Analytical Modeling of Oil Production from a Matrix Block by Free

Fall Gravity Drainage Mechanism

Corresponding Author: Salman Ghorbani Zadeh

Coauthors: Muhammad Shojaadini, Mahdi Matin, Mohammad Hossein Ghazanfari

PhD Student, Institute of Petroleum Engineering, Tehran University

Chemical and Petroleum Engineering Department, Sharif University of Technology

Corresponding Author Email: salman.ghorbanizadeh@gmail.com

Abstract
Free fall gravity drainage is one of the most effective mechanisms of
producing the oil from the matrix blocks in the gas invaded zone of the
naturally fractured reservoirs. Although several analytical models have
been proposed to characterize this mechanism in a matrix block, but
these models suffer from the practical or theoretical viewpoints. In this
study, a new analytical model was presented to predict the oil production
rate versus time from a homogeneous matrix block under free fall gravity
drainage mechanism. The model was developed by considering the
balance between involved forces in the gas-oil gravity drainage process.
By simplifying the equation derived from the momentum balance, a
differential equation was obtained. To develop new analytical model, the
obtained differential equation was analytically solved by using the
Lambert W function. The prediction of derived model was tested against
the results of numerical analysis and conventional simulation as well as
experimental data in the core and micromodel scale. The validation
results show that the model predictions match with the data sets
excellently.
Keywords: Matrix Block, Free Fall Gravity Drainage, Analytical
Modeling, Gas Invaded Zone, Naturally Fractured Reservoir

. Introduction
After beginning the oil production from a typical naturally fractured
reservoir, a new zone named gas invaded zone or secondary gas cap
was formed because of gas cap expansion or liberated gas migration
from the oil zone toward the top of the reservoir. The matrix blocks which
are in this zone are partially or totally immerse in the gas, and contain
considerable volume of the oil. The most effective mechanism of
producing this volume of oil is the free fall gravity drainage. Several
authors have presented different analytical models to characterize the
performance of the gas-oil gravity drainage mechanism in a matrix block.
Darcy () formulated the flow of water in a vertical column of porous
media only under influence of the gravity force; his formulation is applied
only for the steady-state flow cases. Cardwell et al. () considered a
heterogeneous vertical column of porous media. They justified the nonuniform liquid saturation distribution through the porous media by
presenting an unsteady-state liquid drainage model. They divided the
porous media to the two saturated and unsaturated regions. By
subtracting the velocities in these two distinct zones, they could find the
gas-oil interface velocity. They did not consider the effect of capillary
force in the unsaturated zone. Also some quantities which are used in
their model, such as liquid relative permeability in the unsaturated zone,
need the empirical equations to obtain which are complex and uncertain.

Nenniger et al. () derived the basic differential equations for the

prediction of saturation-time curves for the drainage of packed beds in
the gravitational fields. They presented an approximate series solution
for these equations. They worked based on film flow theory and consider
a moving demarcator. Dykstra () extended the Cardwell model to
the oil reservoirs; he improved the relative permeability-saturation
relation by entering residual oil saturation in the equations. He modified
the Cardwell model by some simplification to achieve more accurate
results, but some terms still remains uncertain and empirically obtained.
Hagoort () developed a new method based on the centrifugal gas-oil
displacement in the small cores for the accurate measurement of the oil
relative permeability. He did this, because it was shown that the accurate
obtaining oil relative permeability is a key factor to increase the accuracy
of existing models, such as Cardwell et al. and Dykstra models. Vangolf
() considered the gas-oil displacement in a vertical matrix block
totally or partially immerse in the gas. He assumed that the side walls of
the matrix block are impermeable, the gas enters the matrix from the top
of that and displaces the oil toward the bottom of the matrix. He
developed his model to obtain the gas-oil interface velocity by using
Darcy formula and considering equal velocities for the oil and gas. Saidi
() presented a differential equation for the oil saturation distribution
above the gas-oil interface in the matrix block. He could solve and

