A new method for predicting capillary pressure curves based on NMR echo data: Sandstone as an example

Abstract

The mercury injection capillary pressure (MICP) curves have been widely used for the evaluation of the pore structure. In practical application, the MICP curves are usually obtained by the mercury injection experiment, but the experimental measurement can not obtain the MICP curves of the reservoir continuously. Since the pore size distribution obtained from the nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) transverse relaxation time (T2) distribution is related to the pore-throat size distribution obtained from the MICP curve, so in previous studies, the MICP curves were predicted based on the NMR T2 distribution. However, the NMR T2 distribution obtained by the inversion of the NMR echo data has uncertainty, which affects the prediction accuracy of the MICP curves. In this paper, a new method for predicting the MICP curves of sandstone based on NMR echo data is proposed for the first time. Multiple characteristic parameters of the NMR echo data are calculated. The relationship between the parameters and the mercury saturation (Shg) is established at each capillary pressure point to predict the MICP curves. And the parameters of the MICP curves and the physical parameters are selected to create a reservoir classification index. The results show that the method for predicting the MICP curves of sandstone based on NMR echo data has high prediction accuracy and strong stability, and the reservoir classification index provides an accurate classification of sandstone reservoirs.