InterPore2025

Hydromechanical Interactions in Fractured-Vuggy Carbonate Reservoirs: Insights from Experimental and Numerical Analysis

20 May 2025, 10:05

1h 30m

Poster Presentation (MS03) Flow, transport and mechanics in fractured porous media Poster

Speaker

GUL MUZAKIR (InterPore)

Description

Abstract:
Fractured-vuggy carbonate rocks are critical for underground water storage and geo-energy reservoirs due to their substantial contributions to fluid reserves and production. The hydromechanical behavior of these rocks is influenced by the presence of multiscale fractures and vugs, which create highly heterogeneous flow pathways. This study investigates the hydro-mechanical interactions in fractured-vuggy carbonate reservoirs through a combination of experimental and numerical approaches. Using a discrete fracture-vug network (DFVN) model implemented in COMSOL, the study incorporates coupled stress-strain and fluid flow simulations to analyze permeability under varying stress conditions. Fractures and the surrounding matrix are modeled as poroelastic domains governed by Biot equations, while vugs are treated as free-flow regions governed by Stokes equations. These domains are coupled through extended Beavers–Joseph–Saffman interface conditions, as previously applied by Huang et al. (2023) in similar hydromechanical studies. However, the experimental setup and results in this study differ by incorporating triaxial compression tests on samples with varying geometries to evaluate stress-sensitive permeability. Preliminary findings indicate that fractures serve as the primary flow channels, with fractured media exhibiting the highest stress sensitivity, followed by fracture-vuggy and vuggy media. These results provide critical insights into the flow-permeability relationships in heterogeneous carbonate reservoirs, advancing predictive modeling techniques for reservoir performance under varying stress conditions. This study enhances understanding of hydro-mechanical behavior in fractured-vuggy carbonate reservoirs, offering valuable insights for future applications in reservoir management, geo-energy production, and water storage systems. The coupled modeling framework developed here can inform strategies for optimizing fluid recovery and improving reservoir performance under stress.