integrate that equation only for the stationary case, when a steady state
condition is reached. Pavone et al. () developed an analytical
solution for their presented non-linear governing equation for the gas
saturation during oil drainage. To solve the governing equation, they
linearized the governing equation by assuming straight-line permeability
curve and logarithmic capillary pressure curve. They also conducted
some experiments to validate their model; the analytical solution was
used twice for early and later times, respectively, to match the same set
of experimental data. Bech et al. () obtained a diffusivity equation by
writing the flow equations and considering the dual porosity model for
simulating the gravity drainage in the fractured reservoirs. Luan ()
studied gravity drainage mechanism in a stack of blocks from both
physical and mathematical viewpoints. He solved the governing equation
given by Hagoort analytically and numerically. However, he used the
same boundary condition as that utilized by Pavone et al. Schechter et
al. () divided the matrix block to the two distinct zones similar to the
Cardwells study. They considered the Darcy velocity for the saturated
zone and both the bulk and film oil residual saturation for the
unsaturated zone. They generated a differential equation by equaling the
Darcy velocity in the saturated zone and the oil volume change through
the whole matrix block. They solved this equation numerically and used
uncertain film flow terms in their solution. Xu () developed an

unsteady-state model to characterize the gravity-driven flow in an

angular capillary tube as a fracture. He wrote mass conservation laws
for the corner flow and inserted steady state relation for the velocity
formula in that. By solving derived equation, he could present a formula
for the velocity above and at the gas-liquid interface. However he
neglected effect of capillary in his formulation. Donato et al. ()
performed the analytical and numerical analysis of the gas-oil gravity
drainage. They presented three distinct analytical models to characterize
the gravity drainage mechanism, ) gravity is the main driving force and
) both gravity and capillary effects are important. In the second case it
is possible that gravity dominated drainage or capillary dominated
drainage occurs. They did not suggest a clear criterion to use each
model for practical purposes. Li et al. () assumed that the free fall
gravity drainage is similar to the spontaneous imbibition; therefore they
applied the model suggested by Aronofsky et al. () in their study to
match the oil production by the gravity drainage. They claimed that initial
oil production rate, entry capillary pressure, and average residual oil
saturation can be estimated by using their oil recovery model. However
they did not present any theoretical support to justify their model. These
existing models suffer from the practical or theoretical viewpoints, which
have mentioned briefly at above material. In this study, a new analytical
model for the free fall gravity drainage in a homogeneous matrix block is

presented, which considers the effect of capillary force completely and

can be used for the all conditions: gravity force dominant, capillary force
dominant or when both gravity and capillary forces are important.
. Analytical Modeling
To clarify the process which has been modeled in this paper, first a
schematic of a typical fractured reservoir after beginning the oil
production was plotted. Then we focused on the gas invade zone and
also on the gas-oil contact where the oil saturated matrix blocks are
totally or partially immerse in the gas. After that a matrix block which is
surrounded by the fractures was considered and finally the free fall
gravity drainage was modeled in this matrix (See Fig. ). As you see in
Fig. , H is the height of matrix block and hm, hf are the heights of oil
column in the matrix and fracture respectively. The fluid flow direction is
downward, therefore downward direction was considered as the positive
direction. There are three important forces which govern the free fall
gravity drainage in a matrix block; gravity, capillary and friction forces.
We formulated these three forces by using equivalent pressure
statement correspond to each force.
Gravity Force (hydrostatic pressure): this is due to the difference
between the oil and gas density and also difference between the
height of oil column in the matrix and fracture.

()

Capillary Force (capillary pressure): capillary pressure in the matrix

can be defined by Laplace equation as below:

()

Let now assume that the matrix is represented by the bundle of capillary
tubes, by comparing the Darcy law and Hagen-Poiseuille equation to
replace Rm, we can get:

()

Friction Force (viscous pressure loss): This is due to the friction

between the rock wall and viscous fluid flow in the porous media.
Assuming laminar and incompressible fluid flow in matrix block and
using Darcys law for the oil velocity, the viscous pressure loss can
be obtained as follow:

()

Substituting the velocity in Eq. () by derivative of height with respect to

the time gives:

()

After formulating the active forces in free fall gravity drainage, the
momentum balance of oil flow correspond to these forces must be

written to develop the desired differential equation. It has been known

that in this zone the capillary and friction forces have resistant roles
while the gravity acts as a driving force.

