The present thesis focusses on two main issues: (i) the development of a multi-phase simulation tool for the characteristics of tight-gas reservoirs, and (ii) the investigation of advanced stimulation techniques. The latter mainly implies the analysis of certain damaging mechanisms, as well as the derivation of general modelling guidelines for fractured wells and underbalanced drilling. A special simulation tool is developed, realised in a Fortran-MATLAB coupling. The numerical model is based on the control-volume method with finite differences. It accounts for inertial non-Darcy effects, non-Newtonian fluid rheology and stress dependency of permeability via a simplified approach. The discretisation framework is fully unstructured, using the connection list approach and the common two-point flow stencil. Wells and boundary conditions can be handled very flexible in the code. Contrary to conventional treatment in simulators, wells are discretely included in the simulator. Inertial non-Darcy flow and stress dependency of reservoir permeability are shown to affect the accuracy of simulation models, despite low gas rates. Considering a realistic scenario, with non-Darcy flow and permeability (stress) dependent non-Darcy flow coefficients, stress dependency of reservoir permeability and fracture closure, a total reduction of 40 % is possible in a 10 year production period under realistic conditions. New type-curves are presented for non-Darcy flow in fracture and reservoir, allowing for the determination of non-Darcy flow related parameters. The stress sensitivity of tight-gas rocks is crucial when simulating such reservoirs. The stress dependency of the reservoir permeability impacts the productivity to a much higher degree than the fracture closure. A two-phase model is presented for the simulation of cleanup processes in terms of load water recovery. The fracturing fluid is treated as the water phase. The load water, causing hydraulic damage, hardly curtails productivity. To get considerable reductions in productivity, permeability in the fracture vicinity needs to be severely impaired. Due to the flow pattern, fractured wells are generally less sensitive against near wellbore damage than radial wells. An enhanced three-phase cleanup model is presented for the investigations of the polymer gel cleanup, incorporating a yield power law rheology (the Herschel-Bulkley model). The combined occurrence of loadwater recovery including capillary forces and the gel cleanup, are investigated for the first time. First results indicate that both processes are only weakly coupled. A new simulation methodology is presented to investigate underbalanced drilling, taking into account multi-phase reservoir flow with capillary forces. A sensitivity analysis points out that the degree of water encroachment is the key factor for a successful UBD operation. Countercurrent imbibition, causing water encroachment is also analysed. Hydraulic damage turns out to be far more pronounced in tight-gas formations.

In terms of a considerable increase the quality of characterization of tight-gas reservoirs, the aim of the present thesis was (i) an accurate representation of specific conditions in a reservoir simulation model, induced after the hydraulic fracturing or as a result of the underbalanced drilling procedure and (ii) performing the history match on a basis of real field data to calibrate the generated model by identifying the main model parameters and to investigate the different physical mechanisms, e.g. multiphase flow phenomena, affecting the well production performance. Due to the complexity of hydrocarbon reservoirs and the simplified nature of the numerical model, the study of the inverse problems in the stochastic framework provides capabilities using diagnostic statistics to quantify a quality of calibration and reliability of parameter estimates. As shown in the present thesis the statistical criteria for model selection may help the modelers to determine an appropriate level of parameterization and one would like to have as good an approximation of structure of the system as the information permits.

The present thesis focusses on two main issues: (i) the development of a multi-phase simulation tool for the characteristics of tight-gas reservoirs, and (ii) the investigation of advanced stimulation techniques. The latter mainly implies the analysis of certain damaging mechanisms, as well as the derivation of general modelling guidelines for fractured wells and underbalanced drilling. A special simulation tool is developed, realised in a Fortran-MATLAB coupling. The numerical model is based on the control-volume method with finite differences. It accounts for inertial non-Darcy effects, non-Newtonian fluid rheology and stress dependency of permeability via a simplified approach. The discretisation framework is fully unstructured, using the connection list approach and the common two-point flow stencil. Wells and boundary conditions can be handled very flexible in the code. Contrary to conventional treatment in simulators, wells are discretely included in the simulator. Inertial non-Darcy flow and stress dependency of reservoir permeability are shown to affect the accuracy of simulation models, despite low gas rates. Considering a realistic scenario, with non-Darcy flow and permeability (stress) dependent non-Darcy flow coefficients, stress dependency of reservoir permeability and fracture closure, a total reduction of 40 % is possible in a 10 year production period under realistic conditions. New type-curves are presented for non-Darcy flow in fracture and reservoir, allowing for the determination of non-Darcy flow related parameters. The stress sensitivity of tight-gas rocks is crucial when simulating such reservoirs. The stress dependency of the reservoir permeability impacts the productivity to a much higher degree than the fracture closure. A two-phase model is presented for the simulation of cleanup processes in terms of load water recovery. The fracturing fluid is treated as the water phase. The load water, causing hydraulic damage, hardly curtails productivity. To get considerable reductions in productivity, permeability in the fracture vicinity needs to be severely impaired. Due to the flow pattern, fractured wells are generally less sensitive against near wellbore damage than radial wells. An enhanced three-phase cleanup model is presented for the investigations of the polymer gel cleanup, incorporating a yield power law rheology (the Herschel-Bulkley model). The combined occurrence of loadwater recovery including capillary forces and the gel cleanup, are investigated for the first time. First results indicate that both processes are only weakly coupled. A new simulation methodology is presented to investigate underbalanced drilling, taking into account multi-phase reservoir flow with capillary forces. A sensitivity analysis points out that the degree of water encroachment is the key factor for a successful UBD operation. Countercurrent imbibition, causing water encroachment is also analysed. Hydraulic damage turns out to be far more pronounced in tight-gas formations.

