Projection-based Embedded Discrete Fracture Model (pEDFM) on Corner-point Grid Geometry for Subsurface Flow and Geothermal Modeling

Summary We develop projection-based embedded discrete fracture model (pEDFM) on corner-point grids (CPG) for fluid flow and heat transfer in subsurface geological formations. The coupling between the flow and heat transfer is fully-implicit, to allow for stable simulations, specially in presence of highly contrasting fractures. We define independent CPG-based mesh for matrix rock and all 3D fractures, which allows for capturing geologically complex geometries. The connectivities between the non-neighbouring cells are described such that a consistent discrete representation of the embedded fractures are developed within the CPG geometry. Numerical rests are developed first to verify the CPG grid implementation compared with the Cartesian structured ones, and then to illustrate the applicability of the pEDFM for field-scale geologically complex reservoirs.