Evolution of the Percolation Threshold in Muds and Mudrocks During Burial

Daigle, Hugh; Reece, Julia S.; Flemings, Peter B.

doi:10.1029/2019GL083723

Evolution of the Percolation Threshold in Muds and Mudrocks During Burial

Journal Article · Tue Jul 30 00:00:00 EDT 2019 · Geophysical Research Letters

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1029/2019GL083723· OSTI ID:1560210

^[1]; ^[2]; ^[3]

Hildebrand Department of Petroleum and Geosystems Engineering The University of Texas at Austin Austin TX USA
Department of Geology and Geophysics Texas A&,M University College Station TX USA
Jackson School of Geosciences The University of Texas at Austin Austin TX USA

Abstract

Muds and mudrocks are important barriers to flow and perform this role over their entire depositional history, from mediating sediment‐ocean methane exchange to preventing leakage from hydrocarbon reservoirs, CO ₂ sequestration targets, or nuclear waste repositories. It is well established that the percolation threshold, which is the fluid saturation at which percolation occurs, is directly related to the pressure sealing capacity of a mud or mudrock. However, the evolution of the percolation threshold during burial and diagenesis is not well understood. Using a data set of natural muds and mudrocks and resedimented laboratory mixtures, we show that the percolation threshold is strongly controlled by porosity, achieving a minimum of 0.10–0.30 at a porosity of 0.40, and increasing as porosity increases or decreases from that value, to as high as 0.60 at deposition and >0.80 at porosity <0.10. This implies a highly disconnected pore network at high and low porosities.

View Accepted Manuscript (Publisher)

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE

OSTI ID:: 1560210

Journal Information:: Geophysical Research Letters, Journal Name: Geophysical Research Letters Journal Issue: 14 Vol. 46; ISSN 0094-8276

Publisher:: American Geophysical Union (AGU)Copyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

References (64)

