This book presents, in a self-contained form, the equations of fluid flow in porous media, with a focus on topics and issues that are relevant to petroleum reservoir engineering. No prior knowledge of the field is assumed on the part of the reader, and particular care is given to careful mathematical and conceptual development of the governing equations, and solutions for important reservoir flow problems. Fluid Flow in Porous Media starts with a discussion of permeability and Darcy's law, then moves on to a careful derivation of the pressure diffusion equation. Solutions are developed and discussed for flow to a vertical well in an infinite reservoir, in reservoirs containing faults, in bounded reservoirs, and to hydraulically fractured wells. Special topics such as the dual-porosity model for fractured reservoirs, and fluid flow in gas reservoirs, are also covered. The book includes twenty problems, along with detailed solutions.
As part of the Imperial College Lectures in Petroleum Engineering, and based on a lecture series on the same topic, this book provides the introductory information needed for students of the petroleum engineering and hydrology.