Simulation Project I: issued on Wed.

7/9/2011
PETR4511/8522 - Simulation Project I J ishan Liu
1
Investigation of Gas Flow in a Homogeneous Reservoir (25%)

Assuming the porosity does not change with pressure, the ideal gas flow equation can be defined as:

0 =
|
|
.
|

\
|

+
|
|
.
|

\
|

y
p kp
y x
p kp
x t
p

( 1 )

where is porosity, p is pressure, k is permeability, is gas viscosity, x and y are coordinates, and t is time.


Definition of the Problem (2D)

The simulation problem is defined in Figure 1.

Figure 1. Definition of the simulation project.


Project requirements: Use COMSOL to investigate how porosity and permeability affect the spatial
evolutions of pressure and Darcy velocity along line A-A, and the temporal evolution of pressure and velocity at
point B (-20,0). Assessment criteria include:

Implementation of Equation 1 into Comsol (5 marks)
Spatial evolutions of pressure and Darcy velocity along line A-A for Case 1 & Case 2 after 30 days
production (5 marks)
Spatial evolutions of pressure and Darcy velocity along line A-A for Case 1 & Case 3 after 30 days
production (5 marks)
Temporal evolutions of pressure and Darcy velocity at point B (-20,0) for Case 1 & Case 2 after 30 days
production (5 marks)
Temporal evolutions of pressure and Darcy velocity at point B (-20,0) for Case 1 & Case 3 after 30 days
production (5 marks)

Submission Requirements: Simulation report, together with the COMSOL Multiphysics generated report,
must be submitted through webct. Both reports must be in the PDF format.

Due Date: 17:00PM, 28/9/2011. Penalties will occur for late submissions.








Simulation Project I: issued on Wed. 7/9/2011
PETR4511/8522 - Simulation Project I J ishan Liu
2

Answer and Standard for Evaluation



Question 1: Implementation of Equation 1 into Comsol (5 marks)

Subdomain setting

The equation to be solved is
0 =
|
|
.
|

\
|

+
|
|
.
|

\
|

y
p kp
y x
p kp
x t
p

( 1 )

The equation in COMSOL is
( )
s
s k f Q s
k p
S p g D Q
t

( | |
+ + =
( |

\ .
( 2)

For 2 dimensional model, 0
f
g D =

In order to implement Eq. (1) into COMSOL, we can define the parameters in COSMOL as
1; ; ; ; ; 0
s k s Q
S p k k = = = = = =

Initial condition
0
( )
i
p t p =

Boundary setting

(1) Around the well
p
w
=1e5Pa

(2) On the edge
No flow







Simulation Project I: issued on Wed. 7/9/2011
PETR4511/8522 - Simulation Project I J ishan Liu
3


Question 2: Spatial evolutions of pressure and velocity along line A-A for Case 1 & Case 2 after 30 days
production (5 marks)

Pressure along A-A

Figure 1 Spatial evolutions of pressure along line A-A for Case 1 & Case 2

The porosity is defined as the ratio of the total void volume to the bulk volume of a porous medium. It indicates
the fluid storage capacity of the porous medium. Permeability in a reservoir rock is associated with its capacity
to transport fluids through a system of interconnected pores.

In Case 1 & 2, the only difference is the porosity value. The original gas in place (OGIP) is higher for Case 2
than that for Case 1, because the porosity of Case 2 (20%) is higher than that of Case 1 (10%). It may take a
longer time for the pressure drop of Case 2. As shown in Figure 1, the pressure along A-A is higher for Case 2
and this is consistent with the analysis above.

In addition, we can also explain the results based on the concept of the hydraulic diffusivitiy.
Eq. (1) can be written as
2 2
2 2
1 p p p
t x y

= +

(3)
where is defined as hydraulic diffusivity
t
kp k
c

= = (4)
Where c
t
is the total compressibility.

The relationship of c
t
=1/p for this case is derived as follows
t r p f
c c c c = + + (5)
Where c
r
, c
p
and c
f
are the compressibility for rock, pore and fluid respectively.

For this case, c
r
and c
p
equal to 0, because the rock is rigid and the porosity is constant.

