A fully coupled method to model fracture permeability change in naturally

fractured reservoirs
Qingfeng Tao
n
, Ahmad Ghassemi, Christine A. Ehlig-Economides
Harold Vance Department of Petroleum Engineering, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, USA
a r t i c l e i n f o
Article history:
Received 26 December 2009
Received in revised form
2 August 2010
Accepted 27 November 2010
Available online 18 December 2010
Keywords:
Naturally fractured reservoirs
Fracture permeability change
Effective stress
Joint deformation
Displacement discontinuity method
a b s t r a c t
We present a newapproachto model the fracture permeability change innaturally fracturedreservoirs by
combining a nite difference method (FDM) for uid diffusivity equation in a fracture network, a fully
coupleddisplacement discontinuity method (DDM) for the global relationof fracture deformationandthe
BartonBandis joint deformation model for the local relation of fracture deformation. The method is
applied to naturally fractured reservoirs under isotropic in-situ stress conditions and anisotropic in-situ
stress conditions, respectively. The application of the newapproach shows that the fracture permeability
decreases with the pressure depletion under isotropic in-situ stress condition. Under highly anisotropic
stress, it is possible that shear dilation can increase fracture permeability even as pore pressure decreases
with production.
Published by Elsevier Ltd.
1. Introduction
In many reservoirs, fractures are the main ow channels, and
the matrix provides the mainstorage capacity. Some reservoirs, e.g.
tight gas reservoirs, are not possible to produce without the
existence of natural fractures (microfractures). Therefore, the
fracture permeability is critical to hydrocarbon production.
The dependence of formation permeability on pressure for a
single porosity system has been investigated [112]. The pressure
dependence of matrix permeability occurs as the porosity and
connectivity of pores decrease with the increase in effective
stress. But the permeability change in tight gas reservoirs mainly
results from the closure of microcracks with the increase of
effective stress [13].
Generally fractures are more deformable than the matrix in a
naturally fractured reservoir, and the permeability of fractures, not
the matrix, dominates the ow behavior. Furthermore, fractures
are more sensitive to pressure and stress change than the matrix,
and the fracture deformation mechanism is much more compli-
cated than matrix deformation. The effect of stress on the aperture
and permeability of a single fracture has been well investigated in
laboratories [1417]. Experimental data show a nonlinear relation
between normal stress and fracture closure. Bandis et al. [16]
presented a hyperbolic formula to represent the normal stress
fracture closure relation. For shear deformation the experimental
data show an approximately linear relation between shear stress
and shear displacement before yielding, and then show a compli-
cated relation after yielding. Shear deformation can also induce
fracture opening as the opposed asperities of a fracture slide over
each other and cause an increase in aperture.
In naturally fractured reservoirs, there are coupled interactions
between porous matrix and uid, as well as between fractures. Biot
[18,19] developed a theory of poroelasticity for porous media
saturated with incompressible uid to account for the coupled
diffusiondeformation mechanism. Rice and Cleary [20] extended
the theory for porous media saturated with compressible uid.
Biots theory of poroelasticity is a continuum theory for a porous
medium consisting of an elastic matrix containing interconnected
uid-saturated pores. The uid diffusion in porous media induces
porous matrix deformation and stress redistribution, and porous
matrix deformation also induces uid ow and uid pressure
redistribution. If there is a discontinuous surface (fracture) in the
continuumporous medium, the deformation of the fracture (open-
ing or closing) will induce the deformationof the porous matrix and
also pore pressure change and uid ow.
In addition to the interactions of uid, porous matrix and
fracture, there are interactions between fractures including
mechanical deformation and uid ow. One fracture deformation
will cause stress change in the eld and induce deformation of
other fractures [2123]. The uid injection or production fromone
fracture can also induce uid pressure change in other fractures, as
well as mechanical deformation. Curran and Carvalho [21], Cheng
and Predeleanu [22] and Carvalho [23] developed a poroelastic
DDM for uid-saturated porous media with many discontinuous
surfaces (fractures) in it. The poroelastic DDM can be applied to
model the coupled interactions of fractures, porous matrix and
Contents lists available at ScienceDirect
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/ijrmms
International Journal of
Rock Mechanics & Mining Sciences
1365-1609/$ - see front matter Published by Elsevier Ltd.
doi:10.1016/j.ijrmms.2010.11.012
n
Corresponding author.
E-mail address: taoqingfeng@gmail.com (Q. Tao).
International Journal of Rock Mechanics & Mining Sciences 48 (2011) 259268
uid in porous media with fractures. This method has been applied
to simulate the hydraulic fracturing in continuum porous media
[24]. But the poroelastic DDM has not been applied to model
the interactions of fracture, porous matrix and uid in fractured
porous media. Asgian [25] applied an elastic DDM to model the
deformable fractured reservoirs and assumed the matrix is
impermeable, thus, ignored the uid ow between matrix and
fracture, which is usually the most important contribution to the
hydrocarbon production.
In this study, we present a new approach to model the fracture
permeability change by combining a nite difference method for
solving the coupled uid diffusivity equation in a fracture network,
a displacement discontinuity method(DDM) based on Biots theory
of poroelasticity and the nonlinear BartonBandis joint deforma-
tion model. If there is no cooler uid injection into the reservoir to
maintain reservoir pressure and enhance the hydrocarbon produc-
tion, the reservoir temperature will be constant. As a result, the
thermal effect is not considered in this method.
2. Fully coupled displacement discontinuity method
Based on Biots theory of poroelasticity, Carvalho [23] gave the
fundamental solutions of induced stress and pore pressure for a
nite thin fracture segment with a uid injection/production
source in an innite two-dimensional homogeneous and isotropic
porous medium saturated with a compressible single-phase uid.
The induced stress and pore pressure by a single long fracture or
many fractures with uid injection/production can be obtained by
discretizing the fracture or fractures into N fracture segments and
summing the inuences of all N fracture segments.
2.1. Constitutive equations of a porous medium saturated with a
compressible single-phase uid
The relation of stress to strain and pore pressure for a linear
isotropic poroelastic medium is given by Biots theory of poro-
elasticity [18]
s
ij
2G e
ij
d
ij
u
12u
e
kk
_ _
d
ij
ap 1
where s and e are stress and strain, respectively, G and u are shear
modulus and Poissons ratio, e
kk
is the volumetric strain, i and j are
either x, y, or z and d
ij
is the Kronecker delta. Combining a static
force balance equation with Eq. (1) and ignoring the body force,
yields the Navier equation of poroelasticity
Gu
i,kk

