Transient drainage volume characterization and flow simulation in reservoir models using the fast marching method

The Fast Marching Method (FMM) has been applied to characterize the transient drainage volume and to simulate flow as a function of time in porous media using the concept of the “diffusive time of flight” (DTOF). The DTOF ( τ ) provides a spatial coordinate which reduces the three dimensional pressure diffusivity equation to an equivalent one dimensional formulation. It is obtained from the solution to the Eikonal equation via the FMM. Previous applications of this approach have solved the flow equations numerically or by using an analytic asymptotic approximation. Both solution approaches rely upon three characteristics. (1) Accurate solution for the DTOF irrespective of the degree of heterogeneity within a reservoir model. (2) The approximation of the three dimensional pressure solution in terms of the τ coordinate. (3) Accurate representation and discretization of the drainage volume, on which the asymptotic and numerical flow simulations are based. The second and third of these characteristics are specific to reservoir engineering applications, and provide the focus of this study. Analysis of the drainage volume shows that the near well region requires special treatment, leading to a composite discretization for the drainage volume. This discretization has a direct impact upon the calculation of the well test pressure derivative when the asymptotic approximation is used for pressure transient interpretation. For flow simulation, the discretization directly impacts the calculation of the well index and the intercell transmissibility computed in the τ coordinate, and places additional constraints on the discretization of the drainage volume. These new results are validated by comparison with a commercial finite difference flow simulator, and are shown to be more accurate than earlier computational approaches.