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Field Scale Characterization of Geological Formations Using Percolation Theory

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Abstract

The connectivity of high conductivity pathways in geological formations depend on the spatial distribution of geological heterogeneities that may appear on various length scales. Appropriate modeling of this is crucial within in hydrology and petroleum systems. The approach taken in this study is to use percolation theory to quantify the connectivity, hydraulic conductivity, and breakthrough time behavior between an injector and a producer within such systems. In particular, a three-dimensional overlapping sandbody model is considered which assumes that the geological formation can be split into either conductive flow units (i.e., good sands) or non-conductive units (i.e., poor sands). The results are the master curves for the formation connectivity as well as the hydraulic conductivity and breakthrough time. The percolation approach is then validated against Burgan offshore reservoir dataset which reveal good matches when compared with the results obtained from computationally expensive conventional methods.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering, Sharif University of Technology, Tehran, Iran

    Saeid Sadeghnejad, Mohsen Masihi, Akbar Shojaei & Mahmoudreza Pishvaie

  2. Earth Science & Engineering Department, Imperial College, London, UK

    Peter R. King

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  1. Saeid Sadeghnejad
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  2. Mohsen Masihi
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  3. Akbar Shojaei
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  4. Mahmoudreza Pishvaie
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  5. Peter R. King
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Correspondence to Mohsen Masihi.

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Sadeghnejad, S., Masihi, M., Shojaei, A. et al. Field Scale Characterization of Geological Formations Using Percolation Theory. Transp Porous Med 92, 357–372 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11242-011-9907-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11242-011-9907-6

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