We present a method for porous media flow in the presence of complex fracture networks. The approach uses the Mimetic Finite Difference method (MFD) and takes advantage of MFD's ability to solve over a general set of polyhedral cells. This flexibility is used to mesh fracture intersections in two and three-dimensional settings without creating small cells at the intersection point. We also demonstrate how to use general polyhedra for embedding fracture boundaries in the reservoir domain. The target application is representing fracture networks inferred from microseismic analysis.

Keywords:
Artificial Intelligence, Upstream Oil & Gas, correspond, boundary condition, complex reservoir, dimension, mesh, flow in porous media, Fluid Dynamics, reservoir domain
Subjects:
Hydraulic Fracturing, Reservoir Fluid Dynamics, Unconventional and Complex Reservoirs, Flow in porous media, Naturally-fractured reservoirs
Copyright 2015, Society of Petroleum Engineers
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