Organic matter detection in shale reservoirs using a novel pulse sequence for T1-T2 relaxation maps at 2 MHz

Fuel ◽  
2022 ◽  
Vol 312 ◽  
pp. 122863
Author(s):  
Emilia V. Silletta ◽  
Gabriela S. Vila ◽  
Esteban A. Domené ◽  
Manuel I. Velasco ◽  
Paula C. Bedini ◽  
...  
Author(s):  
Shangbin Chen ◽  
Chu Zhang ◽  
Xueyuan Li ◽  
Yingkun Zhang ◽  
Xiaoqi Wang

AbstractIn shale reservoirs, the organic pores with various structures formed during the thermal evolution of organic matter are the main storage site for adsorbed methane. However, in the process of thermal evolution, the adsorption characteristics of methane in multi type and multi-scale organic matter pores have not been sufficiently studied. In this study, the molecular simulation method was used to study the adsorption characteristics of methane based on the geological conditions of Longmaxi Formation shale reservoir in Sichuan Basin, China. The results show that the characteristics of pore structure will affect the methane adsorption characteristics. The adsorption capacity of slit-pores for methane is much higher than that of cylindrical pores. The groove space inside the pore will change the density distribution of methane molecules in the pore, greatly improve the adsorption capacity of the pore, and increase the pressure sensitivity of the adsorption process. Although the variation of methane adsorption characteristics of different shapes is not consistent with pore size, all pores have the strongest methane adsorption capacity when the pore size is about 2 nm. In addition, the changes of temperature and pressure during the thermal evolution are also important factors to control the methane adsorption characteristics. The pore adsorption capacity first increases and then decreases with the increase of pressure, and increases with the increase of temperature. In the early stage of thermal evolution, pore adsorption capacity is strong and pressure sensitivity is weak; while in the late stage, it is on the contrary.


SPE Journal ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 21 (04) ◽  
pp. 1370-1385 ◽  
Author(s):  
Larry S. Fung ◽  
Shouhong Du

Summary Economic gas rate from ultralow-permeability shale reservoirs requires the creation of a complex fracture network in a large volume known as the stimulated reservoir volume (SRV). The fracture network connects a large surface area of the reservoir to the well. It is created by injecting low-viscosity fracturing fluid (slickwater) at very high rates in multiple stages along the horizontal wellbore. Numerical simulation is used to evaluate the stimulation designs and completion strategy. Microseismic (MS) -survey fracture mapping can provide a measurement of the overall SRV and an estimate of the fracture patterns. Special core analyses provide estimates of shale-matrix permeability. The extent of the fracture network indicates that there is insufficient proppant volume, and many stimulated fractures may be only partially propped or may be unpropped. Thus, fracture conductivity will vary spatially caused by uneven proppant distribution and temporally caused by stress sensitivity upon pressure decline during production. Because of the vast contrast in conductivity between stimulated/hydraulic fractures (darcy-ft) and shale matrix (nd-ft), the transient response in matrix/fracture flow cannot be captured accurately if the stimulated fractures are approximated with large dual-continuum (DC) gridblocks. The gridding requirement to achieve an accurate solution in fractured shale reservoirs is investigated and discussed. In this work, the stimulated and hydraulic fractures are discretized explicitly to form a discrete fracture network (DFN). This paper discusses the mathematical framework and parallel numerical methods for simulating unconventional reservoirs. The simulation methods incorporate known mechanisms and processes for shale, which include gas sorption in organic matter; combined Knudsen diffusion and viscous flow in nanopores; stress-sensitive fracture permeability; and velocity-dependent flow in the high-conductivity hydraulic fractures. The simulation system is based on a general finite-volume method that includes a multiconnected multicontinuum (MC) representation of the pore system with either a compositional or a black-oil fluid description. The MC model is used to represent the storage and intercommunication among the various porosities in shale (organic matter, inorganic matter, fine unstimulated natural fractures). Unconventional simulation involves many more nonlinearities, and the extreme contrast in permeabilities will make the problems harder to solve. We discuss numerical implementation of the methods for modeling the mechanisms and processes in fractured shale. In addition, we discuss the MC formulation, the discretization method, the unstructured parallel domain-decomposition method, and the solution method for the simulation system. Finally, we explain our efforts in numerical validation of the system with fine-grid single-porosity simulation. We show numerical examples to demonstrate the applications of the simulator and to study the transient flow behavior in shale reservoirs. The effects of the various mechanisms for gas production are also evaluated.