G
12n
u
k,ki
ap
,i
0 2
The total volumetric deformation (e
kk
) consists of pore space
change (z
p
) and the solid grain deformation (z
s
). The solid grain
deformationis due touidpressure andeffective stress loading: (i) the
effect of uid pressure (the compression stress or strain is negative)
B
s1

p
K
s
1f 3
(ii) the effect of effective stress loading
B
s2

su
kk
3K
s
4
where K
s
is the bulk modulus of the solid grains and f is the
porosity. The average effective stress (s
kk
0
/3) has the following
relation with the volumetric strain and pore pressure [23]
su
kk
3

su
xx
su
xx
su
xx
3
K
m
e
kk

K
m
K
s
p 5
where K
m
is the bulk modulus of the whole system including uid
andsolidgrains. Combining Eqs. (3) and(4), andsubstituting Eq. (5)
yield the solid grain deformation
B
s

K
m
K
s
e
kk

p
K
s
K
m
K
s
1f
_ _
6
The pore space change is obtained by subtracting the solid grain
deformation from the total volumetric strain and using the deni-
tion of Biots coefcient (a 1K
m
=K
s
)
B
p
ae
kk
af
p
K
s
7
2.2. Fluid diffusion equation in the porous media
The uidmass balance equationgives that the net uid owrate
is equal to the sum of the increase of uid mass in the pore space
and injected/produced uid
r
f
q
m

,i

@r
f
V
f

@t
r
f
q
s
8
where r
f
is the uid density, q
m
is the uid owrate in matrix, V
f
is
pore volume, q
s
is the production or injection rate and t is the time.
The uid is compressible and the uid density is pressure depen-
dent
@r
f
@p
c
f
r
f
9
where c
f
is the uid compressibility. In a unit volume porous media,
the pore space is f, and the pore space change is z
p
, and Eq. (8) is
rewritten as
r
f
q
m

,i
f
@r
f
@t
r
f
@B
p
@t
r
f
q
s
10
Darcys ow is assumed
q
m

k
m
p
,i
11
where k is the matrix permeability and m is the uid viscosity.
Substituting Eqs. (7), (9) and (11) into Eq. (10), neglecting the term
with @p=@x
i

2
[26] and assuming small change in the pore volume
yield
p
,ii

m
kM
@p
@t

am
k
@e
kk
@t

mq
s
k
12
where 1=Mfc
f
af=K
s
.
2.3. Fundamental solutions for a single fracture segment in an innite
two-dimensional porous medium
For a plane strain condition, there is a constant discontinuity in
the media and also constant ow rate (injection or production)
along a thinfracture witha lengthof 2a fromt0 (Fig. 1). The initial
conditions are dened in Eq. (13) and the inner and outer boundary
conditions are dened in Eqs. (14) and (15). Since only the induced
solutions for changes in stress, displacement and pore pressure are
needed, the initial values of stress, displacement and pore pressure
are set as zero. The initial conditions are given by
at t 0, forall x,y : p 0, u
x
u
y
0, s
xx
s
yy
s
xy
0
13
The boundary conditions at the inner boundary are given by
at y 0, for x j j ra : u
x
x,0

u
x
x,0

D
s
, u
y
x,0

u
y
x,0

D
n
, q
s
2aq
0
14
where q
0
1 m
3
/s. The outer boundary condition is
as

x
2
y
2
_
-1 : u
x
u
y
0, s
xx
s
yy
s
xy
p 0 15
Q. Tao et al. / International Journal of Rock Mechanics & Mining Sciences 48 (2011) 259268 260
Using the initial and boundary conditions, Eqs. (2) and (12) can
be solved for separate inner boundary conditionsconstant
volume ow rate injection/production (u
x
(x, 0

