The impact of wettability and connectivity on relative permeability in carbonates: A pore network modeling analysis

Gharbi, Oussama; Blunt, Martin J.

doi:10.1029/2012wr011877

Cited by 79 publications

(65 citation statements)

References 32 publications

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“…The precise explanation for the discrepancy between the provider's and our porosity measurements is unclear, and may be due to differences in the methodologies performed. However, the porosity found in this study matched closely with that reported by other researchers, 11% [41] and 13.05% [40].…”

Section: Porositysupporting

confidence: 82%

“…distributed throughout the material. This qualitative evaluation of Indiana Limestone is consistent with previous studies of this rock [40]. As stated above, this work represents the first micro-structural evaluation of Pink Dolomite.…”

Section: Invasion Percolationsupporting

confidence: 77%

“…From a visual inspection, the Pink Dolomite pores are more regularly shaped. The pore radii for the Indiana Limestone samples can be compared to other studies [40]. The extraction technique in this work found pore radii up to three times higher than previous studies (Tab.…”

Section: Pore and Throat Radiuscontrasting

confidence: 45%

“…The present work expands on previous studies of the pore network structure of carbonates [40,41] by performing detailed pore network extractions on multiple samples for two carbonates: Indiana Limestone and Pink Dolomite. Because Indiana Limestone has been considered previously, it can serve as a validation for the extraction and analysis methods used here.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 67%

“…Gharbi and Blunt [40] and Bijeljic et al [41] performed PNM on a variety of sandstones and carbonates, and reported average pore-scale properties such as porosity, pore volume, radius and coordination number for one sample of each rock type explored. Youssef et al [42] used microCT of carbonate and sandstone reservoir rocks to extract microporosity properties and to build a dual-porosity pore network model of the imaged rocks.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Pore Structure Characterization of Indiana Limestone and Pink Dolomite from Pore Network Reconstructions

Freire-Gormaly

Ellis

MacLean

et al. 2015

Oil Gas Sci. Technol. – Rev. IFP Energies nouvelles

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-Carbon sequestration in deep underground saline aquifers holds significant promise for reducing atmospheric carbon dioxide emissions (CO 2 ). However, challenges remain in predicting the long term migration of injected CO 2 . Addressing these challenges requires an understanding of pore-scale transport of CO 2 within existing brine-filled geological reservoirs. Studies on the transport of fluids through geological porous media have predominantly focused on oil-bearing formations such as sandstone. However, few studies have considered pore-scale transport within limestone and other carbonate formations, which are found in potential storage sites. In this work, high-resolution micro-Computed Tomography (microCT) was used to obtain pore-scale structural information of two model carbonates: Indiana Limestone and Pink Dolomite. A modified watershed algorithm was applied to extract pore network from the reconstructed microCT volumetric images of rock samples and compile a list of pore-scale characteristics from the extracted networks. These include statistical distributions of pore size and radius, pore-pore separation, throat radius, and network coordination. Finally, invasion percolation algorithms were applied to determine saturation-pressure curves for the rock samples. The statistical distributions were comparable to literature values for the Indiana Limestone. This served as validation for the network extraction approach for Pink Dolomite, which has not been considered previously. Based on the connectivity and the pore-pore separation, formations such as Pink Dolomite may present suitable storage sites for carbon storage. The pore structural distributions and saturation curves obtained in this study can be used to inform core-and reservoir-scale modeling and experimental studies of sequestration feasibility.Résumé -Caractérisation de la structure de pore de l'Indiana limestone de calcaire et de Pink dolomite provenant des reconstitutions de réseaux de pores -La séquestration du carbone dans les aquifères salins profonds souterrains est très prometteuse pour la réduction des émissions de dioxyde de carbone (CO 2 ) dans l'atmosphère. Cependant, des problèmes demeurent dans la prédiction de la migration à long terme du CO 2 injecté. Relever ces défis nécessite une compréhension du transport de CO 2 à l'échelle du pore dans des réservoirs géologiques existants remplis de saumure. Les études sur le transport des fluides en milieu poreux géologique ont principalement porté sur les formations oléagineuses telles que le grès. Cependant, peu d'études ont

