Total
rock porosity is a key parameter in a wide range of disciplines from
petroleum to civil and mining engineering. Porosity is particularly
important in petroleum engineering applications, e.g., from estimation
of hydrocarbon in place to prediction of geomechanical properties.
Conventional techniques used to measure the total porosity, i.e.,
mercury intrusion, nitrogen physisorption, focused ion beam–scanning
electron microscopy (FIB–SEM), nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR)
spectroscopy, gas porosimetry, and X-ray micro-/nano-computed tomography
(micro-CT), have yielded inconsistent results for unconventional shale
gas samples. A new robust yet practical method is thus required for
measuring total porosity in tight formations to be added to the toolbox
of the porosity measurement. We propose and develop here a new technique
using the concept of heat transfer in porous media. This new heat
technique route (HTR) was tested on a highly homogeneous Gosford sandstone
benchmark to evaluate its reliability and repeatability in estimation
of the total porosity. An excellent agreement was found with the conventional
mercury intrusion, gas porosimetry, and micro-CT imaging techniques.
Subsequently, the total porosity of an organic-rich shale sample was
measured using the HRT method and compared to the conventional techniques
of nitrogen physisorption–mercury intrusion and FIB–SEM
techniques. Finally, a Monte Carlo analysis was performed on heat
transfer measurements, proving its robustness for total porosity measurements.
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