J171555 DOI: 10.
2118/171555-PA Date: 18-August-14 Stage: Page: 1
Experimental Study of the Fracture and
Matrix Effects on Free-Fall Gravity
Drainage With Micromodels
Mehdi Bahari Moghaddam and Mohammad Reza Rasaei, University of Tehran, Iran
Summary
Free-fall gravity drainage (FFGD) is the main production mecha-
nism in the gas-invaded zone of fractured reservoirs. The gravity
and capillary forces are two major forces that control the produc-
tion performance of a fractured system under an FFGD mecha-
nism. Gravity force acts as a driving force to remove oil from the
matrix block whereas the resistive capillary force tends to keep
oil inside the matrix. In this study, a series of experiments was
performed to study the effects of the geometrical characteristics
of the fracture and matrix on the oil-production rate under an
FFGD mechanism by use of a glass micromodel. The oil-recovery
factor (RF) was also obtained for a single matrix block by use of
different patterns. Results from the experiments show that differ-
ent flow regimes occur during the production life of a single ma-
trix block under a FFGD mechanism. The fluid flow is controlled
by the capillary-dominated regime at the early stage and late time
of production life, whereas it shows a stabilized bulk flow under a
gravity-dominated regime is exhibited at other times. Experimen-
tal results revealed that for a narrow fracture opening, fracture
capillary pressure has a form similar to that of the matrix block.
Also, it was observed that the oil-production rate and RF of the
matrix block decreased as the permeability ratio between two
media (matrix block and fracture) increased. Lower production
rate is achieved in larger-fracture-spacing micromodels. In addi-
tion, wider vertical fractures lead to an early breakthrough of gas
in bottom horizontal fracture that makes up the main portion of
oil traps in the matrix block, and this reduces the RF. Results
from this study show that in a heterogeneous layered matrix
block, both the drainage rate and RF decrease in comparison with
a homogeneous matrix block. Finally, a multiple linear-regression
analysis was performed to understand the dimensionless groups
affecting the RF of the FFGD process. It was found that the Bond
number cannot truly describe the process and other parameters
such as the fracture-/matrix-permeability ratio; fracture spacing
and fracture opening should also be considered.
Introduction
Gravity drainage is defined as a recovery process in which gravity
acts as the main driving force and in which gas replaces the voi-
dage volume (Hagoort 1980). The literature review (Schechter
and Guo 1996) suggests that there are three distinct categories of
the gravity-drainage processes: (1) forced gravity drainage by gas
injection at controlled flow rates, (2) centrifuge-simulated gravity
drainage (not occurring in natural systems), and (3) FFGD occur-
ring in a variety of cases. In an FFGD mechanism, the gravity
force helps the oil production against the capillary force that
resists the oil displacement by gas. Viscous force does not con-
tribute to this process because of very low fluid velocity. Oil pro-
duction under the FFGD process continues until capillary force
balances the gravity force.
Field reports (King et al. 1970) and laboratory experiments
(Hagoort 1980; Darvish et al. 2006; Karimaie and Torster 2008)
have shown that gravity drainage can result in very high oil recov-
Copyright V
C 2014 Society of Petroleum Engineers
Original SPE manuscript received for review 5 October 2013. Revised manuscript received
for review 10 May 2014. Paper (SPE 171555) peer approved 9 June 2014.
2014 SPE Journal
ID: jaganm Time: 14:43 I Path: S:/3B2/J###/Vol00000/140056/APPFile/SA-J###140056
Total Pages: 13
eries. Gravity drainage is the main production mechanism in the gas-
invaded zone of naturally fractured oil reservoirs. Warren and Root
(1963) assumed that matrix blocks occupy the same physical space
as the fracture network and no interaction exists between the matrix
blocks. This is called the single-block concept, which assumes that
the matrix blocks drain independently so that the performance of a
stack of blocks is equal to the performance of a single block multi-
plied by the number of individual blocks. In reality, there exists some
degree of block-to-block interaction in the stack of matrix blocks,
and gravity-drainage performance is heavily affected by reinfiltration
that must be accounted for to have a reliable prediction of the reser-
voir performance (Saidi 1987). For gas/oil gravity drainage in frac-
tured reservoirs, the drained oil from upper blocks does not generally
flow through the surrounding fracture network and may be reinfil-
trated into the lower matrix block(s). Reinfiltration affects the rate of
oil production by gravity drainage and the phase distribution of oil
and gas in the matrix blocks. Blocks in a stack under this type of
block-to-block interaction show a drainage performance as a func-
tion of time that differs considerably from that of a stack of isolated
blocks (Fung 1991; Firoozabadi and Ishimoto 1994; Sajjadian et al.
1998). The other interaction phenomenon is the consequence of ma-
trix/matrix connection and/or fracture capillary pressure that is called
capillary continuity. This makes hydraulic continuity partially or
completely between isolated matrix blocks and increases the ulti-
mate oil recovery of fractured reservoirs by gravity drainage. (Horie
et al. 1988; Labastie 1990; Stones et al. 1992).
The glass micromodel provides insight into the pore-scale
interplay of various aspects of transport phenomena and gives
the opportunity to discover yet unrecognized process and to
enhance the understanding of existing theories and assumptions
(Wilson 1994). The first etched-glass network was made by Mat-
tax and Kyte (1961). Davis and Jones (1968) significantly
improved it later by using the photo-etching technique. Despite
their limitation to 2D models, visual observations of multiphase
flow in porous media can provide valuable information to enhance
our understanding of pore-scale transport phenomena. These mod-
els were used by several authors for the study of multiphase-flow
displacements and production mechanisms (Chatzis and Dullien
1983; Lenormand et al. 1983; Danesh et al. 1987; Nguyen et al.
2002; Sohrabi et al. 2004, 2008).
With glass micromodels, significant insights into the flow
mechanisms were obtained in fractured systems. Haghighi et al.
(1994) experimentally studied the impact of steam- and hot-
water-injection rate on immiscible displacement of oil in a hori-
zontal fractured system. They introduced a critical capillary num-
ber Nc such that for Nc larger than this critical value the
displacing phase can invade the matrix block. van Dijke et al.
(2004, 2006) investigated the behavior of the three-phase immis-
cible water-alternating-gas (WAG) injection in nonfractured
micromodels. Rangel-German and Kovscek. (2006) studied the
transfer mechanisms between matrix and fracture for a two-phase
system by use of micromodels. They found that the rate of water
uptake from a fracture into an unsaturated matrix and the pore-
level pattern of water infiltration depend critically on the rate of
water infiltration through fractures. Soudmand-asli et al. (2007)
carried out experiments with etched-glass micromodels to investi-
gate the microbial-improved-oil recovery process in fractured po-
rous media. They showed that the microbial-oil-recovery
efficiency with biosurfactant-producing bacteria in the fractured
1
 J171555 DOI: 10.2118/171555-PA Date: 18-August-14 Stage: Page: 2 Total Pages: 13

