Control-Volume Model for Simulation of Water Injection in Fractured Media: Incorporating Matrix Heterogeneity and Reservoir Wettability Effects

The control-volume discrete-fracture (CVDF) model is extended to incorporate heterogeneity in rock and in rock-fluid properties. A novel algorithm is proposed to model strong water-wetting with zero capillary pressure in the fractures. The extended method is used to simulate: (1) oil production in a layered faulted reservoir, (2) laboratory displacement tests in a stack of matrix blocks with a large contrast in fracture and matrix capillary pressure functions, and (3) water injection in 2D and 3D fractured media with mixedwettability state. Our results show that the algorithm is suitable for the simulation of water injection in heterogeneous porous media both in water-wet and mixed-wettability states. The novel approach with zero fracture capillary and nonzero matrix capillary pressure allows the proper prediction of sharp fronts in the fractures.