​Abstract: Naturally fractured reservoirs are ubiquitous in the subsurface and, in the form of hydrocarbons and geothermal heat, they contain the bulk of the planet's conventional energy that will provide the base load of our energy supply for decades to come. Characterising, modelling, and simulating naturally fractured reservoirs remains a major challenge for the energy industry: Subsurface data on fractures are sparse, fracture networks are multi-scale in nature, fracture apertures are difficult to constrain, and there are generally major uncertainties when characterising fracture properties. Fractures are also difficult to incorporate in conventional reservoir modelling and simulation workflows. This challenge is exacerbated by the fact that many of the key concepts to represent fractures in reservoir simulation models are decades old; indeed, it is frequently acknowledged that these concepts have major limitations. Yet, our limitations to reliably quantify the impact of fractures on reservoir flow processes greatly impacts our ability to harness vital energy resources more effectively.

This presentation will introduce some new and innovative concepts for modelling multi-phase flow processes in naturally fractured formations. Robust quantitative methods now allow us to develop a better understanding when fractures can be upscaled and represented by effective properties or when they need to be represented as explicit features in the reservoir model. Fast screening methods based on flow diagnostics enable us to quickly estimate how different fracture properties could impact reservoir performance, which allows us to select reservoir models that appropriately represent geological uncertainties and need to be studied further using detailed reservoir simulation. These reservoir simulation models can now employ novel concepts to represent the first-order physics for fluid exchange between fracture and matrix. Through a series of example applications, we will demonstrate how our perception of reservoir performance will change when these new modelling approaches are used.

Bio: I joined the Institute of Petroleum Engineering (IPE) in 2006 as a lecturer. I was promoted to senior lecturer in 2009 and as full professor in 2010. In 2017 I became the Director of IPE. Before joining IPE, I was a postdoctoral researcher at ETH Zurich from 2004 to 2006.