Fig. 1Schematic of the glass micromodel and matrix pattern.
porous media is higher than that of the nonfractured media.
Mashayekhizadeh et al. (2011) studied the effects of fracture aper-
ture and inclination angle on the stability of liquid bridges and the
shape of the gas/liquid front in the micromodel fractured systems
under FFGD. Dehghan et al. (2012) used micromodels to investi-
gate the fracture-network effects on sweep efficiency during the
WAG-injection process. They concluded that the lower gas-injec-
tion rate demonstrates more-stable behavior for water displace-
ment and leads to lower residual oil in the matrix block.
There are few studies, if any, to reveal experimentally the
impact of the geometrical characteristics of the fracture on oil-
production rate of matrix block and its RF under the FFGD mech-
anism. In this study, several fractured micromodel systems were
designed to study the oil-recovery mechanism of a single matrix
block during FFGD. Although the results will not be directly ap-
plicable to real reservoirs, one can use them for better understand-
ing and verifying the flow transport and pore-scale events during
the FFGD mechanism. Also, these visual observations enable us
to investigate the role of capillary pressure in narrow fracture
openings. In addition, we investigated the effect of matrix and
fracture characteristics on the oil RF during the FFGD mecha-
nism. These characteristics include fracture permeability, fracture
spacing, fracture width, and matrix layering. Multiple linear-
regression analysis was applied considering the dimensionless
groups affecting the RF of matrix block such as the Bond number,
the permeability ratio, and the fracture spacing.
Experimental Facilities
Micromodels. The micromodels are generally classified into two
major types. The first type is produced on the basis of a real pore
structure obtained from a thin-section image. They have more-
complicated pore structures that are often used for qualitative
experiments. The other type is constructed on the basis of geomet-
rical parameters of porous media such as pore-size/throat-size dis-
tribution, aspect ratio, and coordinate number. In this study, on the
basis of the second approach, several patterns with different pore
structures and fracture geometrical factors were etched onto the
surface of a glass plate. Matrix porous media are surrounded by lat-
eral fractures at each side to incorporate the effects of fracture/ma-
trix interaction. This model is conceptually similar to the single-
matrix-block configuration proposed by Van Golf-Racht (1982).
The patterns of the synthetic porous media are generated with
R
CorelDRAWV software. A schematic of the model and a magnified
picture of the pore/throat pattern are shown in Fig. 1. The fractured
porous patterns are etched on the glass surface with a laser beam. A
microdepth measurement apparatus (Mitutoyo No.3109F) was
used to determine pore/throat depth along the matrix block. The
collected data show that the patterns have uniform depth with a
minor deviation of approximately 5 to 8%. In addition, the stage of
removing glass powder from the pattern surface may change the
original size of pore width. Hence, a scanning-electron-microscope
image was used to determine the pore/throat-width distribution.
This observation revealed that the pore/throat width has remained
uniform with a very narrow distribution. These data are necessary
to specify the capillary pressure of matrix block. Also, the etching
depth of the fracture is measured to calculate its permeability.
After etching the porous pattern, a second optically flat glass
plate was then placed over the first, covering the etched pattern
and thus creating an enclosed pore space. These two plates were
then attached together under a thermal process called fusing. In
this step, the system is heated up to 7508C gradually and then left
to be cooled down slowly to the ambient temperature to give a
completely sealed set of flow area. This second plate, the cover
plate, has an inlet hole and an outlet hole drilled at either end,
allowing fluid to be displaced through the network of pores. It is
worth mentioning that larger micromodels are difficult to make
because of limitations on oven sizes and problems with keeping
the surface flat enough to ensure good sealing between two plates.
Therefore, to minimize the favorable matrix block height, the rel-
ative size of the pore was somehow larger than the field scale. A
summary of the characteristics of the micromodels that were used
in this study is given in Table 1.
Matrix Permeability. The matrix permeability is determined
with Darcys law. A separate matrix-network model with the
same dimension of the matrices used in the fractured model was
constructed and placed horizontally. Then, colored distilled water
with methylene blue was injected through it. The pressure-drop/
flow-rate response (Dullien 1992) was measured during injection
for several constant rates.

TABLE 1SPECIFICATIONS OF GLASS MICROMODELS

Mean Throat Matrix- Matrix Matrix Fracture Fracture-

Pore Size Size Etching Length Height Width Etching
(mm) (mm) Depth (mm) (cm) (cm) (mm) Depth (mm)

Model A 500 200 60 3.024 10 700 60

Model B 500 200 60 5.979 10 700 60
Model C 500 200 60 3.024 10 700 60
Model D 500 200 60 3.024 10 2000 60
Model E 500 200 60 3.024 10 2000 150
Model F 500 200 60 3.024 10 2000 240
Model G 500 200 150 3.024 10 2000 240
Model H 500 200 60 3.024 10 2000 60
Model C2 500 200 60 3.024 10 1400 60
Model H2 500 200 100 3.024 10 2000 60

2 2014 SPE Journal

ID: jaganm Time: 14:43 I Path: S:/3B2/J###/Vol00000/140056/APPFile/SA-J###140056

 J171555 DOI: 10.2118/171555-PA Date: 18-August-14 Stage: Page: 3 Total Pages: 13

TABLE 2GEOMETRICAL AND FLUID PROPERTIES OF MATRIX BLOCK

Parameter Value (Unit) Comments

3
dairnC10 23.8310 (N/m) at 20 C
cos h 1
x 500 (mm) Mean of pore width
rx 20 (mm) Standard deviation of width
y 60 (mm) Mean of pore depth
ry 7.5 (mm) Standard deviation of depth
2 18 700 (m1) 2 1 1

r r x y
r2 * 2163.3 (m1)
r
Pc 445.6210 (Pa)
rPc 51.5 (Pa)
2 1 1
*: ; where x pore/throat width and y pore/throat depth.
r x y

Matrix Porosity. The results of the microdepth measurement where d and h are the interfacial tension between phases and the
show that the etched depth of the pores in the micromodel is relatively rock/fluid contact angle, respectively. The combination of Eqs. 1
uniform; hence, the areal porosity of matrix is equal to the ratio of col- and 3 gives
"   #
ored area to the total area of fully saturated matrix block. This ratio is Vfree 1 2dcosh 2dcosh 2
obtained as approximately 48% with image-analysis software. f Pc ; P c ; r2pc p exp   :
2prpc 2rpc Pc Pc
Matrix Capillary Pressure. This parameter is of great impor-
tance because it controls the ultimate RF of the drainage process.                    4
In this study, the capillary pressure of the matrix block was
obtained from the pore-size distribution of the matrix block. On The fraction-free PV that is occupied with the nonwetting
the basis of physical dimensional analysis, pore/throat size of the phase can be determined by integrating Eq. 4 from zero to any
matrix block can be represented by a normal probability-distribu- interested capillary pressure, as follows:
tion function, as follows: 2dcosh
Pc

Vfree 1 rr 2 Vnw f Pc ; P c ; r2Pc dPc

f r; r; r2r p e 2 rr ; . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 
"
2prr 2dcosh   #
Pc Vfree 1 2dcosh 2dcosh 2
where r is the equivalent pore/throat radius, r is the volume-me- p exp   dPc :
 2prpc 2rpc Pc Pc
dian pore/throat radius, r is the standard deviation of the pore/
throat radius, and Vfree is the total-free pore volume (PV) of all                    5
pores that is defined as
Eq. 5 can be rewritten on the basis
 of the normalized nonwet-