Universal scaling of the formation factor in clays: Example from the Nankai Trough: FORMATION FACTOR IN CLAYS Daigle, Hugh; Ghanbarian, Behzad; Henry, Pierre Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth, Vol. 120, Issue 11 https://doi.org/10.1002/2015JB012262	journal	November 2015
Flow and Transport in Porous Media and Fractured Rock: From Classical Methods to Modern Approaches Sahimi, Muhammad https://doi.org/10.1002/9783527636693	book	December 2010
Simulation of capillary pressure curves using bond correlated site percolation on a simple cubic network Diaz, C. E.; Chatzis, I.; Dullien, F. A. L. Transport in Porous Media, Vol. 2, Issue 3 https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00165783	journal	June 1987
Modeling subsurface flow in sedimentary basins Bethke, Craig M. Geologische Rundschau, Vol. 78, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01988357	journal	July 1989
Connected pathway relative permeability from pore-scale imaging of imbibition Berg, S.; Rücker, M.; Ott, H. Advances in Water Resources, Vol. 90 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.advwatres.2016.01.010	journal	April 2016
Application of critical path analysis for permeability prediction in natural porous media Daigle, Hugh Advances in Water Resources, Vol. 96 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.advwatres.2016.06.016	journal	October 2016
Textural and compositional controls on mudrock breakthrough pressure and permeability Guiltinan, E. J.; Espinoza, D. N.; Cockrell, L. P. Advances in Water Resources, Vol. 121 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.advwatres.2018.08.014	journal	November 2018
Shales at all scales: Exploring coupled processes in mudrocks Ilgen, Anastasia G.; Heath, Jason E.; Akkutlu, I. Yucel Earth-Science Reviews, Vol. 166 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.earscirev.2016.12.013	journal	March 2017
Multiscale pore networks and their effect on deformation and transport property alteration associated with hydraulic fracturing Daigle, Hugh; Hayman, Nicholas W.; Jiang, Han Energy Procedia, Vol. 125 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.egypro.2017.08.067	journal	September 2017
Global inventory of methane clathrate: sensitivity to changes in the deep ocean Buffett, Bruce; Archer, David Earth and Planetary Science Letters, Vol. 227, Issue 3-4 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.epsl.2004.09.005	journal	November 2004
Estimating specific surface area and cation exchange capacity in soils using fractal dimension of particle-size distribution Ersahin, S.; Gunal, H.; Kutlu, T. Geoderma, Vol. 136, Issue 3-4 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geoderma.2006.04.014	journal	December 2006
Different flow behavior between 1-to-1 displacement and co-injection of CO 2 and brine in Berea sandstone: Insights from laboratory experiments with X-ray CT imaging Zhang, Yi; Kogure, Tetsuya; Nishizawa, Osamu International Journal of Greenhouse Gas Control, Vol. 66 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijggc.2017.09.005	journal	November 2017
CO 2 breakthrough—Caprock sealing efficiency and integrity for carbon geological storage Espinoza, D. Nicolas; Santamarina, J. Carlos International Journal of Greenhouse Gas Control, Vol. 66 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijggc.2017.09.019	journal	November 2017
A framework for quantifying size dependent deformation of nano-scale pores in mudrocks Emmanuel, Simon; Day-Stirrat, Ruarri J. Journal of Applied Geophysics, Vol. 86 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jappgeo.2012.07.011	journal	November 2012
Permeability–porosity relationships of subduction zone sediments Gamage, Kusali; Screaton, Elizabeth; Bekins, Barbara Marine Geology, Vol. 279, Issue 1-4 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.margeo.2010.10.010	journal	January 2011
The fabric of consolidation in Gulf of Mexico mudstones Day-Stirrat, Ruarri J.; Flemings, Peter B.; You, Yao Marine Geology, Vol. 295-298 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.margeo.2011.12.003	journal	February 2012
Brittle–ductile transition, shear failure and leakage in shales and mudrocks Nygård, Runar; Gutierrez, Marte; Bratli, Rolf K. Marine and Petroleum Geology, Vol. 23, Issue 2 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpetgeo.2005.10.001	journal	February 2006
Experimental mechanical compaction of clay mineral aggregates—Changes in physical properties of mudstones during burial Mondol, Nazmul H.; Bjørlykke, Knut; Jahren, Jens Marine and Petroleum Geology, Vol. 24, Issue 5 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpetgeo.2007.03.006	journal	May 2007
The physics of bubbles in surficial, soft, cohesive sediments Boudreau, Bernard P. Marine and Petroleum Geology, Vol. 38, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpetgeo.2012.07.002	journal	December 2012
Permeability and porosity of hydrate-bearing sediments in the northern Gulf of Mexico Daigle, Hugh; Cook, Ann; Malinverno, Alberto Marine and Petroleum Geology, Vol. 68 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpetgeo.2015.10.004	journal	December 2015
Relative permeability to water or gas in the presence of hydrates in porous media from critical path analysis Daigle, Hugh Journal of Petroleum Science and Engineering, Vol. 146 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.petrol.2016.07.011	journal	October 2016
