A comparative study of representative 2D microstructures in Shaly and Sandy facies of Opalinus Clay (Mont Terri, Switzerland) inferred form BIB-SEM and MIP methods

Houben, M.E.; Desbois, Guillaume; Urai, János L.

doi:10.1016/j.marpetgeo.2013.10.009

Cited by 138 publications

(121 citation statements)

References 57 publications

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“…5 and 6) were imaged with a Supra 55-Zeiss SEM (SE2 and BSE detectors at 20 kV and working distance (WD) = 8 mm). Further details of the method are given in Klaver et al, 2012Klaver et al, , 2015Houben et al, 2013Houben et al, , 2014Hemes et al, 2013Hemes et al, , 2015and Desbois et al, 2016.…”

Section: Methods: Bib-sem Imaging Of Deformed Microstructuresmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…FIB and BIB), which allow imaging of mineral fabrics and porosity down to the nanometre scale in very high-quality cross sections with SEM and TEM (Lee et al, 2003;Desbois et al, 2009Desbois et al, , 2011Desbois et al, , 2013Desbois et al, , 2016Loucks et al, 2009;Curtis et al, 2010;Heath et al, 2011;Klaver et al, 2012;Keller et al, 2011Keller et al, , 2013Houben et al, 2013Houben et al, , 2014Hemes et al, 2013Hemes et al, , 2015Laurich et al, 2014;Warr et al, 2014;Song et al, 2016). Serial sectioning allows the reconstruction of microstructure in 3-D (Keller et al, 2011(Keller et al, , 2013Milliken et al, 2013;Hemes et al, 2015), and cryogenic techniques can image the pore fluid in the samples and avoid artefacts produced by drying Schmatz et al, 2015).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Deformation in cemented mudrock (Callovo–Oxfordian Clay) by microcracking, granular flow and phyllosilicate plasticity: insights from triaxial deformation, broad ion beam polishing and scanning electron microscopy

Desbois¹,

Höhne²,

Urai³

et al. 2017

Solid Earth

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Abstract. The macroscopic description of deformation and fluid flow in mudrocks can be improved by a better understanding of microphysical deformation mechanisms. Here we use a combination of scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and broad ion beam (BIB) polishing to study the evolution of microstructure in samples of triaxially deformed Callovo-Oxfordian Clay. Digital image correlation (DIC) was used to measure strain field in the samples and as a guide to select regions of interest in the sample for BIB-SEM analysis. Microstructures show evidence for dominantly cataclastic and minor crystal plastic mechanisms (intergranular, transgranular, intragranular cracking, grain rotation, clay particle bending) down to the nanometre scale. At low strain, the dilatant fabric contains individually recognisable open fractures, while at high strain the reworked clay gouge also contains broken non-clay grains and smaller pores than the undeformed material, resealing the initial fracture porosity.

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Section: Methods: Bib-sem Imaging Of Deformed Microstructuresmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Deformation in cemented mudrock (Callovo–Oxfordian Clay) by microcracking, granular flow and phyllosilicate plasticity: insights from triaxial deformation, broad ion beam polishing and scanning electron microscopy

Desbois¹,

Höhne²,

Urai³

et al. 2017

Solid Earth

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“…The main limitation lies in the high cost to deal with high resolution rock structures [20,21]. As high resolution images can capture the structure details, researchers are keen on obtaining higher resolution images [22][23][24]. Current imaging techniques can provide wide scan resolution ranging from hundreds micrometer to several nanometers [25].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Though difference between experiment and DRA might be concluded to inadequate resolution [27,30,43], quantitative study of resolution effect is few [44]. Houben et al [22] scanned the clay with varying resolutions, however analysis was conducted on two-dimensional (2D) images and only qualitative influence of resolution on pore shape was reported. Alyafei et al [34] applied numerical approach to change the image resolution and no clear trend of permeability dependence on resolution was observed.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Critical Resolution and Sample Size of Digital Rock Analysis for Unconventional Reservoirs

