Mechanisms of fracture propagation from multi-cluster using a phase field based HMD coupling model in fractured reservoir

Natural fractures(NFs)are common in shale and tight reservoirs,where staged multi-cluster fracturing of horizontal wells is a prevalent technique for reservoir stimulation.While NFs and stress interference are recognized as significant factors affecting hydraulic fracture(HF)propagation,the combined influence of these factors remains poorly understood.To address this knowledge gap,a novel coupled hydromechanical-damage(HMD)model based on the phase field method is developed to investigate the propagation of multi-cluster HFs in fractured reservoirs.The comprehensive energy functional and control functions are established,while incorporating dynamic fluid distribution between multiple perforation clusters and refined changes in rock mechanical parameters during hydraulic fracturing.The HMD coupled multi-cluster HF propagation model investigates various scenarios,including single HF and single NF,reservoir heterogeneity,single HF and NF clusters,and multi-cluster HFs with NF clusters.The results show that the HMD coupling model can accurately capture the impact of approach angle(θ),stress difference and cementation strength on the interaction of HF and NF.The criterion of the open and cross zones is not fixed.The NF angle(a)is not a decisive parameter to discriminate the interaction.According to the relationship between approach angle(θ)and NF angle(a),the contact relationship of HF can be divided into three categories(θ=a,θ<a,andθ>a).The connected NF can increase the complexity of HF by inducing it to form branch fracture,resulting in a fractal dimension of HF as high as2.1280 at angles of±45°.Inter-fracture interference from the heel to the toe of HF shows the phenomenon of no,strong and weak interference.Interestingly,under the influence of NFs,distant HFs from the injection can become dominant fractures.However,as a gradually increases,inter-fracture stress interference becomes the primary factor influencing HF propagation,gradually superseding the dominance of NF induced fractures.

Further discussion of CO_(2) huff-n-puff mechanisms in tight oil reservoirs based on NMR monitored fluids spatial distributions

Due to the poor physical properties of tight reservoirs,CO_(2) huff-n-puff(HNP)is considered a potential enhanced oil recovery(EOR)method after primary depletion.Optimization plays a critical role in the effective implementation of CO_(2) huff-n-puff.But the optimization requires a good understanding of the EOR mechanisms.In this work,the spatial distribution of oil saturation under different experimental conditions was analyzed by the NMR method to further discuss the HNP mechanisms.According to the variation of 1D frequency signal amplitude,we divided the core into the hardly movable area and movable area,the region with the obvious signal decline was defined as the movable area,and the hardly movable area was the region with limited signal decline.Based on that the recovery characteristics of different scenarios were evaluated.Firstly,the necessity of the soaking stage was studied,where three scenarios with different soaking times were carried out.Secondly,the injection pressure was adjusted to investigate the effect of the pressure gradient.The T_(2) spectra show that soaking has significantly improved the production of crude oil in small pores,and higher oil recovery in a single cycle is observed,but it is lower when the elapsed time(total operation time)is the same.31.03% of oil can be recovered after 3 cycles HNP,which increases to 33.8% and 37.06% for the 4 cycles and 6 cycles cases.As the pressure gradient increases,more oil is removed out of the matrix,and the oil in the deep part of the reservoir can be effectively recovered.During the CO_(2) huff-n-puff process,the oil distributions are similar to the solution gas drive,the residual oil is distributed at the close end of the core and the range that the oil can be efficiently recovered is limited.