Transp Porous Med (2007) 68:265283

DOI 10.1007/s11242-006-9044-9
O R I G I NA L PA P E R

A new simulation framework for predicting the onset

and effects of fines mobilization
Binshan Ju Tailiang Fan Xiaodong Wang
Xiaofeng Qiu

Received: 23 January 2005 / Accepted: 10 August 2006 / Published online: 10 October 2006
Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2006

Abstract Fines release and migration is a universal problem in the production of

oil from poorly consolidated sandstone reservoirs. This problem can result in the
changes of porosity and permeability. It may not only damage a production facility,
but it can also have a profound effect on oil recovery, resulting from the change
in heterogeneity of the oil formation. Based on the macroscopic continuous porous
media, continuity equations for multiphase flow in oil formations, and the theories of
fines release and migration, a three-dimensional (3D) field scale mathematical model
describing migration of fines in porous media is developed. The model is solved by a
finite-difference method and the line successive over relaxation (LSOR) technique. A
numerical simulator is written in Fortran 90 and it can be used to predict (1) the ratio
of fines to production liquid volume, (2) the permeability change caused by colloidal
and hydrodynamic forces resulting from fines release and migration, and (3) production performance. The numerical results of the one-dimensional model were verified
by the data obtained by core displacement experiments. The sensitivity of numerical
results with grid block size was studied by coarse grids, moderate grids, and fine grids.
In addition, an oil field example with five-spot patterns was made on the numerical
simulator. The results show that fines migration in an oil formation can accelerate the
development of heterogeneity of the reservoir rock, and has an obvious influence on
production performance, i.e., water drive front, water-cut trends, and oil recovery.
Keywords Fines migration Permeability change Mathematical model
Numerical simulator Oil recovery Water-cut

B. Ju (B) T. Fan X. Wang

School of Energy Resource, China University of Geosciences, Xueyuan Road No. 29,
Haidian district, Beijing 10083, China
e-mail: jubs2936@163.com
X. Qiu
China University of Petroleum, East China 257061, Dongying, Shandong Province, China

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Binshan Ju et al.

Nomenclature
B
Volume factor of fluid
Clij Volume concentration of composition j of particles in {the} phase l.
Csi Mass concentration of salt ions for composition i (kg/m3 )
D
Diffusivity of particle composition i (m2 /s)
Ds Diffusivity of salt, ions, (m2 /s)
f
Flow efficiency factor
k
Transient absolute permeability of a porous media (m2 )
kr
Relative permeability of a porous media
p
Pressure (Pa)
q
Production/injection rate (m3 /s)
R
Net particle change rate on the pore surfaces or at pore throats (1/s)
Rs Solution gasoil ratio
S
Saturation
t
Time (s)
v
Flow rate (m/s)
vc
Critical velocity (m/s)
x
Distance (m)
z
Distance from reference level (m)
c
Release rate of fines by colloidal forces (s1 )
d Rate constant for the deposition of particles on pore surfaces (m1 )
f
Coefficient of flow efficiency
h Release rate of fines by hydrodynamic forces (m1 )
p Capture rate constant of particles at pore throats (m1 )
lij Volume of particles deposited on the pore surfaces per unit bulk volume

Porosity of the porous media

lij
Volume of particles trapped at throats per unit bulk volume.

Specific gravity of fluids.

f
Constant for fluid seepage allowed by the plugged pores

Viscosity of fluid (Pas)

Subscripts
0 Initial value
c Critical value or capillary pressure
d Deposition
e Entrainment
fe Flow efficiency
g Gas
h Hydrodynamics
i Wettability
j One component
o Oil
p Pore throat
w Water
SI Conversion factors
1 cm = 1102 m
1 MPa = 1106 Pa
1 mPa = 1103 Pa

