Simulation of hydraulically fractured wells

Fractured wells are frequently encountered in petroleum engineering. They can be hydraulically fractured wells to improve oil production or wells intersecting natural fractures. Due to the presence of the fractures, the flow behaviour and the pressure distribution in the vicinity of the fractured well are complex and the numerical modelling for this hind of well is complicated. There are no efficient numerical methods to simulate these wells, especially for the fractured horizontal or multi-lateral wells. In this paper, we discuss the new techniques for fractured well simulations using the reservoir simulator. A new method, which is based on the calculation of suitable numerical PI at the well blocks and of transmissibilities around the fractured wells according to the steady-state pressure distribution, is proposed for fractured well modelling. This method can provide satisfactory results with coarse grid simulations.