Research Information System
SPE RESERVOIR EVALUATION & ENGINEERING, vol.21, no.4, pp.981-1006, 2018 (SCI-Expanded)
Reservoir performance of hydraulically fractured tight and shale-gas formations is affected by an extensive range of parameters. Non-Darcy flow is one of these parameters, characterized by a significant effect on near-wellbore pressure drop for horizontal wells and near-fracture tips for hydraulic fractures (HFs). Non-Darcy flow develops in porous media when the velocity of reservoir fluid becomes extremely high because of continuous narrowing in the cross-sectional area of flow and the convergence of flow streamlines. As a result, the inertial forces could be considered the major contributor to the total pressure drop required by fluids to move from the outer drainage area toward the wellbore. Pressure drop, caused by non-Darcy flow, is described by the Forchheimer (1901) equation, wherein the deviation from Darcy's law is proportional to the inertial factor (beta), which in turn is a function of porous-media characteristics such as permeability and porosity.