Impact of clay mineralogy on the petrophysical properties of tight sandstones

AlKharraa, Hamad; Wolf, Karl‐Heinz; AlQuraishi, Abdulrahman A.; Mahmoud, Mohamed; Deshenenkov, I.S.; Al-Duhailan, M.A.; Alarifi, Sulaiman A.; AlQahtani, Naif B.; Kwak, Hyung; Zitha, Pacelli L.J.

doi:10.1016/j.geoen.2023.211883

Cited by 4 publications

(5 citation statements)

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“…Scioto sandstone cores were used in this study to represent tight sandstone formations. Core samples were obtained from the Buena Vista member near McDermott, Southern Scioto County, Ohio . Scioto sandstone is often used in laboratory studies to model tight sandstones due to its homogeneous characteristics, which are suitable for comparable petroleum engineering laboratory tests …”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…CO 2 injection was examined using core-flooding and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) measurements before and after core-flood tests to evaluate pore fluid distributions at each saturation condition. 33 Scioto sandstone is often used in laboratory studies to model tight sandstones due to its homogeneous characteristics, which are suitable for comparable petroleum engineering laboratory tests. 34 A set of cylindrical plugs measuring 3.8 cm in diameter and 8.0 cm in length underwent a 48 h drying and vacuuming process at 75 °C.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Microscopic CO₂ Injection in Tight Rocks: Implications for Enhanced Oil Recovery and Carbon Geo-Storage

AlKharraa,

Wolf,

AlQuraishi

et al. 2023

Energy Fuels

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Carbon dioxide (CO2) injection has been widely used in conventional reservoirs for enhanced oil recovery and CO2 sequestration. Nevertheless, the effectiveness of CO2 injection in tight reservoirs is limited due to diagenetic processes that impact displacement efficiency. This research work assesses the performance of CO2 injection in tight reservoirs and evaluates oil mobilization and fluid distribution within the rock pore systems. A set of experiments, including routine core analysis, X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and mercury injection capillary pressure (MICP), was performed on Scioto sandstone. Three core-flooding runs were conducted to evaluate oil recovery of different injection schemes, including tertiary miscible CO2 injection, secondary immiscible CO2 injection, and secondary miscible CO2 injection. A nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectrometer was utilized to evaluate the fluid distribution in pre- and postflooding schemes. Results show that secondary miscible CO2 injection provided the highest displacement efficiency (E d) of 88%, with oil mobilized from both micro- and macropore systems, leading to the highest oil recovery of 93% original oil in place (OOIP). Tertiary miscible CO2 injection had E d of 67%, providing an ultimate oil recovery of 79% OOIP mostly from the macropore system. Limited contribution of micropores during the tertiary miscible CO2 injection is attributed to the increased water content as a result of previously conducted secondary water flooding. Secondary immiscible CO2 injection showed the least oil recovery among the injection schemes of 68% OOIP, which is attributed to the unstable displacement, as indicated by E d of 52%. The efficiency of pore fluid displacement was determined through NMR analyses, and the findings are in line with the displacement efficiency values obtained from core-flood experiments, with a strong positive correlation. This finding is a promising strategy for determining a suitable CO2 injection scheme in tight rocks for oil recovery and CO2 storage.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Microscopic CO₂ Injection in Tight Rocks: Implications for Enhanced Oil Recovery and Carbon Geo-Storage

AlKharraa,

Wolf,

AlQuraishi

et al. 2023

Energy Fuels

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“…In this study, we used both fired and unfired samples of Bandera Gray (BG) sandstone to investigate the role of firing on CO 2 –rock–brine reactions. Geologically, the BG sandstone is a member of the Bandera Shale Formation (Kansas, USA) deposited in continental to marginal marine settings during the Upper Carboniferous (Middle Pennsylvanian; 323–299 million years ago). , The sandstone is composed mainly of quartz, albite, clays (chlorite, kaolinite, and illite), calcite, and dolomite. , Based on its mineralogical composition, the BG sandstone is a suitable candidate to investigate the CO 2 –rock–brine chemical interactions. The chemically unstable minerals, particularly albite and calcite, might potentially undergo chemical alterations upon exposure to CO 2 and brine.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“… 22 , 23 The sandstone is composed mainly of quartz, albite, clays (chlorite, kaolinite, and illite), calcite, and dolomite. 11 , 24 Based on its mineralogical composition, the BG sandstone is a suitable candidate to investigate the CO 2 –rock–brine chemical interactions. The chemically unstable minerals, particularly albite and calcite, might potentially undergo chemical alterations upon exposure to CO 2 and brine.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

CO₂–Rock–Brine Interactions in Feldspar-Rich Sandstones That Underwent Intense Heating