Liu

Wang

2018

Energies

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Digital rock analysis (DRA) has exhibited strong ability and significant potential to help people to image geological microstructures and understand transport mechanisms in rocks underground, especially for unconventional reservoirs like tight sandstone and shale. More and more new technologies have been developed for higher resolutions, which always come with higher expense. However, the balance between cost (money and time) and benefit has never been figured out quantitatively for these studies. As the cost and benefit are directly related to image resolution and size, this work is focusing on whether there is a critical resolution and sample size when using DRA for accurate enough predictions of rock properties. By numerically changing the digital resolutions of the reconstructed structures from high-resolution micro-computed tomography (CT) scanned tight rock samples, it is found that the permeability predictions get stable when the resolution is higher than a cut-off resolution (COR). Different from physical rocks, the representative element volume (REV) of a digital rock is influenced by the digital resolution. The results of pore-scale modeling indicate that once sample size is larger than the critical sample size and the scan resolution higher than the critical resolution for a given rock, the predicted rock properties by DRA are accurate and representative.

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“…The significant vertical heterogeneity present in many hydrocarbon reservoirs has been well documented, including in the Mississippian reservoir in North America [20], the Permian reservoir in west Texas [21], and Yanchang-formation shale in Central China [22]. The vertical heterogeneity of shale gas reservoirs ranges from the microscale to the basin scale and is significantly more complex than the vertical heterogeneity of other conventional or unconventional reservoirs [23]. Vertical heterogeneity has far-reaching implications for shale gas exploitation and exploration, especially for targeting the production section of a formation and the drilling of horizontal wells or for hydrofracturing in very thick shale strata.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Vertical Heterogeneity of the Shale Reservoir in the Lower Silurian Longmaxi Formation: Analogy between the Southeastern and Northeastern Sichuan Basin, SW China

et al. 2017

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Lower Silurian Longmaxi formation (LSL) shale is widely and continuously distributed in the northeastern Sichuan Basin and, based on structural analogies with the gas producing LSL formation in the southeastern Sichuan Basin, has significant potential for shale gas exploration. However, limited research has been performed to evaluate the shale gas potential in this region. Samples from a recently completed exploratory well (Well-WQ2) in the northeastern Sichuan Basin indicate that the LSL shale has a vertical property sequence that closely resembles the vertical property sequences in wells in the gas-producing sections of the southeastern Sichuan Basin. The continuous sampling and analyses of Well-WQ2 have allowed a detailed investigation of the vertical variations in lithofacies, mineral characteristics, pore structures, and organic geochemical characteristics. The Longmaxi formation was divided into two third-order sequences (SQ1 and SQ2) based on systematic core observations and well logging analyses. Both SQ1 and SQ2 include a transgressive system tract (TST) and a high-stand system tract (HST). The lithofacies exhibit an upward decrease in the organic content. From SQ1 to SQ2, the quartz content, in situ graptolite content, total organic carbon (TOC) content, and brittleness index decrease, but the clay mineral content increases. The LSL shale sections from depths of 1204 to 1214 m and from 1271 to 1282 m possess well-developed fractures and high permeability. Additionally, the average porosity and permeability in SQ1 are higher than those in SQ2. In addition, the positive correlation between the TOC and quartz contents of the assayed samples suggests that much of the quartz is of biogenic origin. Changes in the sedimentary and diagenetic environments during deposition are two key factors that contribute to the observed vertical heterogeneity of the Longmaxi formation. In conclusion, the shale sections of the lower part of the SQ1, like their analogs in the southeastern Sichuan Basin, are the most favorable targets for shale gas production in the northeastern Sichuan Basin.

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A comparative study of representative 2D microstructures in Shaly and Sandy facies of Opalinus Clay (Mont Terri, Switzerland) inferred form BIB-SEM and MIP methods

Cited by 138 publications

References 57 publications

Deformation in cemented mudrock (Callovo–Oxfordian Clay) by microcracking, granular flow and phyllosilicate plasticity: insights from triaxial deformation, broad ion beam polishing and scanning electron microscopy

Deformation in cemented mudrock (Callovo–Oxfordian Clay) by microcracking, granular flow and phyllosilicate plasticity: insights from triaxial deformation, broad ion beam polishing and scanning electron microscopy

Critical Resolution and Sample Size of Digital Rock Analysis for Unconventional Reservoirs

Vertical Heterogeneity of the Shale Reservoir in the Lower Silurian Longmaxi Formation: Analogy between the Southeastern and Northeastern Sichuan Basin, SW China

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