase and multi-physics micro-scale studies. Here, a hybrid pore-scale simulation approach called DyMAS is utilized to simulate SAGD in a reliable and time efficient manner applying two quasi-static and CFD-based techniques to micro- and macro-pore domains. Quasi-static simulations are conducted in micropores, where the capillary force is dominant, and a dynamic CFD solver is applied to macropores taking into the account the gravity and viscous forces, simultaneously. The workflow is applied to three-dimensional digital rock samples representing the McMurray formation of the Athabasca Oil Sands Deposit, and a detailed sensitivity analysis is performed on operational conditions leading to minimum residual oil. The post-processing results, including capillary pressure curves, residuals, and effective permeability/thermal conductivity curves, are then predicted and discussed in terms of pore-scale phenomena. According to the results the condensed water imbibition plays a crucial role in decreasing the residual oil within micropores, and buoyancy-driven flows are determining in intergranular spaces demonstrating the scale-dependent nature of gravity, viscose and capillary forces.

Research Interests:

• Multiphase flow and heat transfer in porous media.
• Pore-level simulations and characterizations.
• Dynamic and static reservoir simulation.
• Coding and algorithm design.
• Geostatistics.
• Well testing and stimulation.
• Production surveillance and optimization in gas condensate reservoirs.
• Characterization of Shale and tight reservoirs.
• Hydrate-bearing sediments.

Teaching Interests:

• Reservoir Simulation.
• Geostatistics.
• Well testing.
• Reservoir Rock and Fluid Properties.

References:

• Mohammadmoradi, P., Kantzas, A. (2017). DyMAS: A Direct Multi-Scale Pore-Level Simulation Approach. SPE Western Regional Meeting, https://doi.org/10.2118/185720-MS
• Mohammadmoradi, P., Pore Morphological Multi-Phase Digital Rock Physics Models, PhD Thesis, University of Calgary, http://hdl.handle.net/11023/3485.