Effects of fines mobilization

267

1 Introduction
Sanding problems during oil production from poorly consolidated sandstone reservoirs, such as the Gulf of Mexico reservoirs (Deskin et al. 1991), the Southeast Pauls
Valley Field, Oklahoma, and oil fields around the Bohai Gulf, China, may lead to
much adverse influence on oil production facilities. Several researchers (Anne et al.
1997; Davies et al. 1997; Tom et al. 1995; Vsquez et al. 1999) have reported production facility damages and completion difficulties caused by sanding. Anne et al. (1997)
have also studied the relations between water breakthrough and sand or other grains
production. In fact, fines production can have pronounced effects on oil recovery.
Currently, the major approaches to study the sanding process in permeable formations are physical simulation in the laboratory and mathematical simulation. This
paper focuses on the mechanism of fines mobilization, the mathematical model to
simulate fines release and migration process and behavior, the solution methods of
the model, and the development of an oil reservoir numerical simulator.
The sanding process includes three steps: first, fines are released from the surfaces
of porous media when critical colloidal or hydrodynamic conditions are satisfied (Ju
et al. 2002); second, fines migrate with flowing fluids in pores; finally, fines deposition
on pore surfaces or capture at pore throats may occur in the process of fines migration. Therefore, the phenomena of particle release, migration, and retention must be
considered in the mathematical model for sanding.
According to the literature concerning sanding problems (Gruesbeck and Collins
1982; Khilar and Fogler 1983; Liu and Civan 1994; Ohen and Civan 1990; Sharma and
Yortsos 1986), two kinds of models, the macroscopic mathematical model and the
microscopic network mathematical model, are classified. The first kind of model, such
as Gruesbeck and Collinss model (1982), Khilar and Foglers model (1983) and Ohen
and Civans model (1994), is based on continuum theory and fines release and migration theories. However, the second kind describes the flow characteristics of fluid and
fines migration in micro-networks. Sharma and Yortsos model (1986) belongs to the
microscopic network mathematical model. Unfortunately, the microscopic network
mathematical model has some limitations in that it strongly depends on probability, and its numerical solving process uses tremendous amounts of computer time.
Consequently, in this paper the theories of macro-continuous porous media and fines
migration are used to develop a three-dimensional (3D) mathematical model for fines
mobilization in oil formation.
In contrast to previous studies, Khilar and Foglers model (1983) utilizes singlephase flow whereas two-phase flow is considered in Liu and Civans model (1993);
however, the mathematical modeling of multiphase (oil, water, and gas) flow with
fines migration is first considered in this work. Only one particle component is considered in the previous models, though the sizes of particles are very different. In this
paper, in order to describe particle migration more accurately, the particles are not
only divided into hydrophilic and lipophilic particles, but also classified into n compositions for respective hydrophilic and lipophilic particles according to their sizes.

2 Physical description of fines mobilization

Sandstone consists of a rock framework and pores. The rock framework, which is composed of grains with different sizes and different minerals, such as quartz, feldspars,

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Binshan Ju et al.

and clay minerals, is formed under the combination of consolidation and cementation
throughout a long geological period. The pores can be looked as an interconnected
network. Generally, the pores of sandstone are filled with single phase or multiphase
fluids.
In poorly consolidated sandstone, the fine-grained minerals attached to the pore
walls are not frictionally bound, and they may be released from the walls if the activating forces become sufficiently large to overcome the restraining forces. There are
five forces (the attractive potential force of London-van der Waals, repulsion force of
electric double layers, Born repulsion force, acidbase interaction force, and hydrodynamic force) between the particles and porous walls (Khilar and Fogler 1999). When
the sum of the five forces is negative, i.e., the force of attraction is larger than repulsion between particle and porous wall, particles will adsorb on porous wall. Otherwise,
particles will detach from the porous wall.
Adsorption and detachment is a dynamic balance controlled by total forces between
particle and porous wall. In addition, the released grains can move with fluid flow in
the network. Blocking will also take place if the diameters of the particles are larger
than the sizes of the pore throats, or several particles with smaller sizes than pore sizes
bridge at pore throats.
Transportation of grains (or fines) in porous media is governed by diffusion and
convection. The analysis above shows that the interaction forces between grains and
pore walls are key factors to control fines migration in porous media. Although the
formulae to calculate the five energies are listed in the reference (Khilar and Fogler
1999), the parameters in the formulae can be obtained only with great difficulty
for some complicated factors. Since there are no accurate methods to calculate the
parameters and the release and retention rates of particles on pore walls, Gruesbeck
and Collins (1982) and Khilar and Fogler (1999) used a coefficient, , to describe
approximately the release and retention rates of particles. Based on this idea, the
authors introduced critical parameters to trigger fines release, and the coefficients
to describe release, deposition (i.e., particles being attached on pore surfaces), and
capture (i.e., particles becoming blocked in pore throats) rates of particles in Sect. 3
(see mathematical model description).

