Impact of natural fractures on the inflow dynamics of horizontal gas wells in strongly heterogeneous reservoirs: An embedded discrete fracture model study

Traditional well-reservoir coupling models struggle to capture the complex interplay between natural fractures and reservoir heterogeneity. To address this limitation, an Embedded Discrete Fracture Model (EDFM) is employed to elucidate how natural fractures affect horizontal well inflow profiles in complex reservoirs. Specifically, EDFM enables accurate characterization of fracture conductivity and spatial distribution, ensuring both precision and computational efficiency in fractured gas reservoir models. An EDFM-based coupled model is developed, integrating reservoir (including non-Darcy effects) and wellbore models. To quantitatively evaluate the dynamic influence of natural fractures on horizontal well inflow profiles, the “inflow increment percentage” is proposed and applied as a novel indicator. Following model validation, the dynamic influence of natural fractures is investigated in both homogeneous and heterogeneous matrix reservoirs. In homogeneous systems, natural fractures intersecting the wellbore significantly enhance local inflow, with the effect stabilizing over time. In contrast, under heterogeneous conditions, fracture-induced inflow patterns become more complex and less predictable, governed not only by natural fractures but also by spatial variations in matrix permeability. The complex interaction may even lead to a reversal of inflow increment percentage (