A new model for calculating permeability of natural fractures in dual-porosity reservoir

During the development of naturally fractured carbonate reservoirs, understanding the change in fracture permeability is the basis for production evaluation and scientific development. The conventional method of analyzing fracture permeability is to take core samples for laboratory experiments. This paper presents a new method to calculate the fracture permeability decrease using actual reservoir pressure data. The mathematical model of fracture permeability change with pressure is established based on material balance in the production process of a fractured reservoir. The model considers crossflow coefficient as well as compression coefficient. According to the results of the model, the fracture permeability decreases with decrease of the formation pressure, but the degree of decline is related to the crossflow coefficient and the compression coefficient. By using this model, the change in fracture permeability can be calculated under different production pressures. This provides a new method for stress sensitivity determination of fractured reservoirs.Cited as: Zhang, T., Li, Z., Adenutsi, C.D., et al. A new model for calculating permeability of natural fractures in dual-porosity reservoir. Advances in Geo-Energy Research, 2017, 1(2): 86-92, doi: 10.26804/ager.2017.02.0