3 Mathematical model description

Assumptions
The mathematical model was developed under the following assumptions:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

Multiphase flows in porous media are three-dimensional and isothermal. Both

the rock and fluids are compressible.
The flows in porous media are assumed to follow Darcys law.
Particles are partitioned into n size composition.
The fluids are Newtonian, and capillary and gravity forces are included.
Chemical reactions are not included.

Transport of multiphase fluids in porous media

Since the flows of oil (o), water (w) and gas (g) in porous media follow Darcys law,
the continuity equations of slightly compressible multiphase fluid flow and Newtonian

Effects of fines mobilization

269

flow are given by the following equations:




 

k krw
sw Bw ,
gradw + qw =
(1)
div
Bw w
t



 
k kro

so Bo ,
(2)
div
grado + qo =
Bo o
t




 
k krg
k kro Rs

sg Bg + So Rs Bo .
div
gradg +
grado + qg =
Bg g
Bo o
t
(3)
For flow of the three-phases of oil, water and gas, we define
So + Sw + Sg = 1.

(4)

We define the parameters in Eq. 13 as

o = po + o z,

(5)

w = pw + w z = po + pcwo + w z,

(6)

g = pg + g z = po + pcgo + g z,

(7)

where t is time, is the porosity of porous media, S, , and p are saturation, viscosity,
and pressure of fluids, respectively, k is the absolute permeability, kr is the relative
permeability, B is the volume factor of fluid, q is the production or injection rate of
fluid, Rs is the solution gasoil ratio, is the specific gravity of fluids, z is the distance
from reference level, and pc is the capillary force.
Transport of salt ions in porous media
The transport of salt ions in porous media is governed by the convectiondiffusion
adsorption equation (Ju et al. 2002; Liu and Civan 1993). The three-dimension expression of the equation is







Csi
Csi

uxw Csi sw Dsxi

+
uyw Csi sw Dsyi
x
x
y
y



Csi
Csi

uzw Csi sw Dszi

+ sw
+ Rasi + Qsi = 0,
(8)
+
z
z
t
where Csi is the mass concentration of salt ions for component i, Ds is the diffusivity
of salt ions in porous media, Rasi is the adsorption rate of salt ion on pore surfaces,
and Qsi is the change in the quantity of salt ions caused by a source/sink item.
Transport of particles in porous media
Some particles are hydrophobic and some particles are hydrophilic, therefore hydrophobic particles exist in the oil phase and hydrophilic particles exist in the water phase
(Ju et al. 2002). Inasmuch as the particles sizes are not uniform, which sizes vary from
nanometers to microns, it is necessary to partition them into n size intervals. Brownian
diffusion should also be considered when particle sizes are less than 1 micron. Thus,
considering Brownian diffusion effects in the process of fines migration in porous
media, the continuity equation for one composition of particle j in phase l can be
expressed as

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Binshan Ju et al.





Clij
Clij

uxl Clij Sl Dxlij

+
uyl Clij Sl Dylij
x
x
y
y



Clij
Clij

+
uzl Clij Sl Dzlij
+ Sl
+ Rlij + Qlij = 0,
z
z
t
j = 1, 2 . . . n.

