Three-phase (oil-water-gas) equations

The widest application of reservoir simulation is for three-phase oil-water-gas systems, in

which all three phases are active in the production process. In fact, a large majority of
petroleum reservoirs fall into this category. For this class of problems, we need to write
Equation 3.28 for each of the three phases.

Oil flow equation (fo):

(3.41)

Water flow equation (fw):

(3.42)

Gas flow equation (fg) (ignoring the solubility of gas in water):

 (3.43)

Auxiliary equations:

Pcow (Sw) = Po - Pw (3.44)

Pcgw (Sg) = Pg - Po (3.45)

So + Sw + Sg = 1 (3.46)

In Equations 3.41 through 3.46, the dependent variables (unknowns) are the phase
pressures (Po , Pw and Pg), and phase saturations (So, Sw and Sg). The parameters that
appear in the coefficients, and which are functions of these unknowns (m o, krw, etc.), are
not treated as the problem’s principal unknowns, but are specified as part of the data input.
However, their dependence on the principal unknowns introduces non-linearities of varying
degrees. Field units are

A [ft]; k [perms]; kro, krw, krg [fraction]; P [psi]; x,y,z [ft]; o,w, g, [cp]; Bo, Bw [bbl/STB]; Bg
[bbl/SCF]; qosc, qwsc [STB/day]; qgsc [SCF/day]; So, Sw, Sg [fraction]; Rso [SCF/STB]; f [dimensionless]; Vb [ft]; t [day];
=5.615.

In all of the multi-phase formulations summarized in Equations 3.29 through 3.46, each
phase is characterized by its own pressure. We achieve closure of a set of equations by
using the capillary pressure and saturation expressions. In the capillary pressure
relationships, capillary pressure is defined as the difference between the pressure of the
non-wetting phase and that of the wetting phase. In some cases, there are incentives for
assuming equality between the phase pressures, thus allowing us to assign a single
pressure for all the phases.

The formulation presented in Equations 3.41 through 3.46 allows interphase mass transfer,
so that gas can either come out of or go into solution. However, we assume bulk transfer
such that there is no compositional difference between the dissolved gas and the free gas.
By the same token, the composition of the free gas remains unaltered. Changes in the oil
phase density and viscosity are handled using PVT data, which take into consideration the
amount of gas dissolved in the oil. This approach is commonly known as black-oil modeling,
and it differs significantly from compositional modeling.