Bello,

Al-Yaseri,

Amao

et al. 2024

ACS Omega

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The success of any carbon capture and storage method largely depends on, among other factors, its safety, reliability, and thorough understanding of the interactions among CO 2 , underground geological formation, and resident brine. Upon injection into the subsurface rock formation, CO 2 interacts with the host geological formation and brine, initiating complex geochemical reactions that are often poorly understood and could potentially affect the overall stability and storage capacity of the geological formation, particularly those in close proximity to an intense heat source. For instance, the impact of intense and prolonged heat due to, say, magmatic intrusion on sandstones' framework, authigenic mineralogies, and CO 2 -storage potentials is still poorly understood. Consequently, in this study, we have investigated the impact of firing on CO 2 −rock−brine reactions in the Bandera Gray (BG) sandstone. Prior to the CO 2 injection using 60 000 ppm brine at 75 °C and 28.7 MPa for 30 days, two samples of the BG sandstone were fired for 6 h in a muffle furnace at 700 and 1100 °C each. The BG samples were then studied for XRD, SEM, and ICP-OES analyses before and after the CO 2 injection, mainly to investigate any changes in mineralogical compositions and fluid chemistry. To determine the impact of the CO 2 −rock−brine interactions on the authigenic and framework mineralogies of the BG sandstones under low pH (∼3) conditions, powdered samples of the pre-and postfired BG sandstones were treated with nitric acid. The findings of the study indicate that there were no observable reactions involving rock-forming minerals and carbonate cement in the unfired and fired (at 700 °C) sandstones after the CO 2 injection. However, pervasive feldspar-dissolution porosity was formed in the postfired BG sandstone (1100 °C) after CO 2 injection. This was mainly because albite was partly to pervasively transformed into anorthite during firing at 1100 °C, making the feldspar highly susceptible to dissolution under CO 2 conditions. This implies that the conversion of albite into chemically unstable anorthite in natural sandstones that underwent intense and prolonged heating could develop significant amounts of secondary dissolution porosity due to CO 2 injection, thereby impacting their storage capacities and overall petrophysical properties. This dissolution was separately corroborated using a nitric acid treatment. The findings of the study will provide a better understanding of the CO 2 −rock−brine reactions involving sandstones that experienced intense heat due to, for instance, magmatic activity over a long geologic time scale, which has largely transformed the chemistry of their feldspars, particularly plagioclase.

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“…In the field of geology, it is mainly used in coal seams [13,14], tight sandstone reservoirs [15], mud shale [16,17] and other pore structure characterization [18,19]; reservoir heterogeneity characterization [20]; and determining the influencing factors of reservoir densification [21]. The data relied on mainly come from experiments such as high-pressure mercury intrusion [2,3,5], constant-rate mercury intrusion [22], nitrogen adsorption [16], CT scanning [23] and nuclear magnetic resonance [24,25].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Research on Fractal Characteristics and Influencing Factors of Pore-Throats in Tight Sandstone Reservoirs: A Case Study of Chang 6 of the Upper Triassic Yanchang Formation in Huaqing Area, Ordos Basin, China

Nan,

Lin,

Lai

et al. 2023

Minerals

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In recent years, tight sandstone oil and gas have been an important area for unconventional oil and gas exploration and development in China. It is of great significance to clarify the pore-throat structure characteristics of tight sandstone reservoirs to guide production practices. This study takes the tight sandstone of the sixth member of the Yanchang Formation in the Huaqing area, Ordos Basin, as an example, based on experimental methods such as high-pressure mercury intrusion, cast thin sections and scanning electron microscopy. At the same time, the pore-throat structure of tight sandstone reservoirs is divided into three types using the tube-bundle and spherical fractal models. The corresponding pore and throat radius distribution, pore-throat combination mode and influencing factors of various pore-throats are studied. The results show that the fractal dimension of type I pore-throats is the smallest, and the distribution of their pore-throat radii is the most uniform. They are dominated by intercrystalline pores and dissolution pores with tube-bundle throats and small pores with small throats. Type II pore-throats have the largest fractal dimension and the worst pore-throat uniformity. They are dominated by residual primary intergranular pores with necked throats and large pores with small throats. The type III pore-throat fractal dimension is in the middle, mainly composed of residual dissolved intergranular pores with pore-reduced throats, sheet-like and curved sheet-like throats, and large pores with large throats. The influence of different pore-throat combinations on the reservoir is reflected in the different characteristics of mercury injection parameters. The main influencing factors for the differences in the fractal dimensions of different pore-throats are diagenesis, rock composition and pore-throat combination type. Diagenesis and rock composition, in turn, affect the type and development degree of pore-throats, as well as the combination of pore-throats. The purpose of this study was to clarify the internal connection modes of different homogeneous pore-throats and their influencing factors, enrich the theoretical basis for the study of tight sandstone reservoirs and provide theoretical guidance for their exploration and development.

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Impact of clay mineralogy on the petrophysical properties of tight sandstones

Cited by 4 publications

References 51 publications

Microscopic CO₂ Injection in Tight Rocks: Implications for Enhanced Oil Recovery and Carbon Geo-Storage

Microscopic CO₂ Injection in Tight Rocks: Implications for Enhanced Oil Recovery and Carbon Geo-Storage

CO₂–Rock–Brine Interactions in Feldspar-Rich Sandstones That Underwent Intense Heating

Research on Fractal Characteristics and Influencing Factors of Pore-Throats in Tight Sandstone Reservoirs: A Case Study of Chang 6 of the Upper Triassic Yanchang Formation in Huaqing Area, Ordos Basin, China

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Impact of clay mineralogy on the petrophysical properties of tight sandstones

Cited by 4 publications

References 51 publications

Microscopic CO2 Injection in Tight Rocks: Implications for Enhanced Oil Recovery and Carbon Geo-Storage

Microscopic CO2 Injection in Tight Rocks: Implications for Enhanced Oil Recovery and Carbon Geo-Storage

CO2–Rock–Brine Interactions in Feldspar-Rich Sandstones That Underwent Intense Heating

Research on Fractal Characteristics and Influencing Factors of Pore-Throats in Tight Sandstone Reservoirs: A Case Study of Chang 6 of the Upper Triassic Yanchang Formation in Huaqing Area, Ordos Basin, China

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Microscopic CO₂ Injection in Tight Rocks: Implications for Enhanced Oil Recovery and Carbon Geo-Storage

Microscopic CO₂ Injection in Tight Rocks: Implications for Enhanced Oil Recovery and Carbon Geo-Storage

CO₂–Rock–Brine Interactions in Feldspar-Rich Sandstones That Underwent Intense Heating