(9)

where Clij is the volume concentration of composition j of particles in the phase l, D

is the diffusivity of the particle, R is the net particle change rate on the pore surfaces
and at pore throats; x, y, and z are three space dimensions, Q is the rate of change of
particle volume described by a source/sink term, and the subscripts represent: l, oil or
water; i, hydrophobic or hydrophilic; j, particle composition.
The analysis of fines release, particle deposition on pore surfaces and capture by
pore throats was described in the introduction. According to the mechanisms of particle change on pore surfaces or at pore throats, the Rlij in Eq. 9 can be further written as
Rlij = Rclij + Rhlij + Rdlij + Rplij ,

(10)

where the particle release rate from pore wall by colloidal forces (Rclij ), the particle
release rate from pore wall by hydrodynamic forces (Rhlij ), the deposition rate on
pore surfaces (Rdlij ), and the capture rate at pore throats (Rplij ), can be, respectively,
defined as
Rclij = clij (Csic Csi ),

(11)

where Csic is the critical concentration of salt for composition i of the particles. When
the concentration is lower than Csic , colloidal forces between the fines and pore walls
act as repulsion forces, which result in fines release. A rate constant, clij , is used
to describe the release rate of fines by colloidal forces. However, if Csi > Csic , the
colloidal forces act as attraction forces and no particles are released by the colloidal
forces, i.e., clij = 0. For the oil wetting particle, cooj is always equal to zero because
the particles released by colloidal forces are limited to water wetting particles.
Rhlij = hlij (vl vlc ),

(12)

where vlc is the critical flow velocity of phase l for particle released by hydrodynamic
forces. That is to say, the hydrodynamic forces, produced by fluid flow, on the particles
must be high enough to trigger the particle release from pore walls. The minimum
flow velocity needed to trigger the particle release is called critical flow velocity. hlij
is a rate constant for the release of particles by hydrodynamic forces. When velocity of
phase l satisfies vl < vlc , no particles are released by hydrodynamic forces (hlij = 0).
Rdlij = dijl vl Clij ,

(13)

where dlij is a rate constant for the deposition of particles on pore surfaces. During the transportation of particles carried by flowing fluids, some particles may be
adsorbed again on pore walls.
Rplij = plij vl Clij ,

(14)

where plij is a capture rate constant of particles at pore throats. During the transportation of particles in porous media, some particles may be captured by bridging and
blocking. In this case, a coefficient, plij , is used to describe the capture rate.

Effects of fines mobilization

271

Considering the particle dynamics in a sandstone, we can further define

lij
= Rdlij + Rclij + Rhlij ,
t

lij
= Rplij ,
t

(15)
(16)

where lij is the volume of particles deposited on the pore surfaces per unit bulk vol is the volume of particles trapped at the
ume, and lij is equal to 0lij at initial time; lij

at initial time. Production

pore throat per unit bulk volume, and lij is equal to 0lij
rates of fine particles can be expressed as


Qlij =
(qo + qw )Clij ,
(17)
Qt =
where Clij is the volume concentration of composition j of particles in phase l for
production fluids.
The cumulative production volume of fine-grained mineral particles can be calculated by the following integral:
 T
Qa =
(18)
(qo + qw )Clij dt
0

Evaluation for porosity and absolute permeability

Generally, the pore bulk volume is regarded as being slightly compressible and permeability is regarded as a constant (Cathrine 2001; Mauran et al. 2001). However, the
particle release from pore surfaces, the adsorption on pore surfaces, and blocking at
pore throats in the process of particle migration may lead to changes in local porosity
and permeability. The instantaneous porosity is expressed by



= 0
 ,
(19)

where  denotes the variation of porosity by release and retention of particles in

porous media, and it is expressed by


) (0lij + 0lij
).
(20)
 = (lij + lij

If  is greater than 0, the

retention of particles is dominant, and the porosity will

decrease, (i.e., < 0 ). If
 is less than 0, the release of particles is dominant,
and the porosity will increase.
The change in permeability in this study is caused by fines release and mobilization. Modifying the Kozeny Equation, taking into account the fines plugging effect,
and according to the study of Liu (1993) and Ju et al. (2002), the expression for
instantaneous permeability changed by release and retention of particles is given by
k = k0 [(1 f )f + f /0 ]n ,

(21)

in which k0 and 0 are initial permeability and porosity, k and are instantaneous
local permeability and porosity of porous media, and f is a constant for fluid seepage
allowed by the plugged pores. The range of index n is from 2.5 to 3.5. Pore throats may
be plugged by blocking or bridging, which causes some pore throats to close for fluid
flow. A flow efficiency factor, f , is defined as the fraction of the original cross-sectional

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Binshan Ju et al.

area open for flow. According to Jus expression (2002), the flow efficiency factor, f ,
as a linear function of the volume of particles entrapped at pore throats, is given
empirically by


f =1
felij lij
,
(22)
where felij is the coefficient of flow efficiency.
A mathematical model representing Eqs. 122 has been developed which, in a
closed form solution, can be used to study production performance of poorly consolidated sandstone reservoirs and predict sanding behavior.

