Experimental Determination of Relative Permeabilities for a Rich Gas/Condensate System Using Live Fluid

Measurement of gas and condensate relative permeabilities typically is performed through steady-state linear coreflood experiments using model fluids. This study addresses experimental measurement of relative permeabilities for a rich gas/condensate reservoir using a live, single-phase reservoir fluid. Using a live, single-phase reservoir fluid eliminates the difficulties in designing a relatively simple model fluid that replicates the complicated thermodynamic and transport properties of a near-critical fluid. Two-phase-flow tests were performed across it range of pressures and flow rates to simulate reservoir conditions front initial production through depletion. A single-phase multirate experiment wits also performed to assess inertial, or non-Darcy, effects. Correlations were developed to represent both the gas and condensate relative permeabilities as a function of capillary number. A nearly 20-fold increase in gas relative permeability wits observed from the low- to high-capillary-number flow regime. Compositional simulations were performed to assess the impact of the experimental results for vertical- and horizontal-well geometries.