1
 Snw Vnw
Vfree f r; r; r2r dr: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 ting-phase-saturation definition Snw
1  Siw  Snwr Vfree
0 as follows:
The capillary pressure is related to the pore/throat radius by 2dcosh "   #
the Young-Laplace equation as  1 Pc 1 2dcosh 2dcosh 2
Snw p exp  2  dpc
2dcosh 2dcosh 2prPc  2rPc Pc Pc
Pc ; Pc ; . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
r r GPc ; P c ; r2Pc :                       6
Capillary Pressure vs. Saturation
0.1 The inversion operator was applied on Eq. 6, and the following
Static capilllary pressure
wetting-phase-saturation (Sw) and capillary pressure (Pc) relation-
ship was obtained:
0.09
 
p 2Sw  Siw
Pc 2rpc erf 1 1  Pc;
0.08
1  Siw  Snwr
8 Snw 2 0; 1  Siw ;                        7
0.07
where Siw and Snwr are the irreducible wetting-phase saturation and
Pc, psi

the residual nonwetting-phase saturation, respectively. According to

0.06 the characteristics of the matrix block that were summarized in Table
2, the capillary pressure curve was determined, as shown in Fig. 2.
Fracture Porosity. It is defined as the ratio of fracture volume
0.05 to the total bulk volume of the fractured model. In a 2D etched-
glass micromodel, the fracture porosity is defined as follows:
0.04 wf
uf ; . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
wf L
0.03 where L and wf are the width of the matrix block and the side frac-
0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 1
So, fraction ture, respectively.
Fracture Permeability. It is defined as the fluid conductivity
Fig. 2Capillary pressure curve of matrix block. through a single fracture not communicating with its surrounding

2014 SPE Journal 3

ID: jaganm Time: 14:43 I Path: S:/3B2/J###/Vol00000/140056/APPFile/SA-J###140056

 J171555 DOI: 10.2118/171555-PA Date: 18-August-14
TABLE 3PHYSICAL PROPERTIES OF FLUIDS
Property Red Normal Decane Air
3 were processed with in-house image-analyzing software to measure
Density (g/cm ) 0.7298 0.0012041
Viscosity (cp) 0.83147 0.01827
matrix (Van Golf-Racht 1982). The absolute permeability of the
fractures is calculated by considering them as capillary tubes with
the hydraulic-diameter (Dh) concept (Haghighi et al. 1994), as
D2h
kff ; . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
32
where
4Ac
Dh ; . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
P tom face of matrix block, as shown in Fig. 4. After the airs en-
where Ac and P are the cross-sectional area and the wetted perim-
eter open to flow, respectively. The hydraulic diameter of micro-
fractures used in this study with rectangular cross sections equals
approximately twice the etching depth. Hence, the fracture perme-
ability is controlled with the smallest dimension.
Fluids System. For the experiments reported here, normal dec-
ane (n-C10) was dyed with Sudan red and was used as oil (wetting
phase). The viscosity and density of colored n-C10 were measured
with a Stabinger viscometer (SVM 3000) at atmospheric pressure
and 20 C. Air was used as the gas phase in all tests. Physical
properties of test fluids are listed in Table 3.
Pump and Optical System. A very accurate low-injection-rate
pump (Quizix pump), between 105 and 102 cm3/min, was used
to control the fluid flow through the micromodel. The micromodel
was cleaned before each run with another washing pump (Eldex
pump). The washing pump had three containers for distilled
water, alcohol, and toluene as cleaning fluids. In all micromodel
experiments, the required information is achieved by visual obser-
vation. Thus, a high-resolution digital camera (Cannon model
D50) was used to capture and record the images of fluid displace-
ment in the micromodel at different stages of the test.
Experimental Setup and Procedure
The setup was composed of a micromodel holder that was placed
into a steel vessel containing visible widows, a camera interfaced
to a computer for recording photos, and a high-accuracy, low-rate
pump. A schematic of the experimental setup is shown in Fig. 3.
All the experiments were performed at room conditions (20 C, 1
atm). The following steps were taken to prepare micromodels
before beginning the tests: First, the micromodel was cleaned with
toluene and then with deionized water. In the second step, the
micromodel was saturated with red n-C10 at a very low injection
rate. The micromodel was then oriented vertically, and both end
= Valve
= Fluid Line
= Data Transfer Water
Transfer
Supply
= Pressure Gauge Vessel
Quizix Pump
Gas Cylinder
Fig. 3Schematic of the experimental setup.
4 2014 SPE Journal
ID: jaganm Time: 14:43 I Path: S:/3B2/J###/Vol00000/140056/APPFile/SA-J###140056
Stage: Page: 4 Total Pages: 13
ports of the micromodel were open to atmosphere to start drainage
of n-C10. A high-resolution digital camera was used for the continu-
ous recording of liquid/air interface movements in both matrix and
fractures. Pictures taken at various stages of gravity displacement
the saturation and trace the gas/liquid interface movement through
the matrix block and side vertical fractures.
Oil-Recovery Mechanism. At the outset of the experiments, it
was observed that gas invaded the side fractures because of its
lower resistance to flow and there was no gas entering into the
matrix block. This causes a difference between the liquid height
in fracture and matrix, which is the characteristic behavior of
gravity drainage in fractured porous media. At the time when the
liquid level in the fracture is low enough such that the driving
gravity force Dqghm  hf  overrides the entry capillary pres-
sure, liquid drainage would start in the matrix. The liquids height
in matrix block (hm) and fracture (hf) was measured from the bot-
trance into the matrix block, liquid drainage occurs from matrix
and fractures simultaneously. Fig. 5 shows the variations of liquid
height in fractures and matrix as well as their difference over
time. The height difference reaches a local maximum at which
liquid drainage from matrix begins. The liquid-height difference
[hmhf] presents a minor fluctuating behavior caused by liquid
exchange between matrix block and fracture system. The figure
shows a repeated cycle (stop and start) behavior of oil production
from the matrix block. The capillary and gravity forces are the
main interacting parameters affecting multiphase-fluid flow in
FFGD tests, in the absence of viscous forces. The dimensionless
Bond number (NBo), which expresses the importance of body
forces (i.e., gravitational force) compared with the resistive capil-
lary force of any particular system, is defined as
DPgravity
NBo : . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
DPmatrixcapillary
The driving gravity force is defined as
DPgravity DqgLeff ; . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
where Dq is the density difference of fluids, g is the gravitational
constant, and Leff is the effective characteristic length. For this
special case, the effective characteristic length is the elevation dif-
ference of gas/liquid-interface positions in matrix and vertical
fracture (hmhf). If the pore network of matrix block is considered
as capillary tubes with rectangular cross section, its critical entry
pressure is defined by the Lenormand equation:
 
d 1 1
Pc d cosh; . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Rt x y
where x and y are the width and depth of the pore channel, respec-
tively, and h is the wetting-phase contact angle. Substituting Eqs. 13
and 12 into Eq. 11 gives the following form of the Bond number:
Video
Camera
Computer
Inlet
Light Source
Micromodel
Outlet
 J171555 DOI: 10.2118/171555-PA Date: 18-August-14 Stage: Page: 5 Total Pages: 13