Mechanisms of the displacement of one fluid by another in a network of capillary ducts Lenormand, R.; Zarcone, C.; Sarr, A. Journal of Fluid Mechanics, Vol. 135, Issue -1 https://doi.org/10.1017/S0022112083003110	journal	October 1983
Effect of Pore Size Distribution on Dissociation Temperature Depression and Phase Boundary Shift of Gas Hydrate in Various Fine-Grained Sediments Park, Taehyung; Lee, Joo Yong; Kwon, Tae-Hyuk Energy & Fuels, Vol. 32, Issue 4 https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.energyfuels.8b00074	journal	January 2018
Formation of natural gas hydrates in marine sediments: 2. Thermodynamic calculations of stability conditions in porous sediments Henry, Pierre; Thomas, Michel; Clennell, M. Ben Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth, Vol. 104, Issue B10 https://doi.org/10.1029/1999JB900167	journal	October 1999
Preferential Mode of gas invasion in sediments: Grain-scale mechanistic model of coupled multiphase fluid flow and sediment mechanics Jain, A. K.; Juanes, R. Journal of Geophysical Research, Vol. 114, Issue B8 https://doi.org/10.1029/2008JB006002	journal	January 2009
Water-CO ₂ -mineral systems: Interfacial tension, contact angle, and diffusion-Implications to CO ₂ geological storage : WATER CO Espinoza, D. Nicolas; Santamarina, J. Carlos Water Resources Research, Vol. 46, Issue 7 https://doi.org/10.1029/2009WR008634	journal	July 2010
Capillary effects on hydrate stability in marine sediments Liu, Xiaoli; Flemings, Peter B. Journal of Geophysical Research, Vol. 116, Issue B7 https://doi.org/10.1029/2010JB008143	journal	January 2011
Permeability-porosity relationships of shallow mudstones in the Ursa Basin, northern deepwater Gulf of Mexico: MUDSTONE PERMEABILITY-POROSITY BEHAVIOR Reece, Julia Schneider; Flemings, Peter B.; Dugan, Brandon Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth, Vol. 117, Issue B12 https://doi.org/10.1029/2012JB009438	journal	December 2012
Modeling percolation properties of random media using a domain network Ewing, Robert P.; Gupta, S. C. Water Resources Research, Vol. 29, Issue 9 https://doi.org/10.1029/93WR01496	journal	September 1993
How permeable are clays and shales? Neuzil, C. E. Water Resources Research, Vol. 30, Issue 2 https://doi.org/10.1029/93WR02930	journal	February 1994
Basin-scale hydrogeologic modeling Person, Mark; Raffensperger, Jeff P.; Ge, Shemin Reviews of Geophysics, Vol. 34, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1029/95RG03286	journal	February 1996
Compaction-driven evolution of porosity and permeability in natural mudstones: An experimental study Dewhurst, David N.; Aplin, Andrew C.; Sarda, Jean-Paul Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth, Vol. 103, Issue B1 https://doi.org/10.1029/97JB02540	journal	January 1998
Critical path analysis of the relationship between permeability and electrical conductivity of three-dimensional pore networks Friedman, Shmulik P.; Seaton, Nigel A. Water Resources Research, Vol. 34, Issue 7 https://doi.org/10.1029/98WR00939	journal	July 1998
Permeability of shaly sands Revil, A.; Cathles, L. M. Water Resources Research, Vol. 35, Issue 3 https://doi.org/10.1029/98WR02700	journal	March 1999
Prediction of rock electrical conductivity from mercury injection measurements Katz, A. J.; Thompson, A. H. Journal of Geophysical Research, Vol. 92, Issue B1 https://doi.org/10.1029/JB092iB01p00599	journal	January 1987
Recent changes to the Gulf Stream causing widespread gas hydrate destabilization Phrampus, Benjamin J.; Hornbach, Matthew J. Nature, Vol. 490, Issue 7421 https://doi.org/10.1038/nature11528	journal	October 2012
Widespread methane leakage from the sea floor on the northern US Atlantic margin Skarke, A.; Ruppel, C.; Kodis, M. Nature Geoscience, Vol. 7, Issue 9 https://doi.org/10.1038/ngeo2232	journal	August 2014
Ocean methane hydrates as a slow tipping point in the global carbon cycle Archer, D.; Buffett, B.; Brovkin, V. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Vol. 106, Issue 49 https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.0800885105	journal	November 2008
Resistance jumps in mercury injection in porous media Roux, Jean-Noel; Wilkinson, David Physical Review A, Vol. 37, Issue 10 https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevA.37.3921	journal	May 1988
Re-examining Archie's law: Conductance description by tortuosity and constriction Berg, Carl Fredrik Physical Review E, Vol. 86, Issue 4 https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevE.86.046314	journal	October 2012
Mercury Injection in Porous Media: A Resistance Devil's Staircase with Percolation Geometry Thompson, A. H.; Katz, A. J.; Raschke, R. A. Physical Review Letters, Vol. 58, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.58.29	journal	January 1987
Flow phenomena in rocks: from continuum models to fractals, percolation, cellular automata, and simulated annealing Sahimi, Muhammad Reviews of Modern Physics, Vol. 65, Issue 4 https://doi.org/10.1103/RevModPhys.65.1393	journal	October 1993
Evolution of sediment permeability during burial and subduction Daigle, H.; Screaton, E. J. Geofluids, Vol. 15, Issue 1-2 https://doi.org/10.1111/gfl.12090	journal	July 2014
Insights into pore-scale controls on mudstone permeability through resedimentation experiments Schneider, Julia; Flemings, Peter B.; Day-Stirrat, Ruarri J. Geology, Vol. 39, Issue 11 https://doi.org/10.1130/G32475.1	journal	November 2011