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Section: Porositysupporting

confidence: 82%

Section: Invasion Percolationsupporting

confidence: 77%

Section: Pore and Throat Radiuscontrasting

confidence: 45%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 67%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Pore Structure Characterization of Indiana Limestone and Pink Dolomite from Pore Network Reconstructions

Freire-Gormaly

Ellis

MacLean

et al. 2015

Oil Gas Sci. Technol. – Rev. IFP Energies nouvelles

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Relative permeability of homogenous-wet and mixed-wet porous media as determined by pore-scale lattice Boltzmann modeling

2014

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We present a pore-scale study of two-phase relative permeability in homogenous-wet porous media, and porous media altered to a mixed-wet state. A Shan-Chen type multicomponent lattice Boltzmann (LB) model is employed to determine pore-scale fluid distributions and relative permeability. Mixedwet states are created by altering the wettability of solid surfaces in contact with the nonwetting phase at the end of steady state simulation of initially homogenous-wet porous media. To ensure accurate representation of fluid-solid interfacial areas, we compare LB simulation results to experimental measurements of interfacial fluid-fluid and fluid-solid areas determined by X-ray computed microtomography imaging of water and oil distributions in bead packs. The LB simulations are found to match experimental trends observed for fluid-fluid and fluid-solid interfacial area-saturation relationships. The relative permeability of both fluids in the homogenous-wet porous media was found to decrease with a decreasing contact angle. The relative permeability of both fluids in the altered, mixed-wet porous media was found to decrease for all mixed-wet states in comparison to the initial homogenous-wet states. The nonwetting phase relative permeability decreased significantly, while the wetting phase experienced only a minor decrease. The significance of the decrease was found to be dependent on the distribution of the unaltered solid surfaces, with less dependence on the severity of alteration.

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CO₂wettability of seal and reservoir rocks and the implications for carbon geo-sequestration

2015

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We review the literature data published on the topic of CO 2 wettability of storage and seal rocks. We first introduce the concept of wettability and explain why it is important in the context of carbon geo-sequestration (CGS) projects, and review how it is measured. This is done to raise awareness of this parameter in the CGS community, which, as we show later on in this text, may have a dramatic impact on structural and residual trapping of CO 2 . These two trapping mechanisms would be severely and negatively affected in case of CO 2 -wet storage and/or seal rock. Overall, at the current state of the art, a substantial amount of work has been completed, and we find that:Sandstone and limestone, plus pure minerals such as quartz, calcite, feldspar, and mica are strongly water wet in a CO 2 -water system.Oil-wet limestone, oil-wet quartz, or coal is intermediate wet or CO 2 wet in a CO 2 -water system.The contact angle alone is insufficient for predicting capillary pressures in reservoir or seal rocks.The current contact angle data have a large uncertainty.Solid theoretical understanding on a molecular level of rock-CO 2 -brine interactions is currently limited.In an ideal scenario, all seal and storage rocks in CGS formations are tested for their CO 2 wettability.Achieving representative subsurface conditions (especially in terms of the rock surface) in the laboratory is of key importance but also very challenging.

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The impact of wettability and connectivity on relative permeability in carbonates: A pore network modeling analysis

Cited by 79 publications

References 32 publications

Pore Structure Characterization of Indiana Limestone and Pink Dolomite from Pore Network Reconstructions

Pore Structure Characterization of Indiana Limestone and Pink Dolomite from Pore Network Reconstructions

Relative permeability of homogenous-wet and mixed-wet porous media as determined by pore-scale lattice Boltzmann modeling

CO₂wettability of seal and reservoir rocks and the implications for carbon geo-sequestration

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The impact of wettability and connectivity on relative permeability in carbonates: A pore network modeling analysis

Cited by 79 publications

References 32 publications

Pore Structure Characterization of Indiana Limestone and Pink Dolomite from Pore Network Reconstructions

Pore Structure Characterization of Indiana Limestone and Pink Dolomite from Pore Network Reconstructions

Relative permeability of homogenous-wet and mixed-wet porous media as determined by pore-scale lattice Boltzmann modeling

CO2wettability of seal and reservoir rocks and the implications for carbon geo-sequestration

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Product

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About

CO₂wettability of seal and reservoir rocks and the implications for carbon geo-sequestration