Core experiments reveal that water influx velocity affects gas-water permeability and fractional flow in reservoirs.
In this study, we investigated the influence of water invasion velocity on gas–water permeability in bottom-water gas reservoirs. We conducted simultaneous core water invasion experiments under actual reservoir conditions, systematically examining varied permeability cores and multiple influx velocities. Two data processing methods were comparatively validated, analyzing gas–water relative permeability curves, fractional flow curves, and injection volume–recovery efficiency relationships. The results indicate that under HTHP (high-temperature, high-pressure) conditions, gas relative permeability declines faster, while water relative permeability increases more significantly. NMR imaging revealed that water preferentially invades smaller pores, accelerating gas–water flow before entering larger pores, leading to a rapid increase in water relative permeability. Long-core experiments unveiled a waterfront “stepwise advance” and localized water channeling due to heterogeneity, which were not observed in short-core tests. Water influx velocity critically influences fractional flow curves: high velocities cause rapid post-breakthrough water cut increase, easily inducing fast water breakthrough and coning, whereas low velocities promote a uniform frontal advance. HTHP (high-temperature, high-pressure) long-core flooding experiments more accurately reflect actual reservoir water influx dynamics, offering key insights for optimizing development strategies, delaying water influx, and enhancing recovery efficiency.
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Zhao et al. (2025) studied this question.
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