Supercritical CO2-Shale interaction induced natural fracture closure: Implications for scCO2 hydraulic fracturing in shales

Memon, Shoaib; Feng, Runhua; Ali, Muhammad; Bhatti, Masood Ahmed; Giwelli, Ausama; Keshavarz, Alireza; Xie, Quan; Sarmadivaleh, Mohammad

doi:10.1016/j.fuel.2021.122682

Cited by 63 publications

(29 citation statements)

References 53 publications

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“…In contrast to the observations of several researchers, that SC-CO 2 increases the permeability of shale reservoirs, Zhou et al observed CO 2 -adsorption-induced shale matrix swelling. Similar observations on the swelling of a shale matrix due to SC-CO 2 have also been made by Memom et al Generally, the preferential adsorption of CO 2 in organic matter is accompanied by the swelling of organic matter due to multilayer adsorption in smaller pores exerting pressure on the pore walls, thereby resulting in their outward expansion . Dissolution of organic matter and minerals, creation of fractures on one hand, and swelling of organic matrix due to CO 2 adsorption, thus indicates that a complex set of processes would be effective, especially when long-term sequestration of CO 2 is considered in deep reservoirs.…”

Section: Challenges and Perspectivessupporting

confidence: 83%

Impact of Supercritical CO₂ on Shale Reservoirs and Its Implication for CO₂ Sequestration

et al. 2022

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Hydraulic fracturing has transformed the international energy landscape by becoming the go-to method for the exploitation of natural gas from unconventional shale reservoirs. However, in the recent years, the search for an alternative method of shale-gas exploration has intensified, because of various problems (e.g., contamination of ground and surface water, overexploitation of precious water resources, air pollution, etc.) associated with the usage of water-based fracturing techniques. The use of CO2 for shale gas exploitation has emerged as a better alternative to aqueous-based gas exploration techniques. CO2 when injected into deep shale reservoirs, transitions into supercritical CO2 (SC-CO2) when temperature and pressure condition exceeds the critical point, i.e., 31.1 °C and 7.38 MPa. In this paper, we comprehensively review the impact of SC-CO2 on shale gas reservoirs during the different stages of shale-gas exploration, i.e., (i) drilling, which involves the superiority of SC-CO2 over water-based drilling fluids, in terms of achieving under-balanced well condition, higher rates of penetration, and resistance to formation damage; (ii) fracturing, which involves factors affecting the tortuosity of fractures created by SC-CO2 fracturing, breakdown pressure, and proppant-carrying capacity; and (iii) injection, which involves the twin-headed benefit of enhanced recovery due to CO2/CH4 competitive adsorption and geological sequestration, CO2 vs CH4 excess sorption as a function of pressure, etc. Several research works have indicated discrepancies on how SC-CO2 impacts different shale properties. Some studies show low-pressure N2-gas-adsorption-derived surface area and total pore volume to be increasing with SC-CO2 imbibition, while others show a decreasing trend for the same. Similarly, for some shales, the quartz content, along with the clay mineral contents, decreased as the exposure to SC-CO2 increased, while in some other studies, with similar long-term exposure to SC-CO2, the quartz content was observed to increase along with the decrease in clay content and vice versa. Essentially, the increased exposure to SC-CO2 results in the dissolution of primary porous structures and fractures, and reformation of newer porous structure and conduits in shales. Nonetheless, these changes in the mineralogy weaken the microstructure of the rock bringing significant changes in the mechanical properties of the shales with implications on the wellbore stability and fracturing efficiency. The mechanical properties such as uniaxial compressive strength (UCS), Young’s modulus, and tensile strength decrease as the SC-CO2 saturation period increases. However, some studies have shown factors like bedding angle and phase-state of CO2 having varying effect on the strength behavior of the shales. Moreover, changes in the structure of shales caused by the creation of fractures and the reduction of their strength can also pose major risks, because of potential leakage of CO2 through these created pathways. How these processes would i...

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Section: Challenges and Perspectivessupporting

confidence: 83%

Impact of Supercritical CO₂ on Shale Reservoirs and Its Implication for CO₂ Sequestration

et al. 2022

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“…The CO 2 wettability of reservoir rock and rock-fluid interfacial tensions are important properties that affect the pore-space fluid flow and fluid distribution during geological CO 2 storage. − Previous studies have demonstrated that as the affinity of the storage rock toward the CO 2 phase increases, its capillary/residual trapping capacity decreases. At the same time, the risk of gas leakage through the caprock increases, thereby decreasing its structural trapping potential. − Meanwhile, increasing concentrations of the organic contaminants that are inherent in reservoir rocks have been shown to decrease the water-wettability thereof − due to increasingly hydrophobic conditions.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of Various Solvents on Adsorption of Organics for Porous and Nonporous Quartz/CO₂/Brine Systems: Implications for CO₂ Geo-Storage