)u
x
(x, 0
+
)0,
u
y
(x, 0

)u
y
(x, 0
+
)0, q
s
2aq
0
) at the inner boundary and
constant displacement discontinuity(DD) (u
x
(x, 0

)u
x
(x, 0
+
)D
s
,
u
y
(x, 0

)u
y
(x, 0
+
)D
n
, q
s
0) at the inner boundary [23]. The
induced displacement, pore pressure and stress at any point (x, y)
and time t by the constant volume injection/production rate and by
the displacement discontinuities including normal and shear
displacement discontinuities through the fracture segment are
given in Appendix A and Appendix B, respectively [23]. The nal
fundamental solutions for poroelastic DDM are obtained by
combining the solutions of the constant volume rate uid injec-
tion/production and the constant displacement discontinuities in
the fracture segment.
Induced pore pressure
px,y,t p
dn
x,y,t D
n
p
ds
x,y,t D
s
p
q
x,y,t q
int
16
Induced displacement
u
x
x,y,t u
dn
x
x,y,tD
n
u
ds
x
x,y,tD
s
u
q
x
x,y,tq
int
u
y
x,y,t u
dn
y
x,y,tD
n
u
ds
y
x,y,tD
s
u
q
y
x,y,tq
int
17
Induced stress
s
xx
x,y,t s
dn
xx
x,y,tD
n
s
ds
xx
x,y,tD
s
s
q
xx
x,y,tq
int
s
yy
x,y,t s
dn
yy
x,y,tD
n
s
ds
yy
x,y,tD
s
s
q
yy
x,y,tq
int
s
xy
x,y,t s
dn
xy
x,y,tD
n
s
ds
xy
x,y,tD
s
s
q
xy
x,y,tq
int
18
where D
n
and D
s
are the normal and shear displacement disconti-
nuity sources, and q
int
is the uid source term in a fracture
(interface ow rate between fracture and matrix), and the super-
scripts dn, ds and q denote normal displacement discontinuity
source, shear displacement discontinuity source and uid source,
respectively. The induced pore pressure, p
q
, displacement in x
direction, u
x
q
and in y direction, u
y
q
, stress components, s
xx
q
, s
yy
q
and
s
xy
q
by the constant rate uid injection/production from a fracture
segment are listed in Appendix A. The induced pore pressure, p
dn
and p
ds
, displacement in x direction, u
x
dn
and u
x
ds
, and in y direction,
u
y
dn
and u
y
ds
, stress components, s
xx
dn
, s
yy
dn
, s
dn
xy
, s
xx
ds
, s
yy
ds
and s
xy
ds
by the
constant normal and shear discontinuous displacement of a
fracture segment are listed in Appendix B.
3. Joint deformation model
In this study, we only consider those fractures with two rough
surfaces to contact each other and the uid ow can ow through
the void spaces between them as illustrated in Fig. 2. The fracture
can deform normally and laterally to the fracture surface as the
stress acting on it changes.
Bandis et al. [16] presented a hyperbolic model for the normal
deformation of fracture based on a large body of experimental data
su
n

D
n
aabD
n
19
where s
0
n
is the effective normal stress and D
n
is the normal closure
of fracture; aa and b are constants and related with the experi-
mentally determined parameters initial normal stiffness (K
ni
) and
the maximum possible closure (D
nmax
) as aa1/K
ni
and aa/
bD
nmax
. Eq. (19) can be rewritten by substituting K
ni
and D
nmax
for aa and b
su
n

K
ni
D
n
1D
n
=D
nmax

20
The normal stiffness (K
n
) is therefore derived as follows as a
function of D
n
or s
0
n
K
n

@su
n
@D
n

K
ni
1D
n
=D
nmax
_ _
2
21
or
K
n

K
ni
1su
n
= K
ni
D
nmax
su
n

_
2
22
The change of shear stress has a linear relationship with the
change of shear displacement before yielding
Ds
s
K
s
DD
s
23
where K
s
is the shear stiffness. The fracture slips when the shear
stress exceeds the shear strength (s
c
) of the fracture. The two
rough surfaces slide each other and cause an increase in apertures,
which is known as shear dilation [17]. We used an approximate
linear relation for the aperture increase (DD
n-dilation
) due to shear
movement
DD
ndilation
DD
s
tanf
d
24
where f
d
is the dilation angle.
4. Fluid ow in the fracture network
The aperture of real fracture varies in space (Fig. 2) and the uid
ow inside is also very complicated due to the rough surfaces. But
Darcys law is still valid and the rough fracture can be represented
by a fracture with the average fracture aperture, which has been
veried by Witherspoon et al. [27]. The uid balance equation in
x
y
D
n
+
D
s
+
q
s
Fig. 1. A thin line fracture in an innite two-dimensional elastic porous medium,
and the line fracture starts from (a,0) and ends at (a,0).
Fig. 2. A uid lled fracture subject to normal and shear stress.
Q. Tao et al. / International Journal of Rock Mechanics & Mining Sciences 48 (2011) 259268 261
the fracture includes the owfromthe connected fractures and the
interface ow from the connected matrices
r
f
q
f

