Fundamentals of Gas Transport in Tight Gas Sandstones and Shales

Principal Investigator: Steven L. Bryant (in collaboration with Masa Prodanovic, Peter Eichhubl (BEG) and Peter Flemings (BEG)) Mechanisms of Porosity Reduction Several unique characteristics of these rocks are the consequence of post depositional diagenetic processes including mechanical compaction, quartz and other mineral cementation, and mineral dissolution. These processes lead to permanent alteration of the initial pore structure causing an increase in the number of isolated and disconnected pores and thus in the tortuosity. The objective of this research is to develop a pore scale model of the geological processes that create tight gas sandstones and to carry out drainage simulations in these models. These models can be used to understand the flow connections between tight gas sandstone matrix and the hydraulic fractures needed for commercial production rates.

Mechanistic model of compaction of a mixture of ductile and rigid grains

Grain-scale compaction model explains experimental observations, including threshold ductile content for complete loss of porosity

Network models of intergranular pore space cannot explain mercury intrusion capillary pressure experiments in tight gas sandstones! We have developed a new class of model to explain this phenomenon. Physics of Flow in Shales

Grain scale models of void space in shale, coupled with models of the physics of gas transport in confined conduits, enable predictions of the effective permeability to gas during production of a shale reservoir. The model predicts significant increase in permeability as reservoir pressure decreases, which is consistent with the slower decline in production rates characteristic of shale gas wells.

The ratio of gas permeability at pressures below initial reservoir pressure, kg2,insitu, to gas permeability at initial pressure (P=28MPa), kg1,insitu, increases as production continues and pressure declines accordingly. Structure of Nanopores in Shales Recent observations of nanopores within carbonaceous material in mudrocks have led to the hypothesis that such material provides conduits for gas migration within the mudrock matrix. This hypothesis requires that the carbonaceous material exist not as isolated grains but as connected clusters of grains within the mudrock. To examine this hypothesis, we develop an algorithm for the grain-scale modeling of the spatial distribution of grains of carbonaceous matter in a matrix of non-carbonaceous material (silt, clay). The algorithm produces a grain-scale model of the sediment which is precursor to a mudrock, then a sequence of models of the grain arrangement as burial compacts the sediment into mudrock. We determine the size distribution of clusters of touching carbonaceous grains, focusing particularly upon the approach toward

percolation (when a cluster spans the entire packing). The model allows estimation of threshold fraction of carbonaceous material for significantly connected clusters to form. Beyond a threshold degree of compaction, connected clusters become much more prevalent. The emergence of large numbers of clusters, or of a few large clusters, increases the probability that nanoporous conduits within the clusters would intersect a fracture in the mudrock. This should correlate with greater producibility of gas from the mudrock.

Relationship between number of clusters and sediment porosity with 5 percent of carbonaceous material in the initial bulk volume for initial sediment porosity of 70%. The number of clusters having more than 10 grains of touching carbonaceous material (purple dots) is negligible in the original sediment (porosity = 70%) but becomes appreciable when compaction decreases the porosity below 40%. Influence of Water on Gas Production In tight gas sandstone the productivity of a well is sometimes quite different from that of a nearby well. Several mechanisms for this observation have been advanced. Of interest in this paper is the possibility that a small change in water saturation can change the gas phase permeability significantly in rocks with small porosity and very small permeability. We quantify the effect of small saturations of the wetting phase on nonwetting phase relative permeability by modeling the geometry of the wetting phase. We also show how a porosity-reducing process relevant in tight gas sandstones magnifies this effect.

Gas effective permeability for tight sandstones: experimental data and trends of model predictions. Confining pressure increases the sensitivity of effective gas permeability to small water saturations. If water saturation increases exclusively by changing the number and size of pendular rings/liquid bridges (no pore-filling), the gas permeability (red line) decreases faster than observed. If water saturation increases exclusively by pore filling (no rings/bridges), the gas permeability decreases more slowly than observed. Rings and bridges are thus the main mechanism for water sensitivity at small saturations. Publications and Presentations

Sakhaee-Pour, A. and Bryant, S. "Producibility of tight gas sandstones," to be submitted, AAPG Bulletin, 2011.

Sakhaee-Pour, A. and Bryant, S. "Gas Permeability of Shale," SPE 146944 prepared for presentation at the SPE Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition held in Denver, Colorado, USA, 30 October-2 November 2011. Mousavi, M. "Pore scale characterization and modeling of two-phase flow in tight gas sandstones," Ph.D. dissertation, The University of Texas at Austin, 2010. Kumar, A. "Quantitative Geometric Model of Connected Carbonaceous Material in Mudrocks," M.S. thesis, The University of Texas at Austin, 2010. Motealleh, S. and Bryant, S. "Quantitative Mechanism for Permeability Reduction by Small Water Saturation in Tight Gas Sandstones," Soc. Pet. Eng. J., Volume 14, Number 2, June 2009, pp. 252-258. Motealleh, S. "Mechanistic study of menisci motion within homogeneously and heterogeneously wet porous media," Ph.D. dissertation, The University of Texas at Austin, 2009. Mousavi, M. and Bryant, S. "Connectivity of Pore Space: The Primary Control on TwoPhase Flow Properties of Tight-Gas Sands," American Association of Petroleum Geologist Annual Convention and Exhibition, Denver, CO, 7-10 Jun 2009. Mousavi, M. and Bryant, S. "Predicting the effect of diagenetic alteration on two phase flow properties in tight gas sands," American Association of Petroleum Geologists Southwest Section 2008 Convention, Abilene, Texas, 24-27 Feb. 2008. Motealleh, S. and Bryant, S.L. "Predictive model for permeability reduction by small wetting phase saturations," Water Resour. Res., 43, W12S07, doi:10.1029/2006WR005684, 2007. Mousavi, M. and Bryant, S. "Geometric Models of Porosity Reduction Mechanisms in Tight Gas Sands," SPE 107963, 2007 SPE Rocky Mountain Oil & Gas Technology Symposium, Denver, Colorado, U.S.A., 16-18 April 2007. Motealleh, S. and Bryant, S. "Predictive Model for Permeability Reduction by Small Wetting Phase Saturations," Proceedings of the Computational Methods in Water Resources Conference XVI, Copenhagen, June 19-22, 2006.

For additional info, please contact Steven L. Bryant (Steven_Bryant@mail.utexas.edu). See the Unconventional Resources page for information on related research.