The "Checker Model," An Improvement in Modeling Naturally Fractured Reservoirs With a Tridimensional, Triphasic, Black-Oil Numerical Model

This paper describes an approach to simulating the flow of water, oil, and gas in fully or partially fractured reservoirs with conventional black-oil models. This approach is based on the dual porosity concept and uses a conventional tridimensional, triphasic, black-oil model with minor modifications. The basic feature is an elementary volume of the fractured reservoir that is simulated by several model cells; the matrix is concentrated into one matrix cell and the fractures into the adjacent fracture cells. Fracture cells offer a continuous path for fluid flows, while matrix cells are discontinuous ("checker board" display). The matrix-fracture flows are calculated directly by the model. Limitations and applications of this approximate approach are discussed and examples given.