,i

@ r
f
w
f
DL
_ _
@t
DLr
f
q
int
r
f
q
s
25
where q
f
is the ow rate in the fracture per unit formation
thickness, q
int
is the interface ow rate per fracture length per
unit formationthickness, DL is the lengthof fracture segment andq
s
is the production rate per unit formation thickness. The owrate in
the fracture can be obtained by using Darcys law
q
f

k
f
w
f
m
rp 26
where k
f
is the fracture permeability and calculated from the
fracture aperture using the Cubic law and w
f
is the fracture
aperture. Combining Eqs. (9) and (26), and ignoring the second
order of the small term p
,i
[26], the net fracture ow rate is
r
f
q
f

,i

r
f
k
f
w
f
m
p
,ii
27
The uid mass change in the fracture includes two parts, one is
due to fracture volume change and another one is due to uid
density change. The fracture volume change is mainly from the
fracture aperture change
@V
f
@t
DL
@w
f
@t
28
Eq. (28) can be rewritten by substituting D
n
for w
f
@V
f
@t
DL
@D
n
@t
29
The uid mass change due to uid density change is
@m
@t
w
f
DL
@r
f
@t
30
Substituting Eq. (9) into Eq. (30) yields
@m
@t
c
f
r
f
w
f
DL
@p
@t
31
Combing Eqs. (25)(31) yields the uid diffusion equation in
fracture network
k
f
w
f
m
p
,ii
w
f
DLc
f
@p
@t
DL
@D
n
@t
DLq
int
q
s
32
5. Numerical implementation
The fractured reservoir is treated as a fracture network in a
porous medium saturated with a compressible single-phase uid.
As in dual-porosity models, the fracture network provides the main
ow channels and the porous media provides the main storage
media. On production, the uid ows frommatrix to fractures, then
in fractures to the well. The fracture network is discretized into
small fracture segments and the change of aperture and perme-
abilityof everyfracturesegment withproductionaredeterminedby
combining the BartonBandis joint deformation model, the DDM,
anda FDMsolving the diffusivity uid equationinfracture network.
5.1. Local relation between stress and displacement to fracture
deformation
For any fracture in the fracture network (Fig. 3), the deformation
must comply with the fracture deformation model. The relation
between effective normal stress change Ds
n
0
and normal displace-
ment DD
n
of the ith fracture segment is
Ds
n
u
i
K
i
n
DD
n
i
33
The normal stiffness K
n
is a coefcient that is dependent on the
fracture. The effective stress (tension is treated as positive) is
dened as
s
n
u s
n
ap 34
where a 1K
m
=K
s
. For a fracture, when the bulk modulus of
system K
m
is much less than the solid bulk modulus K
s
, the Biot
coefcient becomes unity, and the effective stress is given by
s
n
u s
n
p 35
Substituting Eq. (35) for effective stress in Eq. (33) yields (for
each fracture segment)
Ds
i
n
Dp
i
K
n
DD
i
n
36
The relation of shear stress change Ds
s
and shear displacement
DD
s
is
Ds
i
s
K
i
s
DD
i
s
37
The shear stiffness is a constant before yielding and reduces to
zero after yielding. The normal deformation DD
n-dilation
due to shear
dilation is
DD
i
ndilation
DD
i
s
tanf
d
38
Eq. (36) must be rewritten when the normal deformation
induced by shear dilation is considered
Ds
i
n
Dp
i
K
i
n
DD
i
n
DD
i
s
tanf
d
_ _
39
5.2. Global relation between stress and displacement to fracture
deformation
In the fracture network with m fracture segments, there are
interactions among fractures. The stress change of the ith fracture
segment is inuenced by the deformation of all the fracture
segments in the system. The dependence of change of normal
and shear stresses of ith fracture segment on the normal and shear
deformation, andthe interface owrate of all fracture segments are
derived from Eqs. (16) and (18) [28]
Ds
i
n

m
j 1
A
ij
DD
j
n

m
j 1
B
ij
DD
j
s

m
j 1
C
ij
q
j
int
Ds
i
s

m
j 1
E
ij
DD
j
n

m
j 1
F
ij
DD
j
s

m
j 1
K
ij
q
j
int
Dp
i

m
j 1
L
ij
DD
j
n

m
j 1
H
ij
DD
j
s

m
j 1
N
ij
q
j
int
40
where A
ij
, B
ij
, C
ij
, E
ij
, F
ij
, K
ij
, L
ij
, H
ij
, and N
ij
are the inuence coefcients of jth
fracture element on the ith fracture element.

