Details of Grant 

EPSRC Reference:	GR/M62143/01
Title:	ENHANCING RESERVOIR MANAGEMENT BY UNDERSTANDING & SIMULATING STRESS-SENSITIVE RELATIVE PERMEABILITIES
Principal Investigator:	Smart, Professor B
Other Investigators:	Somerville, Dr J Bowen, Mr D
Researcher Co-Investigators:
Project Partners:	Pre Nexus Migration Reservoir Management Ltd UTG BP Amoco Group
Department:	Institute Of Petroleum Engineering
Organisation:	Heriot-Watt University
Scheme:	LINK
Starts:	01 June 1999	Ends:	31 May 2001	Value (£):	143,559
EPSRC Research Topic Classifications:	Oil & Gas Extraction
EPSRC Industrial Sector Classifications:	Energy
Related Grants:
Panel History:
Summary on Grant Application Form
There is a growing awareness of the contribution that stress-sensitive reservoir simulation can make to the optimisation of reservoir performance. Issues such as stress-sensitive permeability and directional controls on flood front migration exerted by anisotropic in situ stresses are now being addressed by the oil and gas industry. Little research has, however, been performed on arguably the most significant parameter influencing fluid flow - the stress-sensitivity of relative permeabilities. This project will select two reservoirs and conduct experiments which replicate the fluid saturation and stress changes likely to pertain to these reservoirs, developing rock/reservoir specific models of the stress sensitivity of relative permeabilities. The experimental models will be used to develop a computational model which will then be incorporated in the VISAGE stress-sensitive reservoir simulator, enabling full reservoir simulations to be conducted. Comparison of history matched and predicted reservoir performance determined using conventional and the new stress-sensitive simulators will reveal the value of the new simulator and should lead to recommendations being made to optimise hydrocarbon recovery from these reservoirs. The completed project will also serve as a demonstration of how the methodology and tools developed can benefit the oil and gas industry and UK Limited.
Key Findings
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Organisation Website:	http://www.hw.ac.uk