Therefore the momentum

balance inside the matrix block can be written as follow:

()

It is desired for us to find oil recovery and oil production rate from matrix
block, therefore we placed derivative of height with respect to the time in
one sides and all other terms in other side.

()

All terms in right side of Eq. () are constant and depend on the rock and
fluid properties except hm, hf. So we can define two constant parameters
which can be obtained for each special rock and fluid sample;

()

Substituting equation () in equation () gives:

()

Eq. () is a differential equation which characterizes the free fall gravity

drainage mechanism in a matrix block.

Parameter a,

b are

representatives for the gravity and capillary forces respectively, and the
effect of viscous pressure loss has been covered in the both parameters
a, b through viscosity term. Eq. () has been solved to develop an
analytical model, but before solving this equation we considered three
different assumptions for the height of oil column in the fracture; ) There
isnt any oil in the fracture and the matrix blocks are totally immerse in
the gas, the most of the blocks in the gas invaded zone (above the gasoil contact) are in this condition. ) The height of the oil column in the
fracture is constant. This occurred in the gas-oil contact when the rate of
oil production from the oil zone is equal to the aquifer or gravity drainage
compensation rate. ) The height of oil column in the fracture is variable.
This occurred in the gas-oil contact when the rate of oil production from
the oil zone is not equal to the aquifer expansion or gravity drainage
rate. All three assumptions can be occurred in the real reservoir
conditions; however the first one is the most probable case. Therefore
first assumption was considered to solve Eq. ();

= +

()

To solve Eq. (), first the cognate parameters were placed in the same
side of equation and then integration applied for both sides of the
equation. For the initial condition (t=hm=H) the following solution was
developed:

( + )

+ )

()

Eq. () is an implicit expression for hm, but it is desirable to find an

explicit expression, such as hm=f (t). There are several methods, Zhmud
et al. (), to estimate an explicit solution for hm (t), but to obtain a
more accurate solution a new approach, Lambert W function, has been
followed, similar to that was used by Fries et al. () for analytical
modeling of capillary rise. Using this approach the implicit expression in
Eq. () was converted to an explicit expression as Eq. (). More detail
of this conversion are given in Fries et al. paper () and its online
supplementary material.

( )=

( +

()

For practical purpose, Eq. () which is the height of oil column versus
time in the matrix block must be converted to the oil recovery and oil
production rate versus time. If one assumes that in the initial condition,
the matrix block is completely saturated with oil, then the oil recovery
formula can be obtained as follow:

( )=

( )

( )

()

For homogeneous matrix, the residual oil saturation above the gas-oil
interface is uniform or it is constant with respect to the height; therefore
Eq. () presents more realistic by multiplying (-Sor). Substituting Eq.
() in Eq. () results in a new model for oil recovery in free fall gravity
drainage from a matrix block,

( ) = (

( +

()

After some rearrangements and manipulations by introducing some

constant parameters Eq. () changed to a shorter form as follows,

()

Substituting the introduced parameters, Eq. (), in Eq. () gives:

( ) = (

){ [ +

)]}

()

Substituting Eq. () in Eq. (), multiplying by effective cross section

area (A ) and using introduced parameters, Eq. (), a new expression
is developed for oil production rate,

( )=

(
) (
[ + ( )]

()

This is must be clarified that the flow of gas in the matrix block was
neglected, so the viscous pressure loss due to the flow of gas was not

consider. It is because of assuming gas-oil replacement instead of gasoil displacement. However the effect of flow of gas in the matrix block is
negligible for the free fall gravity drainage.

. Model Validation
In this section, the prediction of developed analytical model, Eq. (),
has been validated by using three distinct methods: numerical analysis,
conventional simulation and experimental data. The explanation of each
method and associated results are presented as follows.
.. Numerical Analysis
For checking the accuracy of the applied approach to obtain the explicit
solution presented in Eq. (), a computer code was developed to
numerically solve differential Eq. (). The code is written based on
implicit finite difference method. Three samples with different rock and
fluid properties were considered to compare the results of numerical
solution with the analytical model predictions. The properties of three
different samples are given in Table . The results shown in Fig. reveal
that the explicit solution, presented in Eq. (), can be considered as an
exact solution for Eq. ().

