Research Progress and Application Prospects of Dynamic Evaluation and Prediction Methods for Water Invasion in Gas Reservoirs

Gas reservoir water invasion is a key factor affecting the development performance and ultimate recovery of water-bearing gas reservoirs.Its dynamics are jointly controlled by multiple factors, including reservoir heterogeneity, fracture development, production strategy, and gas-water interface evolution.In recent years, with the increasing development of edge-bottom water gas reservoirs, fractured gas reservoirs, and ultra-deep complex gas reservoirs, significant progress has been made in water invasion mechanisms, experimental simulation techniques, dynamic evaluation methods, and prediction and optimization theories.This paper systematically reviews the current research status in this field.The understanding of water invasion mechanisms has evolved from homogeneous medium theory to a comprehensive understanding incorporating reservoir heterogeneity, fracture conductivity, and multi-field coupling effects.Experimental studies have expanded from conventional core displacement to large-scale physical simulation, multi-scale experiments, and real-time monitoring.Evaluation and prediction methods have advanced from classical analytical models to numerical simulation, intelligent optimization, and digital analysis.Overall, research on gas reservoir water invasion is transitioning from single-scale, empirical analysis toward multiscale, multi-field coupling, and intelligent prediction.Future efforts should strengthen the deep integration of experiments, dynamic monitoring, mechanistic models, and artificial intelligence to establish a mechanism-constrained intelligent prediction system, enabling real-time identification, dynamic prediction, and development optimization of water invasion processes in complex gas reservoirs, thereby providing theoretical support for the efficient development of water-bearing gas reservoirs.