Pore networks in continental and marine mudstones: Characteristics and controls on sealing behavior Heath, Jason E.; Dewers, Thomas A.; McPherson, Brian J. O. L. Geosphere, Vol. 7, Issue 2 https://doi.org/10.1130/GES00619.1	journal	April 2011
Muds and mudstones: physical and fluid-flow properties Aplin, Andrew C.; Fleet, Andrew J.; Macquaker, Joe H. S. Geological Society, London, Special Publications, Vol. 158, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1144/GSL.SP.1999.158.01.01	journal	January 1999
Top-seal leakage through faults and fractures: the role of mudrock properties Ingram, Gary M.; Urai, Janos L. Geological Society, London, Special Publications, Vol. 158, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1144/GSL.SP.1999.158.01.10	journal	January 1999
Geomechanical and petrophysical properties of mudrocks: introduction Rutter, Ernest; Mecklenburgh, Julian; Taylor, Kevin Geological Society, London, Special Publications, Vol. 454, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1144/SP454.16	journal	January 2017
The movement and entrapment of petroleum fluids in the subsurface England, W. A.; Mackenzie, A. S.; Mann, D. M. Journal of the Geological Society, Vol. 144, Issue 2 https://doi.org/10.1144/gsjgs.144.2.0327	journal	March 1987
Balancing the Global Carbon Budget Houghton, R. A. Annual Review of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Vol. 35, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.earth.35.031306.140057	journal	May 2007
Surface‐to‐volume ratio, charge density, nuclear magnetic relaxation, and permeability in clay‐bearing sandstones Sen, P. N.; Straley, C.; Kenyon, W. E. GEOPHYSICS, Vol. 55, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1190/1.1442772	journal	January 1990
Compressional velocity and porosity in sand‐clay mixtures Marion, D.; Nur, A.; Yin, H. GEOPHYSICS, Vol. 57, Issue 4 https://doi.org/10.1190/1.1443269	journal	April 1992
Immiscible Microdisplacement and Ganglion Dynamics in Porous Media Payatakes, A. C.; Dias, Madalena M. Reviews in Chemical Engineering, Vol. 2, Issue 2 https://doi.org/10.1515/REVCE.1984.2.2.85	journal	January 1984
Multiscale Pore Systems in Shales and Their Effect on Laboratory Measurements and Transport Properties Daigle, Hugh; Jiang, Chunbi; Tian, Xiao Proceedings of the 6th Unconventional Resources Technology Conference https://doi.org/10.15530/urtec-2018-2899570	conference	January 2018
Discussion: Change in pore size distribution due to consolidation of clays Griffiths, F. J.; Joshi, R. C. Géotechnique, Vol. 40, Issue 2 https://doi.org/10.1680/geot.1990.40.2.303	journal	June 1990
Lithology Dependence of Porosity In Slope and Deep Marine Sediments Kominz, M. A.; Patterson, K.; Odette, D. Journal of Sedimentary Research, Vol. 81, Issue 10 https://doi.org/10.2110/jsr.2011.60	journal	October 2011
Silica Diagenesis, Porosity Evolution, and Mechanical Behavior In Siliceous Mudstones, Mowry Shale (Cretaceous), Rocky Mountains, U.S.A. Milliken, Kitty L.; Olson, Terrilyn Journal of Sedimentary Research, Vol. 87, Issue 4 https://doi.org/10.2110/jsr.2017.24	journal	April 2017
The Effect of Stone Content, Size, and Shape on the Engineering Properties of a Compacted Silty Clay Shakoor, A.; Cook, B. D. Environmental & Engineering Geoscience, Vol. xxvii, Issue 2 https://doi.org/10.2113/gseegeosci.xxvii.2.245	journal	May 1990
Sample Size Effects on the Application of Mercury Injection Capillary Pressure for Determining the Storage Capacity of Tight Gas and Oil Shales Comisky, Joseph Thomas; Santiago, Michael; McCollom, Bruce Canadian Unconventional Resources Conference https://doi.org/10.2118/149432-MS	conference	April 2013
Occurrence, Character and Origin Of Natural Gases In The Deepwater Nile Delta, Egypt Nassar, Marawan; Nijenhuis, Ivar; Fattah, Tharwat Abdel All Days https://doi.org/10.2118/152891-MS	conference	February 2012
Physical and Mineralogical Data to Determine Soil Hydraulic Properties1 Puckett, W. E.; Dane, J. H.; Hajek, B. F. Soil Science Society of America Journal, Vol. 49, Issue 4 https://doi.org/10.2136/sssaj1985.03615995004900040008x	journal	January 1985
Tortuosity, Diffusivity, and Permeability in the Soil Liquid and Gaseous Phases Moldrup, P.; Olesen, T.; Komatsu, T. Soil Science Society of America Journal, Vol. 65, Issue 3 https://doi.org/10.2136/sssaj2001.653613x	journal	January 2001
Common Themes in the Formation and Preservation of Intrinsic Porosity in Shales and Mudstones - Illustrated With Examples Across the Phanerozoic Schieber, Juergen Proceedings of SPE Unconventional Gas Conference https://doi.org/10.2523/132370-MS	conference	February 2010
Analysis of the Physical Properties of Hydrate Sediments Recovered from the Pearl River Mouth Basin in the South China Sea: Preliminary Investigation for Gas Hydrate Exploitation Wang, Bin; Huo, Peng; Luo, Tingting Energies, Vol. 10, Issue 4 https://doi.org/10.3390/en10040531	journal	April 2017

Similar Records

Evolution of Pore Structure in Organic-Lean and Organic-Rich Mudrocks

Journal Article · Wed Oct 18 20:00:00 EDT 2023 · Energy and Fuels · OSTI ID:2441011

Examination of lower Jurassic mudrocks using backscattered electron microscopy

Conference · Sun Jul 01 00:00:00 EDT 1984 · Am. Assoc. Pet. Geol., Bull.; (United States) · OSTI ID:5590277

Porosity formation in deep-burial environment: overview, with examples, from Permian basin

Conference · Tue Feb 28 23:00:00 EST 1989 · AAPG Bull.; (United States) · OSTI ID:5796190

Evolution of the Percolation Threshold in Muds and Mudrocks During Burial

Citation Formats

References (64)

Similar Records

Related Subjects