.. Experimental Study
A few works in laboratory scale have been investigated the free fall
gravity drainage in one matrix block. In the most of these works, several
effects have been simultaneously studied; therefore their results cannot
be helpful for our purpose. However, two experiments were selected to
validate the predictions of proposed model in the core and micromodel
scale. The analytical model was tested against the experimental results
in the core scale obtained by Pedrera et al. (), using a completely
homogeneous m long core sample of mm diameter, positioned
vertically and had a permeability of md and a porosity of %. The
case selected for this study was the strongly water-wet sample with a
wettability index of . and an initial water saturation of %. The results
of the comparison between Pedrera experiment and analytical model,
Eq. (), is shown in Fig. . It is obvious from the figure that there is an
excellent consistency between the experimental data and analytical
model predictions. In addition to Pedrera work, a micromodel scale
experiment was conducted to insure the validity of our model. The
micromodel was constructed by using laser technology and fusing
process as described by Mohammdi et al. (). It consists of a matrix
block which was surrounded by the fractures in the two sides of that
(See Fig. ). The constructed homogeneous -D glass micromodel was

saturated with crude oil and positioned vertically to record the free fall
gravity drainage data through photo capturing. The oil of fractures drains
very quickly due to high permeability ( Darcy). A high resolution
digital camera, Nikon D, was used to photograph the micromodel and
Adobe Photoshop CS software along with a developed computer code
was used to analyze the micromodel photographs. The model and crude
oil properties are presented in Table . The experiment was carried out
at room temperature and pressure. The result of the comparison
between

micromodel

experimental

data

and

analytical

model

predictions, Eq. (), is shown in Fig. . Again, there is an excellent

match between the experimental data and analytical model predictions.
.. Conventional Simulator
In this part, in order to check the validity of the developed model,
numerical simulations were performed using the commercial simulator
ECLIPSE. Cartesian grid system was used with dimensions
(See Fig. ). The matrix was represented by a cube with dimensions
ft ft ft. the threshold height of the matrix block was taken ft.
The rock was considered to be homogeneous. The porosity of matrix
was taken . and the matrix was assumed to be isotropic (kx= ky=
kz=md). The outermost grid blocks properties was chosen very high
(porosity and permeability kx=ky=kz=mD) to represent the

fracture. All grid blocks outside the matrix region had unit gas saturation.
Since the model is developed for homogenous system, capillary
pressure was assumed uniform at different oil saturation. Relative
permeability for oil was assumed zero above the gas-oil interface where
below the front its value was set to unity. The properties of the oil used
in the simulator are viscosity . cp, specific gravity ., and interfacial
tension . kg/s. As one can see in Fig. , there is an excellent
consistency between the simulation results and model predictions.
. Conclusion
In this study, we presented a new method based on balances of involved
forces in free fall gravity drainage, and developed a new analytic model
for prediction of produced oil rate in a homogeneous matrix block under
this mechanism. The Lambert W function was used to analytically solve
the derived differential equation. The presented model considers the
effect of capillary force completely and can be used for the all conditions:
gravity force dominant, capillary force dominant or both gravity and
capillary forces are important. The prediction of developed model
matched excellently with the data sets in the core and micromodel scale,
also its prediction is in reliable agreement with the results of numerical
analysis and conventional simulation models. Extending of the results to
a heterogeneous porous media is the authors ongoing research subject.

Nomenclature:

difference density between oil and gas

height of oil column in the matrix

gravity acceleration term

height of oil column in the fracture
interfacial tension between oil and gas
contact angle between oil and gas on rock surface
equivalent mean radius of the matrix block
mean oil velocity in the matrix block
absolute permeability of the matrix block
effective porosity of the matrix block
height of the matrix block
( ) matrix block oil recovery versus time