2015 ◽  
Vol 153 (4) ◽  
pp. 663-680 ◽  
Author(s):  
WENLONG DING ◽  
PENG DAI ◽  
DINGWEI ZHU ◽  
YEQIAN ZHANG ◽  
JIANHUA HE ◽  
...  

AbstractFractures are important for shale-gas reservoirs with low matrix porosity because they increase the effective reservoir space and migration pathways for shale gas, thus favouring an increased volume of free gas and the adsorption of gases in shale reservoirs, and they increase the specific surface area of gas-bearing shales which improves the adsorption capacity. We discuss the characteristics and dominant factors of fracture development in a continental organic matter-rich shale reservoir bed in the Yanchang Formation based on observations and descriptions of fracture systems in outcrops, drilling cores, cast-thin sections and polished sections of black shale from the Upper Triassic Yanchang Formation in the SE Ordos Basin; detailed characteristics and parameters of fractures; analyses and tests of corresponding fracture segment samples; and the identification of fracture segments with normal logging. The results indicate that the mineral composition of the continental organic-matter-rich shale in the Yanchang Formation is clearly characterized by a low brittle mineral content and high clay mineral content relative to marine shale in the United States and China and Mesozoic continental shale in other basins. The total content of brittle minerals, such as quartz and feldspar, is c. 41%, with quartz and feldspar accounting for 22% and 19% respectively, and mainly occurring as plagioclase with small amounts of carbonate rocks. The total content of clay minerals is high at up to 52%, and mainly occurs as a mixed layer of illite-smectite (I/S) which accounts for more than 58% of the total clay mineral content. The Upper Triassic Yanchang Formation developed two groups of fracture (joint) systems: a NW–SE-trending system and near-E–W-trending system. Multiple types of fractures are observed, and they are mainly horizontal bedding seams and low-dip-angle structural fractures. Micro-fractures are primarily observed in or along organic matter bands. Shale fractures were mainly formed during Late Jurassic – late Early Cretaceous time under superimposed stress caused by regional WNW–ESE-trending horizontal compressive stress and deep burial effects. The extent of fracture development was mainly influenced by multiple factors (tectonic factors and non-tectonic factors) such as the lithology, rock mechanical properties, organic matter abundance and brittle mineral composition and content. Specifically, higher sand content has been observed to correspond to more rapid lithological changes and more extensive fracture development. In addition, higher organic matter content has been observed to correspond to greater fracture development, and higher quartz, feldspar and mixed-layer I/S contents have been observed to correspond to more extensive micro-fracture development. These results are consistent with the measured mechanical properties of the shale and silty shale, the observations of fractures in cores and thin-sections from more than 20 shale-gas drilling wells, and the registered anomalies from gas logging.


Geofluids ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 2021 ◽  
pp. 1-11
Author(s):  
Liang Cheng ◽  
Fujia Guan ◽  
Dehua Liu ◽  
Wenxin Yang ◽  
Jing Sun

