Gas transport and storage capacity in shale gas reservoirs – A review. Part A: Transport processes

Gensterblum, Yves; Ghanizadeh, Amin; Cuss, R.J.; Amann-Hildenbrand, Alexandra; Krooß, Bernhard M.; Clarkson, Christopher R.; Harrington, J.F.; Zoback, Mark D.

doi:10.1016/j.juogr.2015.08.001

Cited by 226 publications

(120 citation statements)

References 166 publications

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“…In this work, the stress-dependent permeability was determined by measuring the permeability of the samples over a range of effective stresses. The stress dependence of permeability can be described according to the following exponential function [10][11][12][13]:…”

Section: (A) Pressure Pulse Decay Techniquementioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of rock mineralogy and pore structure on stress-dependent permeability of shale samples

Ismail¹,

Zoback²

2016

Phil. Trans. R. Soc. A.

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We conducted pulse-decay permeability experiments on Utica and Permian shale samples to investigate the effect of rock mineralogy and pore structure on the transport mechanisms using a non-adsorbing gas (argon). The mineralogy of the shale samples varied from clay rich to calcite rich (i.e. clay poor). Our permeability measurements and scanning electron microscopy images revealed that the permeability of the shale samples whose pores resided in the kerogen positively correlated with organic content. Our results showed that the absolute value of permeability was not affected by the mineral composition of the shale samples. Additionally, our results indicated that clay content played a significant role in the stressdependent permeability. For clay-rich samples, we observed higher pore throat compressibility, which led to higher permeability reduction at increasing effective stress than with calcite-rich samples. Our findings highlight the importance of considering permeability to be stress dependent to achieve more accurate reservoir simulations especially for clay-rich shale reservoirs.This article is part of the themed issue 'Energy and the subsurface'.

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Section: (A) Pressure Pulse Decay Techniquementioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of rock mineralogy and pore structure on stress-dependent permeability of shale samples

Ismail¹,

Zoback²

2016

Phil. Trans. R. Soc. A.

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“…The dependence of matrix permeability on effective stress can be described as a poro-elastic effect which has an exponential form [11,12]: …”

Section: Stress-dependent Matrix Permeabilitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Impact of Stress-Dependent Matrix and Fracture Properties on Shale Gas Production

Tang

Zhang

et al. 2017

Energies

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Unconventional shale gas production is often characterized by a short period of high production followed by a rapid decline in the production rate. Given the high costs of hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling, it is critical to identify the mechanisms behind the production loss. The existing shale gas production models often assume constant matrix permeability. However, laboratory observations show that matrix permeability can decrease significantly with increasing effective stress, which highlights the necessity of considering the stress-dependent properties of shale matrix in production analysis. Moreover, the compaction of pore space will also increase the matrix permeability by enhancing the gas-slippage effect. In this paper, a matrix permeability model which couples the effect of pore volume compaction and non-Darcy slip flow is derived. Numerical simulations are conducted to understand the role of matrix permeability evolution during production. Changes of fractures' permeability and contact area during depletion process are also taken into account. The results indicate that the loss of fracture permeability has a greater impact at the early stage of the depletion process, while matrix permeability evolution is more important for the long-term production.

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“…18 To predict the movement of a gas through a porous medium and calculate the matrix permeability, a transport model needs to be defined. 19 Darcy's law can describe the laminar viscous flow of one or more phases in a porous matrix, when the rate of the flow is proportional to the pressure gradient. This law for incompressible fluids reads 20 where Q is the volume flow rate, A is the area of porous media normal to the flow, K is the hydraulic conductivity (permeability), h is the pressure head (pressure divided by the specific weight), z is the elevation, and L is the length of the flow path.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…One of the prevailing hypotheses suggests the coexistence of different flow regimes due to the various pore sizes in the matrix. 22,23 Other hypotheses consider the chemical composition of the matrix and the anisotropic permeability to be equally important factors, 19 and the fact that the behaviour of fluids can vary significantly under confinement. 24 Indeed, as the distance between the pore walls decreases, the interactions between the molecules and the surface become stronger and the journey one molecule can travel freely shortens.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…According to the kinetic theory, the average distance a molecule can travel before it collides with another molecule, or with the pore wall, is defined as the mean free path λ. 19,22 The mean free path is proportional to the temperature and inversely proportional to the pressure in large pores. In small pores, the mean free path depends on the pore size and shape.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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A kinetic Monte Carlo approach to study fluid transport in pore networks

Apostolopoulou

Day

Hull

et al. 2017

The Journal of Chemical Physics

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The mechanism of fluid migration in porous networks continues to attract great interest. Darcy's law (phenomenological continuum theory), which is often used to describe macroscopically fluid flow through a porous material, is thought to fail in nano-channels. Transport through heterogeneous and anisotropic systems, characterized by a broad distribution of pores, occurs via a contribution of different transport mechanisms, all of which need to be accounted for. The situation is likely more complicated when immiscible fluid mixtures are present. To generalize the study of fluid transport through a porous network, we developed a stochastic kinetic Monte Carlo (KMC) model. In our lattice model, the pore network is represented as a set of connected finite volumes (voxels), and transport is simulated as a random walk of molecules, which "hop" from voxel to voxel. We simulated fluid transport along an effectively 1D pore and we compared the results to those expected by solving analytically the diffusion equation. The KMC model was then implemented to quantify the transport of methane through hydrated micropores, in which case atomistic molecular dynamic simulation results were reproduced. The model was then used to study flow through pore networks, where it was able to quantify the effect of the pore length and the effect of the network's connectivity. The results are consistent with experiments but also provide additional physical insights. Extension of the model will be useful to better understand fluid transport in shale rocks.

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Gas transport and storage capacity in shale gas reservoirs – A review. Part A: Transport processes

Cited by 226 publications

References 166 publications

Effects of rock mineralogy and pore structure on stress-dependent permeability of shale samples

Effects of rock mineralogy and pore structure on stress-dependent permeability of shale samples

Impact of Stress-Dependent Matrix and Fracture Properties on Shale Gas Production

A kinetic Monte Carlo approach to study fluid transport in pore networks

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