4 Experiments and key parameters

The key parameters and coefficients can be obtained by core displacement experiments. Figure 1 shows the flow chart for core flooding tests. The steps to measure the
key parameters are:
The core displacement experiments are used to obtain Csic .
(1)
(2)
(3)

Inject salt water into core (keep a very low injection rate to avoid particle release
induced hydrodynamic forces).
Decrease gradually the salt concentration in injection water and observe the
outflow from the outlet of the core.
If fines start to appear in the outflow, the salt concentration is at a critical level
for fines release.

The steps to obtain vlc are:

(1)
(2)
(3)

Increase the flow velocity of fluid in the core by increasing step by step the
injection rate.
Observe the outflow from the outlet of the core.
If fines begin to appear in the outflow, the flow velocity of fluid in the core is at
the critical level.

are two important parameters determined by physical

In addition, 0lij and 0lij
properties of sandstone. It is really difficult to measure precisely the two parameters;
can be obtained by core flooding experiments. The
however the sum of 0lij and 0lij
ratio of the total volume of particles displaced by fluids to the initial volume of the
. Generally, the range of

core is often regarded as the sum of 0lij and 0lij

0lij and 0lij
are (00.1) and (00.01), respectively, for poorly consolidated sandstone.

Fig. 1 Flow chart for core displacement 1. Bottle. 2. Pump. 3. Vessel. 4. Precision pressure gauge.
5. Multi-way valve. 6. Core holder. 7. Volumetric cylinder. 8. Hand pump 9. Salt water. 10. Liquid for
core displacement

Effects of fines mobilization

273

5 Numerical solution
The mathematical model used here consists of a set of nonlinear equations, which
mainly includes the continuity equations of oil (o), water (w), and gas (g) phases,
the convectiondiffusionadsorption equation, and a series of auxiliary equations.
The finite-difference method (see Appendix) is used to solve the nonlinear equation
system since the analytical solutions of the system are intractable. In this work, the
implicit-pressure and explicit-saturation (IMPES) and self-adaptive line successive
over relaxation (LSOR) iterative technique was used to solve the pressure-saturation
equation, and an explicit method was employed to solve the continuity equations of
the transport of salt ions and particle migration in porous media. The procedures of
the solution are as follows:
(1)
(2)
(3)
(4)
(5)

The pressure and saturation of oil, water, and gas are obtained first by solving
the mass balance equation.
The velocity field is calculated by Darcys law.
The concentration of particle composition j in phase l for wettability i is solved
by the convectiondiffusionadsorption equation.
The new porosity (), absolute permeability (k), are calculated.
A second iteration is computed if maximum time is not reached.

6 Numerical results and discussions

Numerical results compared with experimental data
To verify the validity of the mathematical model and accuracy of numerical simulation, poorly consolidated core displacement experiments (flow chart, Fig. 1) were
designed to collect the data to compare with numerical results. A poorly consolidated
core was obtained from a sandstone reservoir, S. L. oil field, Shandong, China. Different injection rates and injection volumes of water were conducted to study the change
in permeability. The method used to calculate permeability is Darcys law. The main
parameters used in the numerical simulation are given as in Table 1.
Figure 2 shows that the permeability ratio is constant at velocities below 0.018 cm/s.
When the flow velocity of injection continues to increase, the permeability ratio (k/k0 )
begins to rise, next increases dramatically, and then increases slightly. Figure 3 gives
the relationship between permeability ratio and injection volume after the critical
velocity is reached. The shape of the curve looks like a flat letter S. The curves
Table 1 Parameters of the core in numerical simulation
Parameters of [the] geological model

Value

Parameters related {with}

[to] fines mobilization

Value

The node numbers

The length of the core, cm
The size of grid of x, cm
The cross area of the core, cm2
Viscosity of water, mPa s
Initial porosity
Initial horizontal permeability, 103 m2

40
50.00
1.25
16.61
0.5
0.213
850

ww1
oo1
hww1 , m1
hoo1 , m1
dww1 , m1
doo1 , m1
vwc , m s1

0.06
0.005
3.8 104
1 104
1.2 104
1.0 104
1.8 103

274
6

Permeability ratio

Fig. 2 The relations of

permeability ratio(k/k0 ) and
flow velocity

Binshan Ju et al.