is more noticeable than in capillary imbibition processes. The ex-

z perimental data of fracture capillary pressure are very limited. In
general, several authors (Kazemi and Merrill 1979; Beckner
1990; Gilman et al. 1994) have assumed that fracture capillary
pressure is negligible. Van Golf-Racht (1982) assumed that frac-
hm Hb ture capillary pressure is negligible and presents the following
hf mathematical equation for the oil-drainage velocity of a single
OIL matrix block partially surrounded by gas in the fracture system:
Dqghm  hf  Pcm
u l l . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
hm  Hb  o hm
Fig. 4Schematic of a partially immersed matrix block in gas. kg ko

where hm and hf are the gas/liquid level in matrix and fracture,

Dqghm hf respectively; Hb is the matrix-block height; and Pcm is the capil-
NBo   : ..................... 14 lary pressure of matrix block. If the capillary pressure is taken
1 1
d cosh into account, Eq. 15 can be modified as
x y
Dqghm  hf  Pcm Pcf
This new expression of the Bond number was used to explain the u lg l ; . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
production behavior of a single matrix block under the FFGD mech- hm  Hb  o hm
anism. The experimental observations reveal that the production life kg ko
of matrix block consists of three distinct production periods, as where Pcf is the capillary pressure of the fracture. One can use
shown in Fig. 6. Early in production, oil produces from the lateral this equation to calculate the fracture capillary pressure from the
faces of matrix mainly caused by the infinitesimal pressure differ- balance of three terms: gravity (G), fluid flow (F), and matrix cap-
ence between matrix and side fractures. This condition is considered illary pressure (Pcm ), which are defined as
as a capillary-dominated flow regime that has a Bond number that is
 
very small (NBo  1). Over time the liquid-height difference p 2Sw  Siw
(hmhf) increases, and it will result in an increase in Bond number Pcm 2rpcm erf 1 1  P cm ;
1  Siw  Sinw
according to Eq. 14. When the gravitational force overcomes the
entry capillary pressure of matrix block, gas phase invades the ma- G Dqghm  hf ;
trix block from the top face. Here, in the middle of production, the
capillarity and gravity forces balance each other, and oil is produced and
with a constant drainage rate. This production behavior implies a  
lg lo
capillary/gravity equilibrium regime. Production continues until ma- F u Hb  hm hm :
trix block is totally surrounded by gas phase and an oil discontinuity Kg Ko
between matrix block and fractures occurs. Afterward, the saturation
These terms consist of the petrophysical and fluid properties that
profile is almost uniform with the distance above the equilibrium
are known. Image-analysis software was used to determine the
position at the matrix block; however, this wetting-phase saturation
gas/liquid position in the matrix block (hm) and in the vertical
slowly decreases with continued FFGD. Experimental results show
fracture (hf). It was also used to obtain oil saturation of the matrix
that although oil production under the FFGD production mechanism
block (Sw) during the production life. The corresponding value of
is a very slow, its RF is sufficiently high with very low irreducible
each term was calculated for Micromodel C with a narrow frac-
oil saturation of approximately 5 to 10%.
ture opening. Then, the fracture capillary pressure was obtained,
and it is illustrated in Fig. 7. This experimental finding indicates
Fracture Capillary Pressure. Fracture capillary pressure that for a narrow fracture, the gas/oil capillary pressure, which
improves the gas/oil gravity-drainage performance, and its effect affects the oil-drainage rate of matrix block, cannot be neglected.

1.0

0.9
Fracture-liquid height (hf)
0.8 gravitational-force head (hmhf)
Matrix-liquid height (hm)
0.7
hf,hm and (hmhf)

0.6

0.5

0.4

0.3

0.2

0.1

0.0
0 5 10 15 20 25 30
Time (seconds) x 10000

Fig. 5The gas/liquid-interface position in the matrix block (hm) and the side fracture (hf) and the difference between them (hmhf)
during the FFGD process. (Typically for Model C).

2014 SPE Journal 5

ID: jaganm Time: 14:44 I Path: S:/3B2/J###/Vol00000/140056/APPFile/SA-J###140056

 J171555 DOI: 10.2118/171555-PA Date: 18-August-14 Stage: Page: 6 Total Pages: 13

1
these two media. For these sets of experiments that were performed
at atmospheric pressure, there was no noticeable intrinsic pressure
0.9 gradient between the two media. However, the pressure difference
between matrix and fracture can be considered as the difference of
0.8 gas/liquid-interface positions in the fracture and the matrix at any
Saturation (fraction)

0.7 time. Fig. 9 shows that the height difference of gas/liquid interface
in matrix and side fracture hm  hf  during the FFGD test for both
0.6 Experimental Data models has approximately the same value. However, the magni-
Region 1
Region 2 tude of the flow-pressure gradient (Dp/Dx) of a large-fracture-spac-
0.6
Region 3 ing model is small as a result of the larger interval between matrix
0.4 and side fracture. This leads to a weak liquid-flow communication
between matrix and fractures. Fig. 10 shows the quality of gas/liq-
0.3 uid interface at two different times. In these experiments, the
breakthrough time corresponds to the moment at which gas invades
0.2
the lower horizontal fracture and appears in the outlet port. Image-
0.1 analysis
 results show that the matrix normalized drainage rate,
q q dSo
0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 qn , of the small-fracture-spacing mi-
x 105 Vp Am  e  u dt
Time (seconds)
cromodel is 4.772106 (1/sec). It is obviously larger than that of
another model with 1.721106 (1/sec). These experimental find-
Fig. 6The production behavior of matrix block during FFGD
process. ings confirm that using the 1D approach for a large-fracture-spac-
ing system considerably overestimates gravity-drainage rate and
yields misleading results.
Results and Discussion
This section describes the results of the FFGD tests in etched Effect of Fracture Width. To observe the effect of fracture
micromodels. In each case, the microscopic displacement mecha- width, Micromodels C and D were used. The matrix pattern and
nisms and the quantitative amount of oil-drainage rate and its RF block height of both models were identical, but they had different
for matrix block were analyzed and compared. The present study widths of side fractures. The fracture width of Model D is 2 mm,
focuses on trapping on the matrix-block level in fractured reser- which is approximately three times larger than that of another
voirs. Therefore, the effect of capillary trapping by water films model. The drainage rate of the side fracture is defined as
was ignored. Image-analysis technique is used to quantify satura-
tion and liquid height in the two media: matrix block and side dV f dSo Vf dSoAf Hf dso
qof Af Hf ; . . . . . 17
fractures. dt dt dt dt

Effect of Fracture Spacing. To investigate the effect of fracture
spacing (the ratio of distance between two adjacent fractures to ma-
trix-block height) on FFGD performance, Micromodels A and B
with different fracture spacings of 0.3 and 0.59 were used. The
results are illustrated in Fig. 8. Experimental results show that the
oil RF increases as the fracture-spacing/matrix-block-height ratio
decreases. Visual observations reveal that besides the liquid
drained from matrix caused by gravitational force, there is also
liquid-flow communication between matrix and side fractures.
According to Darcys law, the liquid-transfer rate from matrix to
fracture is directly proportional to the pressure gradient between
where Af is the cross-sectional area of the fracture, Hf is the frac-
ture height, and dsdto is the rate of the fractures saturation that was
determined with image analysis. The fracture cross-sectional area
is the product of fracture width and etched depth, e. Both models
have the same etching depths so that the fracture permeability
(Kf) remains constant. Experimental results show that the frac-
tures drainage rate of the wide-fracture micromodel increases,
but its increment rate is not directly proportional to the width of
fracture, as shown in Fig. 11. On the other hand, the mass balance
of a control volume perpendicular to the cross-sectional area of
each side fracture can be expressed as

8 *103 Model C

5
Capillary pressure (atm)

3 Matrix Capillary Pressure

Gravity
Fluid Flow Differential Pressure
2
Fracture Capillary Pressure

2
0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 1
Wetting phase saturation (fraction)

Fig. 7Fracture capillary pressure and its contributing terms.