( ) matrix block oil production rate versus time

Table-: Rock and fluid characteristics used in the numerical analysis

(Matlab program)
Property

Sample

Sample

Sample

Permeability

Darcy

. Darcy

. Darcy

Porosity

Oil viscosity

cp

. cp

. cp

Oil Specific Gravity

Gas-Oil Interfacial
Tension

. kg/s

. kg/s

. kg/s

Matrix Block Height

Table-: Micromodel and fluid characteristics used in the gravity

drainage experiment
Permeability

Darcy

Porosity

Oil viscosity

. cp

Oil Specific Gravity

Gas-Oil Interfacial Tension

. kg/s

Matrix Block Height

. m

Residual Oil Saturation

References
Aronofsky, J. S., Masse, L., Natanson, S. G. . A Model for the
Mechanism of Oil Recovery from the Porous Matrix due to Water
Invasion in Fractured Reservoirs. Trans. AIME. ,.
Bech, N., Jensen, O. K., and Nielsen, B. . Modeling of GravityImbibition and Gravity-Drainage Processes. SPE Res. Eng. J. , .
Cardwell, W. T., Parsons, R. L. . Gravity Drainage Theory. Trans.
AIME., , .
Darcy , Amyx, W. J., Bass, M.D., Whiting, L.R. . Textbook of
Petroleum Reservoir Engineering. McGraw-Hill Edition Press: Texas; pp
-.
Donato, G., Tavassoli, Z., and Blunt, M. . Analytical and Numerical
Analysis of Oil Recovery by Gravity Drainage. J. Pet. Sci. Eng. , -.
Dykstra, H. J. . The Prediction of Oil Recovey by Gravity Drainage.
Pet. Technol., , SPE , DOI: ./-PA.
Fries, N., Dreyer, M. J. . An Analytic Solution of Capillary Rise
Restrained by Gravity. J. Colloid Interface Sci., , .
Hagoort, J. . Oil Recovey by Gravity Drainage. SPE J., .
SPE , DOI: ./-PA.
Li, K., Horne, R. N. . Modeling of Oil Production by Gravity
Drainage. J. Pet. Sci. Eng. , -.
Luan, Z. . Some Theoretical Aspects of Gravity Drainage in
Naturally Fractured Reservoirs. SPE , DOI: ./-MS.
Mohammadi, S., Maghzi, A., Ghazanfari, M.H., Masihi, M., Mohebbi, A.,
and Kharrat, R. . One the Control of Glass Micromodel
Characteristics. Accepted in Energy Sources, Part A.
Nenniger, E., Storrow, J.A. . Drainage of Packed Beads in
Gravitational and Centrifugal-Force Fields. AIChE., (), .

Pavone, D., Bruzzi, P., Verre, R. . Gravity Drainage at Low

Interracial Tension. th European Symposium on Enhanced Oil
Recovery.
Pedrera, B., Bertin, H., Hamon, G., Augustin, A. . Wettability Effect
on Oil Relative Permeability during a Gravity Drainage. SPE . DOI:
./.
Saidi, A.M. . Textbook of Reservoir Engineering of Fractured
Reservoirs; TOTAL Edition Press: Paris; pp -.
Schechter, D. S., Guo, B. . Mathematical Modeling of Gravity
Drainage after Gas Injection into Fractured Reservoirs. SPE . DOI:
./-MS.
Van, Golf-Racht. . Textbook of Fractured Reservoir Engineering;
Elsevier Scientific Publication; pp -.
Xu, J-Q. . Modeling unsteady-state gravity-driven flow in porous
media .J. Pet. Sci. Eng. , -.
Zhmud, B. V., Tiberg, F., Hallstensson, K. . Dynamics of Capillary
Rise. J. Colloid Interface Sci., , .

Figure-: Schematic of a typical fractured reservoir after beginning the oil

production and a matrix block in the gas invaded zone

Figure-: Schematic of a matrix block which is surrounded by the

fractures, oil drains in both matrix and fracture due to the gravity force

Figure-: Comparison of the oil recovery calculated by the analytical

solution to that calculated by numerical solution

Figure-: Comparison of the oil recovery calculated by the presented

analytical model to the experimental data in core scale (Pedrera et al.,
).

Figure-: Photo of micromodel which is used in free fall gravity drainage

experiment

Figure-: Comparison of the oil recovery calculated by the presented

analytical model to the experimental data in micromodel scale

Figure-: Schematic of a matrix block which is surrounded by the

fractures used in Eclipse software to simulate free fall gravity drainge \

Figure-: Comparison of the oil recovery calculated by the presented

analytical model to the simulation data using Eclipse software