s
Fig. 3. Local relation of fracture deformation.
Q. Tao et al. / International Journal of Rock Mechanics & Mining Sciences 48 (2011) 259268 262
The DDMsolutions are both space and time dependent, and the
fundamental solutions are based on constant displacement dis-
continuities and constant interface or source ow rates. However,
for practical applications, the displacement discontinuities and
interface owrates are time dependent. The time marching scheme
shown in Fig. 4 is used to allowsource strengths (the displacement
discontinuities and interface ow rate) to change with time.
Starting each boundary integration from an initial homogeneous
status avoids the needfor volumetric integration[23]. Therefore, all
the previous increments of source strengths must be included
while numerically integrating the effect of source strengths at each
time step. The induced stress and pore pressure on the ith fracture
segment by the increments of source strengths are
Ds
i
n
t

m
j 1
A
ij
tt
x
DD
jx
n

m
j 1
B
ij
tt
x
DD
jx
s

m
j 1
C
ij
tt
x
Dq
jx
int

x1
h 0

m
j 1
A
ij
tt
h
DD
jh
n

x1
h 0

m
j 1
B
ij
tt
h
DD
jh
s

x1
h 0

m
j 1
C
ij
tt
h
Dq
jh
int
Ds
i
s
t

m
j 1
E
ij
tt
x
DD
jx
n

m
j 1
F
ij
tt
x
DD
jx
s

m
j 1
K
ij
tt
x
Dq
jx
int

x1
h 0

m
j 1
E
ij
tt
h
DD
jh
n

x1
h 0

m
j 1
F
ij
tt
h
DD
jh
s

x1
h 0

m
j 1
K
ij
tt
h
Dq
jh
int
Dp
i
t

m
j 1
L
ij
tt
x
DD
jx
n

m
j 1
H
ij
tt
x
DD
jx
s

m
j 1
N
ij
tt
x
Dq
jx
int

x1
h 0

m
j 1
L
ij
tt
h
DD
jh
n

x1
h 0

m
j 1
H
ij
tt
h
DD
jh
s

x1
h 0

m
j 1
N
ij
tt
h
Dq
jh
int
41
where DD
jx
n
, DD
jx
s
and Dq
jx
int
are the source strength increments for
the jth fracture segment at the current time step, x; DD
jh
n
, DD
jh
s
and
Dq
jh
int
are the previous source strength increments of for the jth
fracture segment at time step h, which indexed from 1 to x1.
A
ij
tt
h
, B
ij
tt
h
, C
ij
tt
h
, E
ij
tt
h
, F
ij
tt
h
, K
ij
tt
h
, L
ij
tt
h
, H
ij
tt
h

and N
ij
tt
h
are the inuence coefcients of jth fracture element on
the ith fracture element at time step h.
5.3. Solution method
Discretizing the Eqs. (37) and (39) for the local relation of
fracture deformation in time, and combining the local and global
relations yields
p
i
t

m
j 1
A
ij
tt
x
DD
jx
n
K
i
n
DD
ix
n

m
j 1
B
ij
tt
x
DD
jx
s
K
i
n
tanf
d
DD
ix
s

m
j 1
C
ij
tt
x
q
jx
int

x1
h 0

m
j 1
A
ij
tt
h
DD
jh
n

x1
h 0

m
j 1
B
ij
tt
h
DD
jh
s

x1
h 0

m
j 1
C
ij
tt
h
q
jh
int
K
i
n

x1
h 0
DD
ih
n
tanf
d

x1
h 0
DD
ih
s
_ _
p
i
0

m
j 1
E
ij
tt
x
DD
jx
n

m
j 1
F
ij
tt
x
DD
jx
s
K
i
s
DD
ix
s

m
j 1
K
ij
tt
x
q
jx
int

x1
h 0

m
j 1
E
ij
tt
h
DD
jh
n

x1
h 0

m
j 1
F
ij
tt
h
DD
jh
s

x1
h 0

m
j 1
K
ij
tt
h
q
jh
int
K
i
s

x1
h 0
DD
ih
s
p
i
t

m
j 1
L
ij
tt
x
DD
jx
n

m
j 1
H
ij
tt
x
DD
jx
s

m
j 1
N
ij
tt
x
q
jx
int

p
i
0

x1
h 0

m
j 1
L
ij
tt
h
DD
jh
n

x1
h 0

m
j 1
H
ij
tt
h
DD
jh
s

x1
h 0

m
j 1
N
ij
tt
h
q
jh
int
42
The diffusivity equation, Eq. (32), is discretized in space and
time for a given fracture network using an implicit nite difference
method. For the ith fracture segment at the time step, x

m
j 1
C
p
ij
p
j
tDLDD
ix
n
DLDq
ix
int
w
f
DLc
f
p
i
t
x
DL

x1
h 0
Dq
ih
int

x
h 0
q
ih
s
43
where C
p
ij
is the uid coefcient matrix [28]. The production rate
from ith fracture segment q
ih
s
is also discretized in time in Eq. (43).
All left terms in Eqs. (42) and (43) are unknown and all right terms
are known. When the production rate and initial reservoir pressure
are given, the normal and shear fracture displacement, interface
ow rate, and uid pressure can be obtained by solving the linear
equation Eqs. (42) and (43).
6. Applications
6.1. Fracture permeability change under isotropic in-situ stress
conditions
In this section the fracture permeability change during produc-
tion and its effect on transient wellbore pressure are investigated
for a well with constant production rate (2 m
3
/day) from a unit
reservoir thickness (1 m) in formation with a fracture network
consisting of two sets of orthogonal vertical fractures surrounded
by an effectively innite porous medium as in Fig. 5. Only two-
dimensional ow and deformation are considered, and change in
the vertical direction is ignored. The in-situ stress eld before
production is assumed to be isotropic with compression set to
21 MPa. To better illustrate the geomechanic effects during pro-
duction, the reservoir pressure is set very close to the in-situ stress
at 20 MPa. The two joint parameters, initial normal stiffness and
maximum closure, characterizing the normal deformation of
fracture are 0.5 GPa/m and 0.8 mm, respectively. The nonlinear
relationship between effective normal stress under compression
and fracture closure is shown in Fig. 6. The fracture aperture at the
initial condition (zero effective normal stress) is assumed as
0.8 mm. The fracture aperture under the initial in-situ stress before
production is assumed as 0.229 mm for all fractures. Other para-
meters are listed in Table 1. Because the fracture permeability
dominates the reservoir permeability, changes in matrix perme-
ability are neglected and assumed as constant during production.