6 2014 SPE Journal

ID: jaganm Time: 14:44 I Path: S:/3B2/J###/Vol00000/140056/APPFile/SA-J###140056

 J171555 DOI: 10.2118/171555-PA Date: 18-August-14 Stage: Page: 7 Total Pages: 13

60

Fracture spacing = 0.3

50
Fracture spacing = 0.59

Recovery factor (%)

40

30

20

10

0
0 10 20 30 40 50 60
Time (seconds) x 10000

Fig. 8The effect of fracture spacing on the oil-RF change.

dV f dhf block decreases. This is supported by image-analysis results, as

qof Af ; ...................... 18
dt dt shown in Fig. 12. In addition to the descending effect of the frac-
dhf tures width on the drainage rate of the matrix block, the ultimate
where is the rate of change of the liquid height in the vertical RF was decreased. The analysis of the images captured during
dt these tests shows that the fracture/matrix drainage-rate ratios (Qf/
fracture. Clearly, this relation shows that the decline rate of frac-
ture liquid height decreases as the fracture width increases. Visu- Qm) of Models C and D are 0.049 and 0.157, respectively. This
alization studies prove that the gas/liquid elevation difference causes the earlier gas breakthrough at the bottom horizontal frac-
hm  hf remains constant during the FFGD process. Therefore, ture and yields lower RF in Model D. The matrix-block RFs of
the decline rate of the liquid level Micromodels D and C are 66.5 and 85.8%, respectively.
 of both media
 (matrix block
dhf dhm
and side fractures) is identical . This implies the Effect of Fracture-Matrix-Permeability Ratio. Various fracture
dt dt permeability can be achieved by adjusting the laser-beam parame-
reduction of the decline rate of the liquid level in matrix block as ters to etch side fractures with different depths. To observe the
the fracture width increases. Intuitively, it is clear that the matrix effect of the fracture-matrix-permeability ratio on the RF in frac-
drainage rate is proportional
 to the rate of change of the liquid tured media, Patterns E, F, and G were considered, and their results
dVom dhm were compared with those of Pattern D. The permeability ratio (Kf/
level in the matrix block qom Am um . Therefore,
dt dt Km) of models D, E, F, and G are 3.61, 22.49, 57.83, and 19.28,
by increasing the fracture width, the drainage rate of the matrix respectively. Visual observations show that at a higher permeability

0.6

0.5

0.4
hmhf (Dimensionless)

0.3 Low fracture spacing = 0.3

High fracture spacing = 0.59

0.2

0.1

0
0 10 20 30 40 50 60
Time (seconds) x 10000

Fig. 9Comparison of difference between the gas/liquid-contact locations in matrix and in fracture at two different fracture
spacings.

2014 SPE Journal 7

ID: jaganm Time: 14:44 I Path: S:/3B2/J###/Vol00000/140056/APPFile/SA-J###140056

 J171555 DOI: 10.2118/171555-PA Date: 18-August-14 Stage: Page: 8 Total Pages: 13

contrast between two media, the fractures as the lower-resistance

paths of the system drain and the matrix block would be surrounded
by the gas phase quickly. The medium permeability has a signifi-
(a) cant contribution to the flow rate, and the fracture-matrix-perme-
ability ratio can be represented as the flow-potential contrast
between these two media. Therefore, higher permeability contrast
leads to an earlier gas breakthrough at the bottom horizontal frac-
ture and the main portion of oil traps in the matrix block. On the
t = 110735 sec tbt = 164547 sec basis of the experimental results, it is revealed that the permeability
contrast between two media has a profound effect on the oil RF val-
ues and on the amount of gas invasion into the matrix. The image-
processing results are shown in Fig. 13.

(b) Effect of Matrix Layering. The effect of matrix-block layering

on the oil RF was studied by generating Pattern H. A layered ma-
trix block was constructed such that the low-permeability layer
was between two layers with the same high permeability. This
was performed simply by setting different parameters of the laser
beam for the middle layer of the pattern compared with those of
t = 141701 sec tbt = 350225 sec the upper and lower layers. Experimental results show that the oil
RF in a multilayered system is mostly affected by the permeabil-
Fig. 10Comparison of gas/liquid-interface shape at (a) small ity contrast among the layers. The Leverett function illustrates the
fracture spacing and (b) large fracture spacing.

14
Fracture's oil volume vs. time (2 mm)

12 Fracture's oil volume vs. time (0.7 mm)

Fractures oil volume (cc*103)

10

6
y = 2E05x + 10
R 2= 0.910
4
y = 1E05x + 3.569
R 2= 0.901
2

0
0 10 20 30 40 50 60
x 10000
Time (seconds)

Fig. 11The effect of fracture width on fracture drainage rate.

1
Gas/liquid interface level in matrix block (Dimensionless)

Fracture width = 2 mm
0.9
Fracture width = 0.7 mm
0.8

0.7

0.6
y =2E06x + 1.025
0.5
y =3E06x + 1.030
0.4

0.3

0.2

0.1

0
0 10 20 30 40 50 60
x 10000
Time (seconds)

Fig. 12Comparison of rate of change of the matrix liquid height at two different fracture widths.