Several techniques (such as scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and gas adsorption systems) have been used to study the pore features and structures of shale reservoirs. The available methods and techniques have restricted the specific research on micropores, and the morphology, genesis, volume, and main factors controlling pore characteristics are yet to be analyzed. Currently, there is no systematic understanding of the role that these spaces play in gas storage and flow. As such, our understanding of the spatial connectivity of pores and reserves of shale reservoirs is limited. In this study, the pores of the Fuling shale gas reservoir in the Sichuan Basin were systematically observed by SEM and transmission electron microscopy. Images of pores smaller than 2 nm were captured for the first time, and their morphology and genesis were analyzed by combining these images with the rock mineralogy theory. The pore size distribution characteristics of the reservoir were analyzed by the adsorption-mercury injection method and nuclear magnetic resonance, and the main factors controlling the distribution of different pore sizes were analyzed. The results show that large numbers of micropores were distributed between the mesopores and macropores in the shale reservoir, which mainly consisted intergranular pores, intermolecular pores, interlamellar pores of clay minerals, and organic matter skeleton pores. The development of pores smaller than 1 nm was mainly controlled by the clay mineral content, and the development of pores with a size of approximately 1-2 nm was related to the contents of clay minerals and organic matter. These pores could connect the macropores and mesopores well, which is important for gas storage and flow. In this paper, the types, distribution, and main controlling factors of micropores were studied, and our understanding of the reservoir space was improved from the nanometer level to the Angstrom level, which is important for gas storage and flow process analysis.


2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
pp. 371-381
Author(s):  
Ruying Ma ◽  
Meng Wang ◽  
Weidong Xie ◽  
Haichao Wang

To study the exploration potential of the Carboniferous-Permian transitional shale reservoirs in the Qinshui Basin, the Y5 well was selected as the research object, and experiments including organic geochemical tests, microscopic observations, scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction analysis, high-pressure mercury intrusion, methane isothermal adsorption, and low-temperature nitrogen adsorption were carried out to analyse the physical properties of the shale reservoirs of interest. The results show that (1) The organic matter type of the samples is type III, the total organic carbon contents range from 0.27% to 20.52% (avg. 3.15%), the RO values are between 2.45% and 3.36% (avg. 2.86%), and the Tmax values range from 311.00 °C to 575.20 °C (avg. 493.31 °C). These results indicate that the organic matter in the study area is abundant and has experienced a high degree of thermal evolution. (2) The brittleness index is low (avg. 43.81%), and the shale pores in the study area are well developed. The pores contain organic matter-hosted pores, intraparticle pores, interparticle pores, and micro-cracks. (3) The methane isotherm adsorption average contents of the two samples are 0.2968 m3/t and 1.0824 m3/t, and the average contents of the on-site desorbed gas content and measured total gas content are 0.55889 m3/t and 0.8624 m3/t, respectively. (4) The kaolinite and illite contents have a significant negative effect on the specific surface area of the macro-pores and the specific pore volume of the meso-pores. The illite content is conducive to the development of the pore diameter and specific surface area of the meso-pores, and the quartz content has a positive correlation with the specific pore volume of the macro-pores. (5) The measured total gas content has a significant positive correlation with the total organic carbon and a weak positive correlation with the contents of quartz and illite, and the desorbed gas content shows the same correlations. This study demonstrates the physical properties, microscopic pore characteristics, and gas-bearing characteristics of shale reservoirs and their influencing factors in detail.


2017 ◽  
Vol 819 ◽  
pp. 656-677 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mehran Mehrabi ◽  
Farzam Javadpour ◽  
Kamy Sepehrnoori

The total of the gas in shale gas reservoirs is sourced from a combination of free, adsorbed and dissolved/diffused gas. The mechanisms of production of free and adsorbed gas have been studied by numerous researchers. In contrast, the evolution of the dissolved gas and its contribution to the total gas production is not well understood. In this study we model the effect of pore micro-structure in organic matter (OM) on the rate of gas production in shale reservoirs. In this regard, first, we solve the gas-in-solid diffusion equation over a general doubly connected spatial domain with external Neumann and internal Dirichlet boundary conditions. The obtained solution is applied systematically to multi-pore porous OM domains and then the effect of pore morphology on the rate of gas production is studied. Our model results show that pore geometry has a slight effect on the gas diffusion process, while total organic carbon, and OM porosity, pore size distribution and specific surface area, are dominant parameters. An abundance of very small pores in OM tremendously increases the diffuse gas contribution in the total gas reserve and production.


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