Concepedia

Simulation of Formation Damage in Petroleum Reservoirs

SPE Advanced Technology Series · 1993 · 77 citations · 7 references

TL;DR

The study presents a phenomenological model to predict petroleum reservoir permeability impairment caused by porous media, fine particles, and liquid interactions. The model incorporates clay swelling, external particle invasion, fines generation, migration, retention, non‑Darcy flow deviations, and pore‑size distribution changes, and is calibrated across diverse conditions to quantify each damage mechanism’s contribution. Parameter estimates remain accurate beyond the calibration range, and the model’s predictions of permeability decline and effluent fines concentration closely match measurements, confirming its validity and utility.

Abstract

SUMMARY A phenomenological model for prediction of petroleum reservoir permeability impairment by porous media, fine particles and liquid interactions is presented. The combined effects of clay swelling, external particles invasion, fines generation, migration and retention involved in permeability impairment are formulated. Deviation from Darcy flow as the flow paths are plugged and the variation of pore size distribution during plugging are considered. The model is tested for a variety of conditions. The magnitudes of the estimated model parameters are used to determine the relative contributions of various damage mechanisms. The estimated parameter values are shown to be valid beyond the range of the data used to estimate them. The successful match between the measured and predicted values of permeability variation and effluent fines concentration demonstrates the validity and the capability of the formation damage model.