A hydraulic-mechanical coupled triple porosity fractal model considering action mechanisms and gas transport mechanisms in carbon-hydrogen reservoirs

Abstract

The shale formation, a common carbon-hydrogen reservoir, has numerous nanoscale pores that facilitate multiple gas transport mechanisms, including viscous flow, slip flow, Knudsen diffusion, and surface diffusion. Additionally, various action mechanisms involving effective stress, real gas effect, gas adsorption and desorption, and fracture-pore characteristics significantly influence gas transport. In this study, we conceptualize shale as a triple porosity medium comprising organic matrix, inorganic matrix, and microfractures. For each system, its hydraulic-mechanical coupled model with action mechanisms and gas transport mechanisms is derived based on fractal theory. After validating the model with Barnett and Marcellus data, the evolution of apparent permeability and gas pressure is studied, as well as the influences of pore fractal features, the real gas effect, and the number of hydraulic fractures on gas extraction. Simulation results indicate that, in comparison to organic matrix, inorganic pore fractal features exert a more noticeable effect on cumulative production. The real gas effect is critical in gas transport and reservoir reserve estimation; disregarding this effect results in a 17.4% underestimation of cumulative gas production by the 1600th day. Fracture interference attenuates the improvement in cumulative production gains from increased hydraulic fracture numbers.