(
x
j
,

y
j
,

)
(x
j
, y
j
,
0
)
(x
j
, y
j
,

t
(x
j
, y
j
,
1
)
Fig. 4. Time marching scheme, w represents D
n
, D
s
or q
int
[23].
Q. Tao et al. / International Journal of Rock Mechanics & Mining Sciences 48 (2011) 259268 263
Fig. 7 shows the reservoir pressure distribution after 360 days
on production. In this case, the lowest pressure is 14.2 MPa, and the
highest pressure is 18.6 MPa. Fig. 8 shows that the fracture
permeability declines with production, and changes from 4428
to 280 D at the well, and from4428 to 1920 D at the boundary. The
slope of the trend in Fig. 6 gives the normal fracture stiffness, which
changes with the effective stress, from a small value at small
effective stress to a rapidly increasing value at high effective stress.
As such, the fracture is more deformable when the reservoir
pressure is close to the in-situ stress than when there is a large
contrast between them. To study the inuence of a higher stiffness,
consider the same initial fracture aperture of 0.229 mmandfracture
permeability of 4428 D before production, but set the initial in-situ
stress to a value that increases the effective stress while all other
properties remain same. Fig. 9 shows the fracture permeability
change at the well for different effective in-situ stress conditions.
The inuence of production on the fracture permeability change
strongly depends on the initial effective stress condition, and
decreases rapidly with increase in the effective in-situ stress. The
fracturepermeabilityonly reduces 3.5%of the initial permeabilityof
4428 D for the case with an effective in-situ stress of 10 MPa.
However fracture permeability loss for the case withan effective in-
situ stress of 1 MPa is 93.7% of the initial permeability.
The weakness of fracture is critical to the inuence of production
on fracture permeability change. If all other conditions are the same,
the weaker the fracture, the more fracture permeability reduction.
The initial normal stiffness and maximum closure characterize the
normal fracture deformation. For the above reservoir and production
conditions, the fracture permeability change is simulated for three
different fractures withdifferent k
ni
andD
nmax
(weakest: k
ni
0.8 mm,
D
nmax
0.5 GPa/m; medium: k
ni
0.357 mm, D
nmax
5 GPa/m; stron-
gest: k
ni
0.247 mm, D
nmax
50 GPa/m). For the three kinds of
fractures, all fracture apertures at the normal effective stress of
1 MPa are 0.229 mm. As a result, they have the same initial fracture
permeability of 4428 D. The fracture aperture reduces with the
increase of the effective normal stress. The weakest fracture has
the maximum reduction and the strongest one has the minimum
reduction (Fig. 10). Fig. 11 shows the comparison of the fracture
permeability change with time for the three different kinds of
fracture. For the weakest fracture, the fracture permeability of the
fracture at the well decreases by 93.7% of the initial permeability,
while the fracture permeability for the strongest fracture only
decreases by 21% of the initial permeability.
6.2. Fracture permeability change under high anisotropic in-situ
stress conditions
We consider anisotropic in-situ stress conditions in this case.
The shear deformation of a fracture is approximately linear before
yielding and is treated as linear here, as is characteristic of a
constant shear stiffness value. The shear stiffness is abruptly
reduced to zero after yielding. The yielding stress can be calculated
using the following formula:
t
peak
s
n
u tanf
i
44
where f
i
is the internal friction angle. For reservoirs already at
the critical stress conditions the fractures are already yielded.
Well
Fig. 5. Well located at the center of a fractured eld, which is surrounded by matrix
rock of effectively innite extent.
0
2
4
6
8
10
0
Fracture closure (mm)
E
f
f
e
c
t
i
v
e

