Imaging study on oil-gas-water three-phase flow in near-horizontal wells based on array flow

Qi TIAN, JunFeng LIU, RongQi YANG, YueXiang DAI, HaiMin GUO

Prog Geophy ›› 2026, Vol. 41 ›› Issue (5) : 2128-2138.

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Prog Geophy ›› 2026, Vol. 41 ›› Issue (5) : 2128-2138. DOI: 10.6038/pg2026JJ0449

Imaging study on oil-gas-water three-phase flow in near-horizontal wells based on array flow

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Abstract

With the advancement of development, oil-gas-water three-phase flow has emerged in near-horizontal wells of the XJ Oilfield. Differences in phase flow rates and fluid physical properties have complicated the three-phase flow in the wellbore, rendering conventional methods ineffective. To solve this problem, this paper first conducts simulation experiments under different well conditions in near-horizontal wells with oil-gas-water three-phase flow using the Flow Imaging Tool (FIT) array flow imager. The common flow patterns in the experiments are summarized based on experimental data and theoretical flow patterns. Subsequently, the imaging processes of simple inverse-distance weighting interpolation, Gaussian radial basis function interpolation, and ordinary Kriging interpolation are introduced by utilizing the local gas holdup and water holdup characteristics obtained from array optical fibers and array resistors. These three methods are then implemented in MATLAB for cross-sectional imaging and average holdup calculation. Through the comparison of imaging results and analysis of relative errors, the average holdup calculated by the optimal method is combined with the high-density cross-sectional segmentation method to achieve three-dimensional holdup imaging along the wellbore. Finally, the coverage range of the FIT instrument in the experimental wellbore is analyzed. The research results indicate that the data measured by the array flow imager can reflect the flow patterns and behaviors of each phase in the wellbore during the oil-gas-water three-phase flow experiments in near-horizontal wells. In fully horizontal wells, the Gaussian radial basis function method is more suitable for calculating the water-hydrocarbon interface and water holdup, while the Kriging method has a better effect on estimating the gas-liquid interface. The three-dimensional wellbore imaging obtained by these methods can intuitively reflect the distribution of oil, gas, and water media in the well and the total holdup value on the wellbore cross-section, providing a certain reference for dynamic monitoring in the oil-gas-water three-phase flow of near-horizontal wells.

Key words

Near-horizontal wells / Oil-gas-water three phases / Array flow imager / Experimental flow pattern / Interpolation algorithm / Wellbore coverage rate / Three-dimensional imaging

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Qi TIAN , JunFeng LIU , RongQi YANG , et al . Imaging study on oil-gas-water three-phase flow in near-horizontal wells based on array flow[J]. Progress in Geophysics. 2026, 41(5): 2128-2138 https://doi.org/10.6038/pg2026JJ0449

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