8 2014 SPE Journal

ID: jaganm Time: 14:44 I Path: S:/3B2/J###/Vol00000/140056/APPFile/SA-J###140056

 J171555 DOI: 10.2118/171555-PA Date: 18-August-14 Stage: Page: 9 Total Pages: 13

80
Kf/Km = 3.61 (Model D)
Kf/Km = 22.49 (Model E)
70 Kf/Km = 57.83 (Model F)
Kf/Km = 19.28 (Model G)
60

Recovery factor (%)

50

40

30

20

10

0
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50
Time (seconds) x 10000

Fig. 13The effect of fracture-/matrix-permeability ratio on matrix RF.

interdependency of capillary pressure and the permeability of the
media, as follows:
d cosh
Pc p  JSw ; . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
K=u
where J (Sw) is known as the J-function. On the basis of this equa-
tion, the low-permeability layer has a higher retention capillary
force. The oil-saturation profile for the multilayer matrix block, as
shown in Fig. 14, demonstrates that oil tends to accumulate in the
vicinity of the low-permeability to high-permeability layer. More-
over, in a multilayer system, the low-permeability layer resists
downward movement of the oil phase under gravity drainage.
This behavior decreases the drainage rate of the matrix block
compared with the homogeneous matrix block. These two phe-
nomena (oil trapping in low-permeability layer and reduction of
the matrix drainage rate) cause the RF of the matrix block in the
multilayer system to decrease, as shown in Fig. 15.
Oil-Recovery Prediction. Oil-production rate and its RF for the
matrix block under an FFGD mechanism depend on the physical
properties of the matrix block and fluids. They are also affected
by the characteristics of the side fractures and the matrix/fracture
interaction. Dimensionless numbers are commonly used for the
upscaling procedure applied to the experimental results. Bond
number (NBo), the ratio of gravitational force to capillary force, is
the main dimensionless group for the analysis of the FFGD pro-
cess. When the viscous force is not negligible and has an impor-
tant effect, other dimensionless numbers, such as the capillary
number, should be considered too. The FFGD process occurs in
the absence of the viscous force; therefore, only the Bond number
was considered. This dimensionless number, based on matrix per-
meability, is defined as
DqgKm
NBo ; . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
dgo
where Dq is the density difference between two fluids, g is the accel-
eration as a result of gravity, Km is the matrix permeability, and dgo is
the surface tension. On the basis of the experiments performed, the
f
fracture spacing s and permeability ratio between two media
  H
Kf
were recognized as the other dimensionless numbers that have
Km
great effect on the RF. Multiple regression is a proper data-analysis
method whenever a quantitative dependent variable is to be examined
in relationship to more than one predictor variable. To perform the

10

9 High-permeable Layer

8
Low-permeable Layer
7
Height (cm)

6
Low-permeable Layer

4
t = 12.8875 hr
3
t = 16.5517 hr
2 t = 40.4906 hr
t = 53.5214 hr
1 t = 66.6147 hr

0
0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 1
Oil Saturation

Fig. 14The saturation profile of the multilayered block.

2014 SPE Journal 9

ID: jaganm Time: 14:44 I Path: S:/3B2/J###/Vol00000/140056/APPFile/SA-J###140056

 J171555 DOI: 10.2118/171555-PA Date: 18-August-14 Stage: Page: 10 Total Pages: 13

100

90
Single-layer matrix block
Multilayer matrix block
80

Recovery factor (%)

70

60

50

40

30

20

10

0
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35
Time (seconds) x 10000

Fig. 15The effect of layering on matrix RF.

multiple linear-regression analysis and to determine the dependency
of a dimensionless response variable on a particular dimensionless
variable, scatter plots should be prepared. Such plots will illustrate the
absolute effect of each of the predictor variables [Bond number, frac-
ture spacing, and (Kf /Km)] on the dimensionless response variable.
Figs. 16 through 18 are crossplots showing the effects of different
dimensionless groups on the matrix-block RF. To present the function
in a linear form regardless of increasing and decreasing trends, the
natural-logarithm term contributes in some of the terms. These figures
show that the RF decreases linearly with an increase of fracture spac-
K analysis that is defined as summation of the squared deviations;
ing and the natural logarithm of f . The RF also increases linearly
Km
with an increase of the natural logarithm of Bond number. The fol-
lowing multivariable regressing form of the RF is obtained:
 
fs Kf
RF a b cln dlnNBo : . . . . . . . . . . 21
H Km
Table 4 shows the correlation coefficients that are based on the
regression analysis, standard errors, and lower and upper limits of
the coefficients. The suitability of the multivariable-regression anal-
ysis was checked by the ANOVA (analysis of variance) table. The
relevant ANOVA table for the RF is shown in Table 5. This includes
the relevant data for each of three sources of deviation consisting of
regression, residuals, and total. The source of variation of each type
of data is caused either by the deviation of each predicted data value
from its group mean value (i.e., regression) or by the deviation of
each predicted value from its observed value (i.e., residuals). The
sum of these two sources of deviations would be expressed as the
total source of deviations. For each of these three sources of devia-
tions, five measures of variance (i.e., Columns 2 through 6) could be
described as follows. Degrees of freedom (DF) can be considered as
the number of correlation coefficients, N, with respect to the number
of regressed variables used in each particular model; sum of the
squares (SS) is a measure of variance for each particular regression
mean squares (MS) corrects the SS for the DF; F-test (F) is a var-
iance-related statistical parameter that compares two models that are
different from each other by one or more regressed variables (if the F
value is greater than a standard tabulated value, the more-complex
equation would be considered significant); P-value is the probability
of obtaining a test statistic at least as extreme as the one that was
actually observed. The significance of P-value means that you would
reject your null hypothesis. By default, the significance level is set at
0.05, and the observed P-value of the proposed correlation is equal
to 0.0039, which is less than it. Therefore, all the considered parame-
ters in multivariable linear-regression analysis and their attributed
effects are important and cannot be ignored to simplify the related
statistical analysis.

100

90

80
Recovery Factor (%)

70

60

50

40

30

20

10

0
0.308 0.31 0.312 0.314 0.316 0.318 0.32 0.322 0.324
Fracture spacing (Fs /H )

Fig. 16Matrix RF vs. the fracture spacing.

10 2014 SPE Journal

ID: jaganm Time: 14:44 I Path: S:/3B2/J###/Vol00000/140056/APPFile/SA-J###140056

 J171555 DOI: 10.2118/171555-PA Date: 18-August-14 Stage: Page: 11 Total Pages: 13

100

90

80

70

Recovery Factor (%)

60

50

40

30

20

10

0
0.00E+00 5.00E05 1.00E04 1.50E04 2.00E04 2.50E04 3.00E04 3.50E04
Bond number (Dimensionless)

Fig. 17Impact of the Bond number on the production performance of the matrix block.

80

70

60
Recovery Factor (%)

50

40

30

20

10

0
0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5 4 4.5
ln (Kf /Km)

Fig. 18Matrix RF vs. natural logarithm of fracture-permeability/matrix-permeability ratio.

Conclusions
This study illustrates the applicability of the micromodel experi-
ments for the fundamental understanding of the FFGD process
and the role of fracture geometrical characteristics on oil recovery
from the matrix block. On the basis of the observations and analy-
TABLE 4COEFFICIENTS OF THE MULTIPLE-REGRESSION
MODEL OF THE RF
ses of the results, the main conclusions of this study can be item-
ized as follows:
Experimental results showed that the oil production from the
matrix block in the fractured porous media during the FFGD
process consists of three distinct flow regimes; at the outset of
the experiments, the oil production is very slow because of the
infinitesimal pressure drop between fracture and matrix block
and controlled by the capillary-dominated regime. This is

Standard Lower Upper TABLE 5ANOVA TABLE FOR RF

Coefficients Error 95% 95%
Source DF SS MS F P
Intercept 668.235 75.073 345.219 991.252
Fs/H 1,433.685 219.918 2,379.919 487.452 Regression 3 3169.135 1056.378 249.305 0.0039
ln(Kf /Km) 17.211 0.9705 21.387 13.036 Residual 2 8.474 4.237
ln(NBo) 12.396 2.155 3.122 21.671 Total 5 3177.61

