Direct gas-in-place measurements prove much higher production potential than expected for shale formations

Abstract

Shale gas exploitation has been the game-changer in energy development of the past decade. However, the existing methods of estimating gas in place in deep formations suffer from large uncertainties. Here, we demonstrate, by using novel high-pressure experimental techniques, that the gas in place within deep shale gas reservoirs can be up to five times higher than that estimated by implementing industry standard approaches. We show that the error between our laboratory approach and the standard desorption test is higher for gases with heavier compositions, which are of strongest commercial interests. The proposed instrumentation is reliable for deep formations and, provides quick assessment of the potential for the gas in place, which could be useful for assessing hydrocarbon reservoirs, and the potential for geological carbon sequestration of a given formation.

Pore Fractal Characteristics between Marine and Marine–Continental Transitional Black Shales: A Case Study of Niutitang Formation and Longtan Formation

“…Shale gas refers to natural gas existing in mud shale in adsorbed, free, and dissolved states, etc. It is a large-scale, continuous, and low-abundance unconventional oil and gas resource [1][2][3]. According to different sedimentary environments, shale can be divided into marine shale, marine-continental transitional shale, and continental shale [4,5].…”

Shale Gas Nanofluid in the Curved Carbon Nanotube: A Molecular Dynamics Simulation Study

“…Primarily composed of methane, shale gas is predominantly found in the organic porous structures of the shale matrix, commonly referred to as kerogen. ,− Modern experimental techniques, including small-angle neutron scattering (SANS), , mercury intrusion, , atomic force microscopy (AFM), have been employed to reveal the porous and fractal nature of kerogen. With methods like scanning electron microscopy (SEM), − nanopore structure could be directly observed in images.…”