5
4
3

Numerical

Experimental

1
0

0.05

0.1

0.15

Flow velocity of water(cm/s)

Permeability ratio

Fig. 3 The relations of

permeability ratio (k/k0 ) and
injection volume

5
4
3
2

Numerical
Experimental

1
0

10

20

30

40

50

Injection volumes(PV)

of Figs. 2 and 3 can be divided into three phases. In the first phase, the flow velocity just exceeds the critical velocity and a small quantity of fines is flushed out; the
dramatic increase of k/k0 is caused by mass production in the second phase; and the
speed of the increase of k/k0 slows down for the tunnels flushed by water in the third
phase.
The sensitivity for grid block size
In order to study the sensitivity of numerical results with grid block size, coarse, moderate and fine grids are used in the numerical model. The examples with five-spot
patterns include four water injection wells located at the corners and one oil well in
the center. The parameters used in the simulation are given in Table 2. In addition,
reference values to the parameters related with fines mobilization are also listed in
the table. The concentration of salt in injection water is equal to the concentration of
salt in formation water, which avoids fines release by colloidal forces. Three models
with different grid sizes were run, respectively, on the simulator for 1,800 days. The
contour maps of permeability at 1,800 days are given in Figs. 46. Figures 46 present the slightly different permeability distribution maps as a function of grid block
size. Figure 7 gives the change of average permeability of all grid blocks with time
for the three types of grid. It shows that the average permeability within the three
types of grids is approximately equal. The average permeability calculated by coarse
grids is slightly higher than the values calculated by the moderate and fine grids
after 1,500 days. It implies that the moderate grid is small enough to predict fines
mobilization.

Effects of fines mobilization

275

Table 2 Parameters used to study sensitivity for grid block size

Parameters of the
geological model

Value

Parameters
related to fines
mobilization

Value used
in this study

Reference value

The node numbers for case1

(coarse grids)
The node numbers for case2
(moderate grids)
The node numbers for case3
(fine grids)
The length of the model, m
The width of the model, m
The thickness of the model,
m
Initial reservoir pressure,
MPa
Viscosity of water, mPa s
Viscosity of oil, mPa s
Initial oil saturation
Initial porosity
Initial horizontal permeability, 103 m2
Initial vertical permeability,
103 m2
Production rate of fluids,
m3 /day
Total injection rate of fluids,
m3 /day

