Water Imbibition and Oil Recovery in Shale: Dynamics and Mechanisms Using Integrated Centimeter-to-Nanometer-Scale Imaging

Journal Article · Thu Jun 30 00:00:00 EDT 2022 · SPE (Society of Petroleum Engineers) Reservoir Evaluation and Engineering

DOI:https://doi.org/10.2118/210567-pa· OSTI ID:2382744

Peng, Sheng ^[1]; LaManna, Jacob ^[2]; Periwal, Priyanka ^[1]; Shevchenko, Pavel ^[3]

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1. Univ. of Texas, Austin, TX (United States)
2. National Inst. of Standards and Technology (NIST), Gaithersburg, MD (United States). Physical Measurement Laboratory (PML)
3. Argonne National Laboratory (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States). Advanced Photon Source (APS)

Water imbibition, and the associated oil displacement, is an important process in shale oil reservoirs after hydraulic fracturing and in water-based enhanced oil recovery (EOR). Current techniques for water imbibition measurement are mostly “black-box”-type methods. A more explicit understanding of the water imbibition/oil recovery dynamics and geological controls is in demand. In this paper, a multiscale imaging technique that covers centimeter to nanometer scale (i.e., core to pore scale), integrating neutron radiography, microcomputed tomography (micro-CT), and scanning electron microscope (SEM) is applied to investigate the water imbibition depth and rate and the cause of heterogeneity of imbibition in shale samples. The dynamic processes of water imbibition in the 1-in. (25.4-mm) core sample were explicitly demonstrated, and the imbibition along the matrix and imbibition through microfractures are distinguished through neutron radiography image analysis. The causes of observed imbibition heterogeneity were further investigated through micro-CT and SEM image analysis for 1.5-mm diameter miniplug samples from different laminas of the 1-in. core samples. Imbibition depth and rate were calculated on the basis of image analysis as well. Estimation of oil recovery through water imbibition in shale matrix was performed for an example shale field. Here this innovative and integrated multiscale imaging technique provides a “white/gray-box” method to understand water imbibition and water-oil displacement in shale. The wide span of the length scale (from centimeter to nanometer) of this technique enables a more comprehensive, accurate, and specific understanding of both the core-scale dynamics and pore-scale mechanisms of water imbibition, oil recovery, and matrix-fracture interaction.

• Research Organization: Argonne National Laboratory (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES)
• Grant/Contract Number: AC02-06CH11357
• OSTI ID: 2382744
• Journal Information: SPE (Society of Petroleum Engineers) Reservoir Evaluation and Engineering, Journal Name: SPE (Society of Petroleum Engineers) Reservoir Evaluation and Engineering Journal Issue: 01 Vol. 26; ISSN 1094-6470
• Publisher: Society of Petroleum Engineers
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

04 OIL SHALES AND TAR SANDS
complex reservoir
flow in porous media
fluid dynamics
micro-CT
multiscale imaging
neutron imaging
oil recovery
oil shale
shale gas
shale oil
structural geology
upstream oil & gas
water imbibition
waterflooding