et al. 2022

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The underground geo-storage of carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) is an essential component of the carbon capture and sequestration value chain. The success of CO 2 containment depends on the wetting state of the rock, which controls the mechanism of fluid flow and distribution. The presence of organic acids in the storage formation introduces a considerable effect on the wettability of the rock/CO 2 /brine system under various temperature and pressure conditions. Despite the previous studies on this topic, the impact of the substrate pores, the rock surface roughness, and the solvents used to prepare the organic acid solution under various temperatures and pressures has not yet been elucidated. In the present study, the contact angles of non-porous quartz and porous Fontainebleau quartz are measured in CO 2 /brine systems at various pressures of 0.1−20 MPa and temperatures of 298 and 323 K. In addition, various solvents are used to prepare the stearic acid solution in order to assess their influence on the adsorption of organics for porous and non-porous quartz/CO 2 /brine systems. The results clearly indicate that n-decane is the most effective solvent for solubilizing the stearic acid to attain full wettability of the substrate by CO 2 due to its polar compatibility with the stearic acid. Generally, the porous aged Fontainebleau quartz exhibits higher contact angles than the aged non-porous quartz at higher pressures, and the unaged Fontainebleau surfaces demonstrate water wettability, with a wide range of advancing and receding contact angles of less than 90°. However, when the pressure is increased to 15 and 20 MPa in the CO 2 /brine system, the contact angles of the Fontainebleau quartz are higher than those of pure quartz. These results suggest that the surface roughness of the rock merely amplifies the inherent surface chemistry and original wettability of the rock if surface conditions are hydrophobic.

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“…Hydraulic fracturing technology is the preferred stimulation method for developing offshore low-permeability reservoirs ( Guo et al, 2022 ; Memon et al, 2022 ). Conventional freshwater-based fracturing fluids are limited by space, transportation, and cost and cannot meet the needs of large-scale offshore fracturing ( Cui et al, 2022 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Performance Evaluation and Mechanism Study of Seawater-Based Circulatory Fracturing Fluid Based on pH-Regulated WormLike Micelles

Tang¹,

Song

Min

et al. 2022

Front. Chem.

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In this article, a novel salt-resistant pH-sensitive surfactant N-carboxystearamido methanesulfonic acid (MSA) was designed and synthesized. The rheological properties of the MSA/CTAB mixed system prepared using seawater were evaluated, and the variation laws of the related rheological parameters were discussed. The relevant fracturing technical parameters of the MSA/CTAB mixed system were comprehensively evaluated. The wormlike micelles formed by the non-covalent binding of MSA and CTAB molecules can resist the electrostatic effect of inorganic salts in the seawater. Meanwhile, the MSA/CTAB mixed system has an excellent pH response and revealed that the change from wormlike micelles to spherical micelles leads to the decrease of the apparent viscosity and the transition from Maxwell fluid to Newton-type fluid. Furthermore, the MSA/CTAB mixed system has excellent cyclic fracturing performance, which can meet the dual requirements of fracturing fluid cost and performance of offshore oilfield, and has a good application prospect.

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Supercritical CO2-Shale interaction induced natural fracture closure: Implications for scCO2 hydraulic fracturing in shales

Cited by 63 publications

References 53 publications

Impact of Supercritical CO₂ on Shale Reservoirs and Its Implication for CO₂ Sequestration

Impact of Supercritical CO₂ on Shale Reservoirs and Its Implication for CO₂ Sequestration

Effects of Various Solvents on Adsorption of Organics for Porous and Nonporous Quartz/CO₂/Brine Systems: Implications for CO₂ Geo-Storage

Performance Evaluation and Mechanism Study of Seawater-Based Circulatory Fracturing Fluid Based on pH-Regulated WormLike Micelles

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Supercritical CO2-Shale interaction induced natural fracture closure: Implications for scCO2 hydraulic fracturing in shales

Cited by 63 publications

References 53 publications

Impact of Supercritical CO2 on Shale Reservoirs and Its Implication for CO2 Sequestration

Impact of Supercritical CO2 on Shale Reservoirs and Its Implication for CO2 Sequestration

Effects of Various Solvents on Adsorption of Organics for Porous and Nonporous Quartz/CO2/Brine Systems: Implications for CO2 Geo-Storage

Performance Evaluation and Mechanism Study of Seawater-Based Circulatory Fracturing Fluid Based on pH-Regulated WormLike Micelles

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Product

Resources

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Impact of Supercritical CO₂ on Shale Reservoirs and Its Implication for CO₂ Sequestration

Impact of Supercritical CO₂ on Shale Reservoirs and Its Implication for CO₂ Sequestration

Effects of Various Solvents on Adsorption of Organics for Porous and Nonporous Quartz/CO₂/Brine Systems: Implications for CO₂ Geo-Storage