2014 SPE Journal 11

ID: jaganm Time: 14:44 I Path: S:/3B2/J###/Vol00000/140056/APPFile/SA-J###140056

 J171555 DOI: 10.2118/171555-PA Date: 18-August-14
followed by a stable and piston-like displacement regime
whereas the elevation difference between gas/liquid levels in
the fracture and matrix remains constant. Eventually, the impor-
tance of the gravity-driving force is decreased and balanced
with the entry capillary force. Afterward, the saturation profile
is almost uniform with the distance above the equilibrium posi-
tion at the matrix block; however, this wetting-phase saturation
slowly decreases with continued FFGD.
The experimental findings and mathematical analysis of a sin-
gle matrix block indicate that, for narrow fracture opening, the
gas/oil capillary pressure of the fracture, which can improve the
drainage rate of the matrix block, should not be ignored.
Oil RF decreases by increasing the fracture spacing. This
behavior can be accounted for by applying a reduction factor to
the ultimate recovery of matrix blocks with large fracture spac-
ing when it was estimated by the 1D vertical gravity-drainage
solution.
The fracture width has a key effect on the production behavior
of both media (matrix block and side fracture). The ratio of
fracture-drainage rate/matrix-drainage rate increases as the frac-
ture width increases. This leads to a lower RF of the matrix
block with a larger fracture opening.
The fracture-permeability/matrix-permeability ratio has a pro-
found effect on the production behavior of the FFGD mecha-
nism. The higher the permeability contrast, the lower the RF.
Therefore, controlling fracture permeability or enhancement of
matrix permeability can improve the RF of the matrix block in
the gas-invading region.
Experimental observations show that in the multilayer matrix
block, both the drainage rate and the ultimate RF of the matrix
block decrease in comparison with a homogeneous matrix
block.
Because the experiments were carried out only over a limited
range of conditions, more experiments are needed to introduce
a generalized empirical correlation to predict the RF of the ma-
trix block in fractured porous media under the FFGD mecha-
nism. However, the results of the experiments show that the
Bond number alone could not predict the oil RF, and that the
other dimensionless numbers that represent the geometrical and
petrophysical ratios of both media (matrix fracture) are also
required.
In the experiments reported here, oil was the wetting phase and
there was no water present. In real reservoirs, however, some
connate water is present, and the capillary pressure of oil and
gas in the presence of water does not act exactly the same way
as that considered here. This can be the subject of a separate
study.
Nomenclature
Ac cross-sectional area, L2
Dh hydraulic diameter, L
Fs fracture spacing, L
g gravitational acceleration, L T2
HB matrix-block height, L
hf liquid height in side fractures measured from the bottom
face of the block, L
hm liquid height in matrix measured from the bottom face of
the block, L
kff intrinsic fracture permeability, L2
Kf conventional fracture permeability, L2
Kg effective gas permeability, L2
Km matrix permeability, L2
Ko effective oil permeability, L2
Krnw nonwetting-phase relative permeability, L2
Krw wetting-phase relative permeability, L2
L matrix length, L
Leff effective characteristic length, L
NBo dimensionless Bond number
P wetted perimeter open to flow, L
Pc capillary pressure, psia
r pore/throat radius, L
12
ID: jaganm Time: 14:44 I Path: S:/3B2/J###/Vol00000/140056/APPFile/SA-J###140056
Stage: Page: 12 Total Pages: 13
r volume-median pore/throat radius, L
Snw normalized nonwetting-phase saturation
Sw normalized wetting-phase saturation
Swi irreducible wetting-phase saturation
t time, seconds
T temperature, oR
To reference temperature, oR
Vfree total-free PV of all pores, L3
w fracture width, L
Dq density difference between fluids, M L3
d surface tension between fluids pair, mN/m
e micromodel pattern depth, L
u drainage velocity of matrix, L T1
l viscosity, cp
lo reference viscosity, cp
Uf fracture porosity, fraction
r standard deviation
h contact angle
References
Beckner, B.L. 1990. Improved Modeling of Imbibition Matrix/Fracture
Fluid Transfer in Double Porosity Simulators. PhD dissertation, Stan-
ford University (July 1990).
Chatzis, I. and Dullien, F.A.L. 1983. Dynamic Immiscible Displacement
Mechanisms in Pore Doublets Theory Vs. Experiment. Colloid Inter-
face Sci. 91: 199.
Danesh, A., Peden, J.M., Krinis, D. et al. 1987. Pore Level Visual Investi-
gation of Oil Recovery by Solution Gas Drive and Gas Injection. Pre-
sented at the SPE Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition,
Dallas, 2730 September. SPE-16956-MS. http://dx.doi.org/10.2118/
16986-MS.
Darvish, G.R., Lindeberg, E., Holt, T. et al. 2006. Laboratory Experiments
of Tertiary CO2 Injection Into a Fractured Core. Presented at the 2006
SPE/DOE Symposium on Improved Oil Recovery, Tulsa, Oklahoma,
2226 April. SPE-99649-MS. http://dx.doi.org/10.2118/99649-MS.
Davis J.A. and Jones, S.C. 1968. Displacement Mechanisms of Residual
Solutions. J. Petrol.Technol. 20: 1415.
Dehghan, A.A., Ghorbanizadeh, S., and Ayatollahi, Sh. 2012. Investigat-
ing the Fracture Network Effects on Sweep Efficiency During WAG
Injection Process. Transp. Porous Media 93 (3): 577595. http://
dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11242-012-9970-7.
Dullien, F.A.L. 1992. Porous Media: Fluid Transport and Pore Structure,
second edition, San Diego, California: Academic Press, Inc.
Firoozabadi, A. and Ishimoto, K. 1994. Reinfiltration in Fractured Porous
Media Part 1One-Dimensional Model. SPE Advanced Technology
Series 2 (2): 3544.
Fung, L.S.-K. 1991. Simulation of Block-to-Block Processes in Naturally
Fractured Reservoirs. SPE Res Eval & Eng 6 (4): 477484.
Gilman, J.R., Bowzer, J.L., and Rothkopf, B.W. 1994. Application of
Short-Radius Horizontal Boreholes in the Naturally Fractured Yates
Field. Presented at the 69th SPE Annual Technical Conference and Ex-
hibition, New Orleans, Louisiana, 2528 September. SPE-28568-MS.
http://dx.doi.org/10.2118/28568-MS.
