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Abstract This paper describes an implicit, three-dimensional formulation for simulating compositional-type reservoir problems. The model treats three-phase flow in Cartesian (x-y-z) or cylindrical (r-θ-z) geometries. Applicability ranges from depletion or cycling of volatile oil and gas condensate to miscible flooding operations involving either outright or multicontact-miscibility. The formulation uses an equation of state for phase equilibrium and property calculations. The equation of state provides consistency and smoothness as gas- and oil-phase compositions and properties converge near a critical point. This avoids computational problems near a critical point associated with use of different correlations for K values as opposed to phase densities. Computational testing with example multicontactmiscibility (MCM) problems indicates stable convergence of this formulation as phase properties converge at a critical point. Results for these MCM problems show significant numerical dispersion, primarily affecting the calculated velocity of the miscible-front advance. Our continuing effort is directed toward reduction of this numerical disperson and comparison of model results with laboratory experiments for both MCM and outright-miscibility cases. We feel that the implicit nature of the model enhances efficiency as well as reliability for most compositional-type problems. However, while we report detailed problem results and associated computing times, we lack similar reported times to compare the overall efficiency of an implicit compositional formulation with that of a semi-implicit formulation.
K.H. Coats (Wed,) studied this question.