Pore structure characterization of North American shale gas reservoirs using USANS/SANS, gas adsorption, and mercury intrusion

Journal Article · Fri Jul 13 00:00:00 EDT 2012 · Fuel

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fuel.2012.06.119· OSTI ID:1055035

Clarkson, Christopher R. ^[1]; Solano Morante, Nisael A. ^[1]; Bustin, R. Mark ^[2]; Bustin, A. M. M. ^[2]; Chalmers, G. R. L. ^[2]; He, Lilin ^[3]; Melnichenko, Yuri B. ^[3]; Radlinski, Andrzej Pawell ^[4]; Blach, Tomasz P. ^[5]

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1. Univ. of Calgary, Calgary, AB (Canada)
2. Dept. of Earth and Ocean Sciences, Vancouver, BC (Canada)
3. Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
4. Griffith Univ., Queensland (Australia); Indiana Univ., Bloomington, IN (United States)
5. Griffith Univ., Queensland (Australia)

Small-angle and ultra-small-angle neutron scattering (SANS and USANS), low-pressure adsorption (N₂ and CO₂), and high-pressure mercury intrusion measurements were performed on a suite of North American shale reservoir samples providing the first ever comparison of all these techniques for characterizing the complex pore structure of shales. The techniques were used to gain insight into the nature of the pore structure including pore geometry, pore size distribution and accessible versus inaccessible porosity. Thus, reservoir samples for analysis were taken from currently-active shale gas plays including the Barnett, Marcellus, Haynesville, Eagle Ford, Woodford, Muskwa, and Duvernay shales.

• Research Organization: Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States). High Flux Isotope Reactor (HFIR)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE Office of Science (SC)
• DOE Contract Number: AC05-00OR22725
• OSTI ID: 1055035
• Journal Information: Fuel, Journal Name: Fuel Vol. 95; ISSN 0016-2361
• Publisher: Elsevier
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

04 OIL SHALES AND TAR SANDS
gas adsorption
mercury intrusion
pore structure
shale gas
small-angle neutron scattering