Haghighi, M., Xu, B., and Yortsos, Y.C. 1994. Visualization and Simula-
tion of Immiscible Displacement in Fractured Systems Using Micro-
models: I. Drainage. J. Colloid Interface Sci. 166: 168179.
Hagoort, J. 1980. Oil Recovery by Gravity Drainage. SPE J. 20 (3):
139150. SPE-7424-PA. http://dx.doi.org/10.2118/7424-PA.
Horie, T., Firoozabadi, A. and Ishimoto, K. 1988. Capillary Continuity in
Fractured Reservoirs. Presented at the 63rd SPE Annual Technical
Conference and Exhibition, Houston, Texas, 25 October. SPE-18282-
MS. http://dx.doi.org/10.2118/18282-MS.
Karimaie, H. and Torster, O. 2008. Low IFT Gas-Oil Gravity Drainage in
Fractured Carbonate Porous Media. Presented at the Europec/EAGE
Conference and Exhibition, Rome, Italy, 912 June. SPE-113601-MS.
http://dx.doi.org/10.2118/113601-MS.
Kazemi, H. and Merrill, L.S. 1979. Numerical Simulation of Water Imbi-
bition in Fractured Cores. SPE J. 19 (3): 175182. SPE-6895-PA.
http://dx.doi.org/10.2118/6895-PA.
King, R.L., Stiles, J.H., and Waggoner, J.M. 1970. A Reservoir Study of
the Hawkins Woodbine Field. Presented at the Fall Meeting of the
2014 SPE Journal
 J171555 DOI: 10.2118/171555-PA Date: 18-August-14
Society of Petroleum Engineers of AIME, Houston, Texas, 47 Octo-
ber. SPE-2972-MS. http://dx.doi.org/10.2118/2972-MS.
Labastie, A. 1990. Capillary Continuity Between Blocks of a Fractured
Reservoir. Presented at the 65th SPE Annual Technical Conference
and Exhibition, New Orleans, Louisiana, 2326 September. SPE-
20515-MS. http://dx.doi.org/10.2118/20515-MS.
Lenormand, R., Zarcone, C. and Sarr, A. 1983. Mechanisms of the dis-
placement of one fluid by another in a network of capillary ducts. J.
Fluid Mech. 135: 337353. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S002211208300
3110
Mashayekhizadeh, V., Ghazanfari, M.H., Kharrat, R. et al. 2011. Pore-
Level Observation of Free Gravity Drainage of Oil in Fractured Porous
Media. Transp. Porous Media 87 (2): 561584.
Mattax, C.C. and, Kyte, J.R. 1961. Ever See Water Flood? Oil Gas J. 59:115.
Nguyen, Q.P., Thissen, M., and Zitha, P.L.J. 2002. Effect of Trapped Foam
on Gas Tracer Diffusion in a Visual Microflow Model. Presented at the
SPE/DOE Improved Oil Recovery Symposium, Tulsa, Oklahoma, 1317
April. SPE-75208-MS. http://dx.doi.org/10.2118/75208-MS.
Rangel-German, E.R. and Kovscek, A.R. 2006. A Micromodel Investiga-
tion of Two-Phase Matrix-Fracture Transfer Mechanisms. Water
Resour. Res. 42 (3). http://dx.doi.org/10.1029/2004WR003918.
Saidi, A.M. 1987. Reservoir Engineering of Fractured Reservoirs: Funda-
mental and Practical Aspects. Paris, France: TOTAL.
Sajjadian, V.A., Danesh, A., and Tehrani, D.H. 1998. Laboratory Studies
of Gravity Drainage Mechanism in Fractured Carbonate Reservoir-
Capillary Continuity. Presented at the Abu Dhabi International Petro-
leum Exhibition and Conference, Abu Dhabi, UAE. SPE-49497-MS.
http://dx.doi.org/10.2118/49497-MS.
Sajjadian, V.A., Danesh, A., and Tehrani, D.H. 1999. Laboratory Studies
of Gravity Drainage Mechanism in Fractured Carbonate Reservoir-
Reinfiltration. Presented at the SPE Latin American and Caribbean Pe-
troleum Engineering Conference, Caracas, Venezuela, 2123 April.
SPE-54003-MS. http://dx.doi.org/10.2118/54003-MS.
Schechter, D.S. and Guo, B. 1996. Mathematical Modeling of Gravity
Drainage After Gas Injection Into Fractured Reservoirs. Presented at
the 1996 SPE Improved Oil Recovery Symposium Tulsa, Oklahoma,
2224 April. SPE-35170-MS. http://dx.doi.org/10.2118/35170-MS.
Sohrabi, M., Danesh, A., and Jamiolahmady, M. 2008. Visualization of
Residual Oil Recovery by Near-Miscible Gas and SWAG Injection
Using High-Pressure Micromodels. Trans. Porous Media 74 (2):
239257.
2014 SPE Journal
ID: jaganm Time: 14:44 I Path: S:/3B2/J###/Vol00000/140056/APPFile/SA-J###140056
Stage: Page: 13 Total Pages: 13
Sohrabi, M., Tehrani, D.H., Danesh, A. et al. 2004. Visualization of Oil
Recovery by Water-Alternating Gas Injection Using High-Pressure
Micromodels. SPE J. 9 (3): 290301. SPE-89000-PA. http://dx.doi.
org/10.2118/89000-PA.
Soudmand-asli, A., Ayatollahi, S.S, Mohabatkar, H. et al. 2007. The In-
Situ Microbial Enhanced Oil Recovery in Fractured Porous Media. J.
Petrol. Sci. Eng. 58: 161172.
Stones, E.J., Mardsen, S.S., and Zimmerman, S.A. 1992. Gravity-Induced
Drainage From Fractured Porous Media. Presented at the Western Re-
gional Meeting, Bakersfield, California, 30 March1 April. SPE-
24042-MS. http://dx.doi.org/10.2118/24042-MS.
van Dijke, M.I.J., Sorbie, K.S., Sohrabi, M. et al. 2004. Three-Phase Flow
WAG Processes in Mixed-Wet Porous Media: Pore-Scale Network
Simulations and Comparison With Water-Wet Micromodel Experi-
ment. SPE J. 9 (1): 5766. SPE-87822-PA. http://dx.doi.org/10.2118/
87822-PA.
van Dijke, M.I.J., Sorbie, K.S., Sohrabi, M. et al. 2006. Pore-Scale Model-
ing of Three-Phase Flow in Mixed-Wet Porous Media: Multiple Dis-
placement Chains. J. Pet. Sci. Eng. 52: 7186.
Van Golf-Racht, T.D. 1982. Fundamentals of Fractured Reservoir Engi-
neering. New York: Elsevier Scientific Publishing Company.
Warren, J.E. and Root, P.J. 1963. The Behavior of Naturally Fractured
Reservoirs. SPE J. 3 (3): 245255. SPE-426-PA. http://dx.doi.org/
10.2118/426-PA.
Wilson, J.L. 1994. Visualization of Flow and Transport at the Pore Level.
In Transport and Reactive Processes in Aquifers: Proceedings of the
International Symposium, Zurich, 1115 April, ed. Th. Dracos and
F. Stauffer. Rotterdam, The Netherlands: CRC Press.
Mehdi Bahari Moghaddam is a PhD degree candidate in pe-
troleum engineering at the University of Tehran. He holds a BS
degree in petroleum engineering from Petroleum University of
Technology, Iran, and an MSc degree in chemical engineer-
ing from Amir Kabir University of Technology, Iran.
Mohammad Reza Rasaei holds a PhD degree in chemical and
petroleum engineering focused in the area of reservoir engi-
neering. He is currently an assistant professor of petroleum en-
gineering at the University of Tehran, Iran. Rasaeis research
interest focuses on fluid flow in porous media and naturally-
fractured-reservoir studies. He has supervised more than 40
MSc degree and PhD degree students.
13