In terms of a considerable increase the quality of characterization of tight-gas reservoirs, the aim of the present thesis was (i) an accurate representation of specific conditions in a reservoir simulation model, induced after the hydraulic fracturing or as a result of the underbalanced drilling procedure and (ii) performing the history match on a basis of real field data to calibrate the generated model by identifying the main model parameters and to investigate the different physical mechanisms, e.g. multiphase flow phenomena, affecting the well production performance. Due to the complexity of hydrocarbon reservoirs and the simplified nature of the numerical model, the study of the inverse problems in the stochastic framework provides capabilities using diagnostic statistics to quantify a quality of calibration and reliability of parameter estimates. As shown in the present thesis the statistical criteria for model selection may help the modelers to determine an appropriate level of parameterization and one would like to have as good an approximation of structure of the system as the information permits.

Reservoir simulation is a powerful tool to model fluid flow within oil and gas reservoirs and predict their behaviour. This dissertation is devoted primarily to model some thermal enhanced oil recovery (TEOR) methods. Two software were used for this purpose and namely; Comsol Multiphysics® and CMG® (Computer Modelling Group). The dissertation can be classified into three parts and all of them are standalone that discuss different topics within TEOR. The work starts with reviewing enhanced oil recovery (EOR) methods with concentration on thermal methods (TEOR) for heavy oil and bitumen. Basics of mathematical modelling of single, two-phase, and three-phase flow in porous media that is the base of all commercial and scientific reservoir simulation software are reviewed. Formulations of the set of representative PDEs are reviewed and other formulations are suggested and applied directly in subsequent sections in Comsol Multiphysics®. Part-1: The application of finite element method (FEM) in reservoir simulation has been discussed and evaluated using Comsol Multiphysics package which is based on Galerkin approach. In the demonstrated problems, the mathematical model is solved using mathematics module in Comsol Multiphysics. Energy equation in 1D, Buckley-Leverett benchmark, two-phase flow model on ¼ inverted 5-spot scheme in 3D, and SAGD process PDE model are all solved and discussed. FEM using Comsol Multiphysics looks promising at moderate mobility ratios. Part-2: A comparison of water flooding with steam injection in heavy oil reservoirs as secondary stage is demonstrated and discussed. The whole modelling was achieved by CMG-STARS. A comparison of five different scenarios is shown. SPE4 comparative project data were used for this purpose. The results showed that steam can achieve more recovery in a short period of time with an ultimate recovery factor higher than cold recovery followed by steam flooding process. Part-3: A series of flooding and in-situ combustion experimental work that has been achieved in Kazan Federal University in cooperation with Institute of Drilling Engineering and Fluid Mining (IBF) is elaborated briefly and discussed. Four experiments with different core samples (consolidated and unconsolidated) were run between 05-2020 and 05-2021. The samples were taken from a Russian extra-heavy oilfield with initial viscosity around 600,000 cP. The results were evaluated and a numerical model was built using CMG-STARS. The numerical results were correlating the experimental results. Relative permeability data were history matched for flooding processes and this data was used for in-situ combustion model. Modelling of the reactions in in-situ combustion was a challenge to match the experimental results. The final results showed that steam injection was not the best recovery method for this oilfield and in-situ combustion was the best available technique with the highest recovery factor.