Simulation Project I: issued on Wed. 7/9/2011
PETR4511/8522 - Simulation Project I J ishan Liu
4
1
f
c
p

(6)
Where is the fluid density
Base on the EOS for an ideal gas, the density is expressed as
p
RT
= (7)
Substituting Eq. (7) into (6), we have
1
f
c
p
= (8)

The hydraulic diffusivity decreases with the increase of the porosity. The pressure drops faster for Case 1,
because the hydraulic diffusivity is higher for Case 1 due to its low porosity.

Velocity along A-A

Figure 2 Spatial evolutions of velocity along line A-A for Case 1 & Case 2

The Darcy velocity is expressed as
k
u p

= (9)

Since the permeability and the viscosity for Case 1 & 2 are the same, the Darcy velocity is dependent on the
pressure gradient. The pressure for Case 2 drops slower than that for Case 1 and thus the pressure gradient is
higher for Case 2. Therefore the Darcy velocity for Case 2 is higher than that for Case 1. However the simulation
results show that the effect of porosity change on the Darcy velocity is small besides the region in the vicinity of
the production well where the pressure drops much faster.








u [m/s]
u

[
m
/
s
]

Simulation Project I: issued on Wed. 7/9/2011
PETR4511/8522 - Simulation Project I J ishan Liu
5


Question 3: Spatial evolutions of pressure and velocity along line A-A for Case 1 & Case 3 after 30 days
production (5 marks)

Pressure along A-A

Figure 3 Spatial evolutions of pressure along line A-A for Case 1 & Case 3

As stated previously, permeability determines the capacity of the reservoir to transport fluids. The hydraulic
diffusivity increases with the increase of the permeability. Therefore the pressure drops much faster for the high
permeability case (Case 3).

Velocity along A-A

Figure 4 Spatial evolutions of velocity along line A-A for Case 1 & Case 3


u [m/s]
u

[
m
/
s
]

Simulation Project I: issued on Wed. 7/9/2011
PETR4511/8522 - Simulation Project I J ishan Liu
6

According to Eq. (9), the Darcy velocity is proportional to the permeability and in inverse proportion to the
pressure gradient. The pressure gradient of Case 1 is lower than that of Case 3, and the Darcy velocity shall be
higher for Case 1 according to this effect. However the effect of the pressure gradient on the Darcy velocity is
weaker compared to the permeability effect and is offset by the high permeability of Case 3. Therefore the Darcy
velocity is high velocity for Case 3.

Temporal evolutions of pressure and velocity at point B (-20,0) for Case 1 & Case 2 after 30 days
production (5 marks)

Pressure at point B

Figure 5 Temporal evolutions of pressure at point B for Case 1 & Case 2

Reference to Question 2 (Pressure in A-A)



























Simulation Project I: issued on Wed. 7/9/2011
PETR4511/8522 - Simulation Project I J ishan Liu
7

Velocity at point B

Figure 6 Temporal evolutions of pressure at point B for Case 1 & Case 2


As discussed in Question 2, the difference in Darcy velocity for this two cases is due to the pressure gradient.
The pressure begins to drop from the well towards the boundary of reservoir. Initially, the pressure gradient
increases because the pressure drops in the vicinity of the well and but the pressure at Point B is still at the initial
value. The Darcy velocity increases during this process. Once the pressure reaches to Point B and begins to
decline, while the pressure at the well is fixed at a constant boundary pressure, the pressure gradient starts to
decline which contributes to the decrease of the Darcy velocity. The Darcy velocity for Case 1 can reach to the
peak value faster due to its high diffusivity. The velocity drops slower for Case 2 indicates that there is more
sufficient supply for Case 2 due to its high storage capacity of gas.



























u [m/s]
u

[
m
/
s
]

Simulation Project I: issued on Wed. 7/9/2011
PETR4511/8522 - Simulation Project I J ishan Liu
8

Temporal evolutions of pressure and velocity at point B (-20,0) for Case 1 & Case 3 after 30 days
production (5 marks)

Pressure at point B

Figure 7 Temporal evolutions of pressure at point B for Case 1 & Case 3

Reference to Question 3 (Pressure in A-A)

Velocity at point B

Figure 8 Temporal evolutions of pressure at point B for Case 1 & Case 3

Reference to Question 3 (Velocity in A-A)
u [m/s]
u

[
m
/
s
]