n
o
r
m
a
l

s
t
r
e
s
s

(
M
P
a
)
0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8
Fig. 6. Nonlinear fracture normal deformation.
Table 1
Rock and fracture parameters in the modeling.
Area (m
2
) 1000 1000
Shear modulus G (GPa) 5.9
Possoins ratio u 0.16
Undrained Possoins ratio u
u
0.31
Matrix permeability (md) 0.8
Matrix porosity f 0.2
Biots coefcient a 0.83
Fluid viscosity m (cp) 1
Fluid compressibility (/MPa) 6.810
4
Fig. 7. Pore pressure distribution after 360 days production.
Q. Tao et al. / International Journal of Rock Mechanics & Mining Sciences 48 (2011) 259268 264
Therefore, the fractures are week and the shear stress disturbance
can result in large shear deformation. The shear deformation will
induce some normal deformation by dilation.
In Fig. 12 a fractured reservoir with high anisotropic in-situ
stress (s
1
30 MPa, s
3
23 MPa) has are two sets of fractures with
anangle of 601. The shear stiffness before yieldingis 100 GPa/m, the
internal friction angle is 301, the dilation angle is 51, and all other
parameters are the same as those in the isotropic case listed in
Table 1. All fractures are already yielded before production and the
production with a constant rate of 2 m
3
/day induces not only the
normal deformation but also large shear deformation.
Fig. 13 shows the direction and magnitude of the shear displace-
ment after 360 days production. If the shear dilation induces more
openness of the fracture than the closure induced by the increase of
the effective normal stress, the fracture permeability will increase
with production instead of reduction. Fig. 14 shows the fracture
permeability distribution after 360 days production. There is still
reduction of fracture permeability for those fractures in dark
blue. But the fracture permeability for other fractures increases
compared with the initial fracture permeability of 4428 D. The
fracture permeability and shear displacement are compared and
show consistent change (Fig. 14). Fig. 15 shows that the fracture
permeability increases with production both for the fracture inter-
sected by the well and for a fracture at the boundary with the
maximum enhancement at early time. But the permeability of the
fracture intersected by the well decreases later as the effective stress
keeps increasing. Andthe permeabilityof the fracture at the topright
corner increases until very late time and changes the trendwhenthe
effect of compression exceeds the effect of dilation. Therefore, under
highly anisotropic stress conditions production may enhance the
fracture permeability.
7. Conclusions
Production in naturally fractured reservoirs will cause reservoir
pressure change, thereby changing the stress. The stress change
will change the fracture aperture and permeability, thereby
inuencing the production. In this study, we developed a new
approach to model the fracture permeability change in naturally
fractured reservoirs by combining a nite difference method
0
1000
2000
3000
4000
5000
0
Time (hr)
F
r
a
c
t
u
r
e

a
p
e
r
t
u
r
e

(
m
m
)
fracture at boundary
fracture intersected with Well
1000 2000 3000 4000 5000 6000 7000 8000 9000
Fig. 8. Fracture permeability declines with time.
0
1000
2000
3000
4000
5000
0
Time (hr)
F
r
a
c
t
u
r
e

p
e
r
m
e
a
b
i
l
i
t
y

(
d
a
r
c
y
)
Effective in situ stress = 1 MPa
2 MPa
5 MPa
10 MPa
1000 2000 3000 4000 5000 6000 7000 8000 9000
Fig. 9. Effect of initial effective in-situ stress on the fracture permeability change.
Fig. 10. Relation of fracture aperture with the effective normal stress for different
fractures.
Q. Tao et al. / International Journal of Rock Mechanics & Mining Sciences 48 (2011) 259268 265
solving the coupled uid diffusivity equation in fracture network,
the nonlinear BartonBandis joint deformation model, and the
poroelastic displacement discontinuity method (DDM).
Fig. 11. The inuence of weakness of fracture on the fracture permeability change with the uid production.
Fig. 12. Well located at the center of a fractured eld under anisotropic stress eld
and the fractured network are surrounded by matrix rock.
Fig. 13. Shear displacement distribution after 360 days production for the case
fractures are already yielded before production. The arrow represents the shear
direction.
Fig. 14. Distribution of fracture permeability and shear displacement (shown with
arrows) after 360 days production for the case fractures are already yielded before
production.
2000
4000
6000
8000
10000
12000
14000
0
Time (hr)
F
r
a
c
t
u
r
e

p
e
r
m
e
a
b
i
l
i
t
y

(
d
a
r
c
y
)
Fracture at the top right corner
Fracture intersected by well
2000 4000 6000 8000 10000
Fig. 15. Fracture permeability changes with production for the case the fracture are
already yielded before production.
Q. Tao et al. / International Journal of Rock Mechanics & Mining Sciences 48 (2011) 259268 266
Fracture aperture and permeability decreases with pressure
reduction caused by the production in naturally fractured reser-
voirs under isotropic stress conditions. But the magnitude of the
change is dependent on the initial effective in-situ stress. For low
initial effective in-situ stress (the reservoir pressure is very close to
the magnitude of stress), the normal stiffness is small if the initial
normal stiffness is small, i.e., weak fractures. The small change of
reservoir pressure and effective stress can induce large fracture
closure and permeability loss. But for hard rock (high initial normal
stiffness) or high effective in-situ stress, the normal stiffness is
large. The change of fracture aperture and permeability is small
even for large reservoir pressure change. Therefore, whether the
reservoir is stress sensitive can be decided by laboratory tests on
the properties of fractures and eld tests of the in-situ stress. For
stress sensitive fractured reservoirs, the method developed in this
study can be applied to evaluate the change of fracture perme-
ability during production and its inuence on production. How-
ever, under highly anisotropic in-situstress condition, the fractures
can be at the critical stress condition, and a small change of the
shear stress can induce large shear displacement. The fracture
aperture and permeability can be enhanced due to shear dilation
while the reservoir pressure is decreasing.
Appendix A. Fundamental solutions for uid source
Induced pore pressure p
q
, displacement u
q
and stress s
q
by
continuous unit uid source along a line fracture segment
r
2
xxu
2
y
2
A:1
where x
0
varies from a to +a. Recall that
E
1
x
_
1
x
e
u
u
du A:2
The induced pore pressure is given by
p
q

