Problem of Gas Phase Flow in a Water-Saturated Porous Medium

Abstract

The aim of this study is to develop efficient numerical methods for the solution of the fluid–fluid displacement problem in porous media, encountered in the development and exploitation of oil and gas reservoirs and in the construction and operation of underground gas storage in aquifers. At present, hydro-gas-dynamic simulations of underground gas storage facilities are performed using numerical methods that do not fully account for the actual physical properties of the porous reservoir, the gas, and the water, nor for the specific features of the displacement process. The same limitations apply to problems arising during the operation of gas reservoirs in contact with active edge-water aquifers. In this regard, there arises a need to develop efficient numerical methods for hydro-gas-dynamic simulations that take these factors into account, thus enabling a more accurate representation of the process. The numerical implementation of the algorithm is based on a finite difference scheme on a moving grid. The proposed difference–iterative method with moving grids can be employed to identify a rational reservoir stimulation strategy.