Efficient Field-Scale Simulation of Black Oil in a Naturally Fractured Reservoir Through Discrete Fracture Networks and Homogenized Media

Summary This paper describes a hybrid finite volume method, designed to simulate multiphase flow in a field-scale naturally fractured reservoir. Lee et al. (WRR 37:443-455, 2001) developed a hierarchical approach in which the permeability contribution from short fractures is derived in an analytical expression that from medium fractures is numerically solved using a boundary element method. The long fractures are modeled explicitly as major fluid conduits. Reservoirs with well-developed natural fractures include many complex fracture networks that cannot be easily modeled by simple long fracture formulation and/or homogenized single continuity model. We thus propose a numerically efficient hybrid method in…