Predicting oil recovery using percolation theory

In this paper we apply scaling laws from percolation theory to the problem of estimating the time for a fluid injected into an oil field to breakthrou gh into a production well. The main contribution is to show that, when thes e previously published results are used on realistic data, they are in good agreement with results calculated in a more conventional way but they can be obtained significantly more quickly. As a result they may be used in pra ctical engineering circumstances and aid decision-making for real field pro blems.