Modes of multi-mechanistic gas diffusion in shale matrix at varied effective stresses: Observations and analysis

Abstract

Gas diffusion in the shale matrix has a dominant effect on late-stage production from shale gas reservoirs. However, adequate research on the mechanisms and contributions of gas diffusion for varied pore size populations in shale matrix under recreated in situ stress is lacking. We report gas-diffusion measurements under constant in situ stress but variable gas pressures for contrasting non-adsorbent (helium (He)) and adsorbed (methane (CH4)) gases to investigate the impact of effective stress on the evolution of dominant mechanisms of diffusion. An intact sample replicates true pore-network topology and diffusion paths. An integrated diffusion model is proposed that combines the effects of slip flow, Knudsen flow, and surface diffusion to constrain the evolution of these flow regimes and their respective contributions to the observational data. Finally, a probability density function (PDF) is employed to separate the gas content distributions of macropores and micropores from the total gas content and to investigate gas contributions in various pores. The results reveal that the diffusion coefficients of both He and CH4 in macropores and micropores increase with gas pressure but decrease with increasing effective stress. The diffusion coefficients of He and CH4 are different in macropores but remain nearly the same in micropores. The diffusion coefficients of slip flow and surface diffusion increase with decreasing effective stress except for CH4 diffusion in the micropores, while the evolution of Knudsen diffusion shows the opposite trend. Slip flow plays a dominant role in He and CH4 diffusion within macropores (pore size 45 nm). Knudsen diffusion gradually becomes significant for He diffusion in the micropores (pore size 4 nm), conversely, for CH4 diffusion in the micropores, surface diffusion becomes significant. Related to gas production from reservoirs, the contributions of the micropores will increase gradually with the duration of gas recovery, indicating the significant role of gas diffusion in micropores to steady supply during late-stage production.