11 11 2

cww1 , s1

0.00

1 10 105

21 21 2

coo1 , s1

0.00

0.00

31 31 2

hww1 , m1

3.8 104

0.1 50 104

210
210
16

hoo1 , m1
dww1 , m1
doo1 , m1

2.1 104
1.2 104
1.0 104

0.1 50 104
0.2 20 104
0.1 10 104

12.7

pww1 , m1

2.2 106

1 10 106

0.48
36.5
0.65
0.30
850

poo1 , m1
feww1
feoo1
vwc , m s1
voc , m s1

2.2 106
0.60
0.60
0.2 104
0.1 104

1 10 106
0.1 0.8
0.1 0.8
0.01 20 104
0.05 20 104

0.1

ww1

0.03

0.00 0.06

15.0

oo1

0.02

0.00 0.06

15.0

Prediction for sanding problems and production performance

In order to study the effect of the fines mobilization on permeability, and production
performance, the results for an oil field example with five-spot patterns was predicted
by the simulator. The main parameters different from the sensitivity study above are
given in Table 3. The other parameters are listed in Table 2. The example is initially
assumed to be a heterogeneous geological model with a five-spot pattern. There is
a poorly consolidated zone between wells of water1 and oil. The production rate of
oil and water is 50 m3 /day and the injection rate of water1 well is 44 m3 /day. The
other wells injection rates are 2 m3 /day. Figure 8 is the contour map of the ratio of
transient permeability to initial permeability (k/k0 ) after production for 15 years. It
shows that a narrow region of higher permeability is formed between water1 and oil
wells.
The comparisons of the water flooding performances with and without sanding
problems
Figure 9 (there is no sanding problems; the permeability keeps constant during the
drive history) and Fig. 10 (having sanding problems) are the contour maps of water saturation after production for 15 years. Figure 10 shows that there is an obvi-

276

Binshan Ju et al.

200

180

Water well 2

Water well 4

160

140

120

100

Oil well

80

60

40

Water well 1

20

Water well 3

0
0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

160

180

200

Fig. 4 The contour map of permeability (Grid: 11 11) at 1,800 days

200
180

Water well 2

Water well 4

160
140
120

100

Oil well

80
60
40
20

Water well 1

Water well 3

0
0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

160

Fig. 5 The contour map of permeability (Grid: 21 21) at 1,800 days

180

200

Effects of fines mobilization

277

Water well 2

Water well 4

200

180

160

140

120

Oil well
100

80

60

40

Water well 1

Water well 3

20

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

160

180

200

Fig. 7 The relations of the

average permeability
(103 m2 ) and time

Average permeability

Fig. 6 The contour map of permeability (Grid: 31 31) at 1,800 days

950
11X11
21X21
31X31

930
910
890
870
850
830

300

600

900

1200

1500

1800

Time(days)

ous fingering phenomenon due to the development of a narrow region of higher

permeability.
Figure 11 gives the oil recovery difference between non-sanding and sanding, and
Fig. 12 gives the water-cut difference between sanding and non-sanding in the fivespot pattern within 15 years. They indicate that the sanding problem results in not
only the development of narrow regions of higher permeability but also the decrease
in oil recovery and increase in water-cut.

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Binshan Ju et al.

Table 3 Parameters of the field example

Parameters of the geological
model

Value

Parameters related to
fines mobilization

Value

The node numbers

21 21 2

0.05

The size of grid of x and y, m

The size of grid of z, m

10.0
8.0

Initial reservoir pressure,

MPa
Viscosity of water, mPa s
Viscosity of oil, mPa s
Initial oil saturation
Initial porosity
Initial horizontal permeability, 103 m2
Initial vertical permeability,
103 m2

13.87

ww1 (only one composition)

oo1
hww1 , m1 (consolidated
zone)
hww1 , m1 (poorly consolidated zone)
hoo1 , m1
dww1 , m1
doo1 , m1
vwc , m s1
voc , m s1

0.6
45
0.65
0.28
850

0.05
0.001
0.070.09
0.001
0.0001
0.0001
0.0011
0.0010

0.1

water1

water3

200
180
160
140

3.5
120

oil

100

2.5
2

80

1.5

60

1.3
40

water4

water2

20

1.2
1.01

0
0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

160

180

200

Fig. 8 The contour map of the ratio of transient permeability to initial permeability (k/k0 ) after
production of 15 years

Effects of fines mobilization

100

279

water1

90

80

70

60

50

40

30

20

oil

10

0
0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

Fig. 9 The contour maps of water saturation after production of 15 years (non-sanding)

100

water1

90

80

70

60

50

40

30

20

oil

10

0
0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

Fig. 10 The contour maps of water saturation after production of 15 years (sanding)

280

Binshan Ju et al.

Fig. 11 The recovery difference between non-sanding and sanding

Fig. 12 Water-cut difference between sanding and non-sanding

7 Conclusions
1.

2.

3.

4.

A mathematical model of migration of fine-grained particles in a threedimensional, multiphase porous medium has been developed. The model is used
to simulate changes in porosity, permeability, and production performance.
The numerical results closely match the experimental data, indicating that the
model appears to simulate the process of fines mobilization in a reasonable
manner.
Although convergence can be guaranteed by modifying time steps, grid block sizes
still have slight effects on the permeability distribution and average permeability.
The grid block size of 10 m is small enough to satisfy computation precision
requirements.
Since fines dislodgement and flushing increases the permeability of the flushed
zone, it constitutes a self-reinforcing phenomenon that promotes the linear growth
of the flushed, high permeability zone. This results in an increase in the permeability heterogeneity of the reservoir and accelerates water break through.

