Production from gas condensate reservoir poses the major challenge of condensate banking or blockage. This occurs near the wellbore, around which a decline in pressure is initially observed. A good sign of condensate banking is a rise in the gas–oil ratio (GOR) during production and/or a decline in the condensate yield of the well, which leads to considerable reductions in well deliverability and well rate for gas condensate reservoirs. Therefore, determining the well deliverability of a gas condensate reservoir and methods to optimize productivity is paramount in the industry.

Prediction of the timing and location of condensate build-up around the wellbore in gas condensate reservoirs is essential for the selection of appropriate methods for condensate recovery from these challenging reservoirs. The present work focuses on the use of a novel phase change tracking approach in monitoring the formation of condensate blockage in a gas condensate reservoir. The procedure entails the simulation of tight, low and high permeability reservoirs using global and local grid analysis in determining the size and timing of three common regions (Region 1, near wellbore; Region 2, condensate build-up; and Region 3, single-phase gas) associated with single and two-phase gas and immobile and mobile gas condensate. The results show that permeability has a significant influence on the occurrence of the three regions around the well, which in turn affects the productivity of the gas condensate reservoir studied. Predictions of the timing and location of condensate in reservoirs with different permeability levels of 1 mD to 100 mD indicate that local damage enhances condensate formation by 60% and shortens the duration of the immobile phase by 45%. Meanwhile, the global change in permeability increases condensate formation by 80% and reduces the presence of the immobile phase by 60%. Finally, this predictive approach can help in mitigating condensate blockage around the wellbore during production.