m
4pk
_
a
a
Eix
2
dxu A:3
where
x
r
2

ct
p A:4
The induced displacements are
u
q
x

am12u
16pkG1u
2cte
x
2

r
2
E
1
x
2

2
2ct lnr
2
E
1
x
2

_ _
_ _
a
a
A:5
u
q
y

am12u
16pkG 1u
4ct arctan
xxu
y
_ _ _ _
a
a
_
y
_
a
a
E
1
x
2
dxu4cty
_
a
a
e
x
2
r
2
dxu
_
A:6
The induced stresses are
s
q
xx

am12u
8pk1u
xx
1
x
2

e
x
2
x
2
E
1
x
2

_ _ _ _
a
a
2
_
a
a
E
1
x
2
dxu
_ _
A:7
s
q
yy

am12u
8pk1u
xxu
1
x
2

e
x
2
x
2
E
1
x
2

_ _ _ _
a
a
A:8
s
q
xy

am 12u
8pk 1u
y
1
x
2

e
x
2
x
2
E
1
x
2

_ _ _ _
a
a
A:9
Appendix B. Fundamental solutions for displacement
discontinuities source
1. Induced pore pressure, displacement and stress by the
continuous unit normal displacement discontinuity along a line
fracture segment.
Induced pore pressure
p
dn

Gu
u
u
2par
2
12u1u
u

2xxu
r
2
1e
x
2

_ _
a
a
B:1
Induced displacement
u
dn
x

1
4p 1u
12uln9r9
u
u
u
1u
u
_ _
lnr
E
1
x
2

2

1e
x
2

2x
2
_ _ _

y
2
r
2
1
u
u
u
1u
u
_ _
1
1
x
2

e
x
2
x
2
_ _ _ __
a
a
B:2
u
dn
y

1
4p1u
21uarctan
xxu
y
_ _
ln9r9
_

xxuy
r
2
1
u
u
u
1u
u
_ _
1
1
x
2

e
x
2
x
2
_ _ _ __
a
a
B:3
Induced stress
s
dn
xx

G
2p1u
xxu
3
xxuy
2
r
4

u
u
u
1u
u
_ _
_

xxu
3
xxuy
2
r
4

3xxuy
2
xxu
3
r
4
1e
x
2
x
2

2xxuy
2
e
x
2
r
4
_ __
a
a
B:4
s
dn
yy

G
2p1u
xxu
3
3xxuy
2
r
4

u
u
u
1u
u
_ _
_

xxu
3
3xxuy
2
r
4

xxu
3
3xxuy
2
r
4
1e
x
2
x
2

2xxu
3
e
x
2
r
4
_ __
a
a
B:5
s
dn
xy

G
2p1u
xxu
2
yy
3
r
4

u
u
u
1u
u
_ _
_

xxu
2
yy
3
r
4

3xxu
2
yy
3

r
4
1e
x
2

x
2

2xxu
2
ye
x
2
r
4
_ _
_
a
a
B:6
where v
u
is the undrained Poissons ratio.
2. Induced pore pressure, displacement and stress by the
continuous unit shear displacement discontinuity along a line
fracture segment.
Induced pore pressure
p
ds

Gu
u
u
2par
2
12u1u
u

2y
r
2
1e
x
2

_ _
a
a
B:7
Induced displacement
u
ds
x

1
4p1u
_
21uarctan
xxu
y
_ _
ln r j j

xxuy
r
2
1
u
u
u
1u
u
_ _
1
1
x
2

e
x
2
x
2
_ _ _ __
a
a
B:8
u
ds
y

1
4p 1u
12u ln r j j
u
u
u
1u
u
_ _
lnr
E
1
x
2

2

1e
x
2

2x
2
_ _ _

y
2
r
2
1
u
u
u
1u
u
_ _
1
1
x
2

e
x
2
x
2
_ _ _ __
a
a
B:9
Q. Tao et al. / International Journal of Rock Mechanics & Mining Sciences 48 (2011) 259268 267
Induced stress
s
ds
xx

G
2p 1u
_

3xxu
2
yy
3
r
4

u
u
u
1u
u
_ _

3xxu
2
yy
3

r
4

3xxu
2
yy
3

r
4
1e
x
2

x
2

2y
3
e
x
2
r
4
_ __
a
a
B:10
s
ds
yy

G
2p 1u
_
xxu
2
yy
3

r
4

u
u
u
1u
u
_ _

xxu
2
yy
3
r
4

3xxu
2
yy
3

r
4
1e
x
2

x
2

2xxu
2
ye
x
2
r
4
_ __
a
a
B:11
s
ds
xy

G
2p1u
xxu
3
xxuy
2
r
4

u
u
u
1u
u
_ _
_

xxu
3
xxuy
2
r
4

3xxuy
2
xxu
3

r
4
1e
x
2

x
2

2xxuy
2
e
x
2
r
4
_ _
_
a
a
B:12
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