Upscaling of Relative Permeability Using Pseudo Functions

Abstract

Approximately all of the petroleum reservoirs are heterogeneous, and this heterogeneity exists on all levels from pores to simulation models. Since reservoir data are available on different scales and each property does not measure at the individual level, scale-up must be used for acquiring properties of coarse grid models. One of the most important reservoir properties in multiphase upscaling is relative permeability. Pseudo functions are the main methods for upscaling of relative permeability. Kyte and Berry and transmissibility weighted pseudos are two kinds of dynamic pseudo functions. The Kyte and Berry method is based on Darcy's law and the transmissibility weighted pseudos concentrate on saturation effects rather than pressure effects and uses a transmissibility weighted average for calculation of pseudo relative permeabilities. In this work, the effects of directional inter-block pseudos and well pseudos were first investigated. Then the results of coarse grid simulation with directional transmissibility weighted pseudos and Kyte and Berry pseudos were compared with the reference fine grid results.

Keywords::

• Kyte and Berry pseudos
• pseudo functions
• relative permeability
• reservoir simulation
• transmissibility weighted pseudos
• upscaling