Acknowledgements The authors would like to thank Prof. Zhian Luan and his graduates, Oil reservoir laboratory of displacement mechanism, U.P.C, East China, for the experimental work.

Effects of fines mobilization

281

Appendix
We define the conductivity of oil, water, and gas as
k kro
,
Bo o
k krw
,
Tw =
Bw w
k krg
Tg =
,
Bg g
To =

(23)
(24)
(25)

We rewrite the right item of the continuity equation of oil, water, and gas, combine
the three equations and eliminate saturation, resulting in
 
 


Bo Bg Rs To Po (o Z) qo Bo

 


+Bw Tw Po (w Z) Pcow qw Bw
 





+Bg Tg Pg g Z + Pcgo + Rs To (Po (o Z)) qg Bg
Po
,
(26)
= Ct
T


where
Bg Rs
1 Bo

,
Bo Po
Bo Po
1 Bw

,
Cw =
Bw Po
1 Bg
Cg =

,
Bg Po
Co =

Ct = Cr + Co So + Cw Sw + Cg Sg ,

(27)
(28)
(29)
(30)

where C is a compressibility coefficient.

Equation 26 is the pressure equation without derivative items of saturation. Saturation of oil and water can be obtained as soon as the pressure of the oil and water
phases [in porous media] is given {in porous media}. Gas saturation can be obtained
by the relation: Sg = 1 So Sw .
In order to solve for the pressure, we must change the nonlinear equation into
linear algebraic equations by a finite-difference technique. The left and right sides of
the Eq. 26 are, respectively, multiplied by the grid bulk volume (Vb )I, J,K .
where
(Vb )I, J,K = xI yJ zK ,

(31)

we define a linear operator as

(32)
 (T P) = Xx Tx Px + Yy Ty Py + Zz Tz Pz ,




Tx Px = TI1/2, J,K PI1, J,K PI, J,K + TI, J,K PI+1, J,K PI, J,K , (33)

282

Binshan Ju et al.

Then the difference equation can be expressed as



n

+ (Bw )nI,J,K Twn Pon+1 +Vw
Bo Rs Bg I,J,K Ton Pon+1 + Vo
I,J,K
I,J,K


 n
n
n+1
n
n
n
+ Bg I,J,K Tg Po + Rs To Po + Vg
I,J,K




n
n+1
n
C
= Vp t t
Po Po
,
(34)
I,J,K
I,J,K





 n+1 
 n
1
Ton Pon+1 + Vo
=
Vp So Bo
,
(35)
Vp So Bo
I,J,K
t
I,J,K





 n+1 
 n
1
n+1
Twn Pw
+ Vw
=
Vp Sw Bw
,
(36)
Vp Sw Bw
I,J,K
t
I,J,K
where


Vo = Ton  (o Z) qo Bo ,

Vw = Twn ( (w Z) + Pcwo ) qw Bw ,
 



Vg = Tgn  g Z Pcgo Rns Ton  (o Z) qg Bg ,

(39)

Vp = Vb ,

(40)

t = t

n+1

t ,

(37)
(38)

(41)

we can further define



1
AI = Bo + Bg (Rsi + 1 Rs ) To,I+1/ 2 + Bw Tw,I+1/ 2 + Bg Tg,I+1/ 2 , (42)
2
rearranging the pressure equation 26 gives
AK1 PK1 + AJ1 PJ1 + AI1 PI1 + AJ+1 PJ+1 + AI+1 PI+1
+AK+1 PK+1 + E P = B,
where



E = AK1 + AJ1 + AI1 + AI+1 + AJ+1 + AK+1 + Vp Ct t ,


 
B = Bo Bg Rs Vo + Bw Vw + Bg Vg + Vp Ct t .

(43)

(44)
(45)

Equation 43 is a linear equation system. The linear equations can be solved by the
LSOR technique.

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