The Possibility of Estimating the Permafrost’s Porosity In Situ in the Hydrocarbon Industry and Environment

Abstract

Global warming firstly influences the permafrost regions where numerous and rich world hydrocarbon deposits are located. Permafrost thawing has caused severe problems in exploring known hydrocarbon deposits and searching for new targets. This process is also dangerous for any industrial and living regions in cold regions. Knowledge of permafrost’s ice and unfrozen water content is critical for predicting permafrost behavior during the water–ice transition. This is especially relevant when ice and permafrost are melting in many regions under the influence of global warming. It is well known that only part of the formation’s pore water turns into ice at 0 °C. After further lowering the temperature, the water phase transition continues, but at gradually decreasing rates. Thus, the porous space is filled with ice and unfrozen water. Laboratory data show that frozen formations’ mechanical, thermal, and rheological properties strongly depend on the moisture content. Hence, porosity and temperature are essential parameters of permafrost. In this paper, it is shown that by combining research in three fields, (1) geophysical exploration, (2) numerical modeling, and (3) temperature logging, it is possible to estimate the porosity of permafrost in situ. Five examples of numerical modeling (where all input parameters are specified) are given to demonstrate the procedure. This investigation is the first attempt to quantitatively analyze permafrost’s porosity in situ.