In-Depth Experimental Investigation of Shale Physical and Transport Properties

Abstract

PreviousNext No AccessUnconventional Resources Technology Conference, Denver, Colorado, 12-14 August 2013In-Depth Experimental Investigation of Shale Physical and Transport PropertiesAuthors: H. AljamaanK. AlnoaimiA. R. KovscekH. AljamaanStanford UniversitySearch for more papers by this author, K. AlnoaimiStanford UniversitySearch for more papers by this author, and A. R. KovscekStanford UniversitySearch for more papers by this authorhttps://doi.org/10.1190/urtec2013-114 SectionsAboutPDF/ePub ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissions ShareFacebookTwitterLinked InRedditEmail Abstract URTeC 1582146 Natural gas produced from shale represents an important emerging energy supply not only in the United States but across the globe. Proper understanding of shale petrophysical properties is essential for accurate reserve estimations, recovery factor predictions, potential enhanced recovery techniques, and carbon sequestration. Due to matrix permeability in the range of a nanodarcy and porosity less than 10%, numerous challenges are faced to garner data in the laboratory regarding the physics and flow behavior of these shale rocks. The main question addressed here is the sensitivity of shale physical properties to the gas saturating the pore space. The paper presents apparent Klinkenberg permeability measurements at different pore and confining pressures. The advantage of using helium gas in this context is that it aids the study of slip flow without any complicating effects of gas sorption on permeability. Helium permeability and porosity are compared to nitrogen, methane, and carbon dioxide results for Barnett and Eagle Ford shale samples. The effect of sorption on permeability is inferred. Results show decreased permeability with increased sorption. Gibb’s excess sorption is measured utilizing the volumetric method and confirms the impact of sorption on the storage capacity and permeability of shale. Because of the small size of helium molecules, initial speculation suggested that helium measured porosity is greater than the effective methane porosity leading to overestimated shale pore volumes. Experimental results reported here for several shale samples, however, indicate otherwise. Keywords: gas, sequestration, porosity, permeabilityPermalink: https://doi.org/10.1190/urtec2013-114FiguresReferencesRelatedDetailsCited ByChemical and Reactive Transport Processes Associated with Hydraulic Fracturing of Unconventional Oil/Gas Shales11 April 2022 | Chemical Reviews, Vol. 122, No. 9An experimental study to investigate the physical and dynamic elastic properties of Eagle Ford shale rock samples26 July 2021 | Journal of Petroleum Exploration and Production Technology, Vol. 11, No. 9Experimental Observations of Gas-sorption-Induced Strain Gradients and their Implications on Permeability Evolution of Shale28 April 2021 | Rock Mechanics and Rock Engineering, Vol. 54, No. 8Three-Dimensional Imaging and Quantification of Gas Storativity in Nanoporous Media via X-rays Computed Tomography25 November 2020 | Energies, Vol. 13, No. 23Effects of Image Resolution on Sandstone Porosity and Permeability as Obtained from X-Ray Microscopy1 November 2018 | Transport in Porous Media, Vol. 127, No. 1Evolution of shale apparent permeability under variable boundary conditionsFuel, Vol. 215Why shale permeability changes under variable effective stresses: New insightsFuel, Vol. 213An Anomalous Productivity Model for Naturally Fractured Shale Gas Reservoirs24 April 2017A Mathematical Model for Transient Testing of Naturally Fractured Shale Gas Reservoirs24 April 2017CO 2 Storage and Flow Capacity Measurements on Idealized Shales from Dynamic Breakthrough Experiments24 January 2017 | Energy & Fuels, Vol. 31, No. 2Multiscale Imaging of Gas Adsorption in Shales15 February 2017Visualization and Quantification of Thermally Induced Porosity Alteration of Immature Source Rock Using X-ray Computed Tomography21 September 2016 | Energy & Fuels, Vol. 30, No. 10Klinkenberg gas slippage measurements as a means for shale pore structure characterization3 July 2015 | Geofluids, Vol. 16, No. 2Characterization and Measurement of Multiscale Gas Transport in Shale-Core Samples14 April 2016 | SPE Journal, Vol. 21, No. 02Characterization and Measurement of Multi-scale Gas Transport in Shale Core SamplesK.R. Alnoaimi*, C. Duchateau, and A. Kovscek24 September 2014Experimental and Numerical Analysis of Gas Transport in Shale Including the Role of Sorption30 September 2013 Unconventional Resources Technology Conference, Denver, Colorado, 12-14 August 2013ISSN (online):2159-6832Copyright: 2013 Pages: 1229 publication data© 2013 Published in electronic format with permission by the Society of Exploration Geophysicists, American Association of Petroleum Geologists, and Society of Petroleum EngineersPublisher:Unconventional Resources Technology ConferenceSociety of Exploration Geophysicists HistoryPublished: 26 Sep 2013 CITATION INFORMATION H. Aljamaan, K. Alnoaimi, and A. R. Kovscek, (2013), "In-Depth Experimental Investigation of Shale Physical and Transport Properties," SEG Global Meeting Abstracts : 1120-1129. https://doi.org/10.1190/urtec2013-114 Plain-Language Summary KeywordsgassequestrationporositypermeabilityPDF DownloadLoading ...