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Open AccessArticle
Permeability Evolution of Shale during High-Ionic-Strength Water Sequential Imbibition
by
Tianhao Bai
Tianhao Bai 1,*
,
Sam Hashemi
Sam Hashemi 2,
Noune Melkoumian
Noune Melkoumian 1,
Alexander Badalyan
Alexander Badalyan
Dr. Alexander Badalyan is currently a Research Fellow at the Australian School of Petroleum at the [...]
Dr. Alexander Badalyan is currently a Research Fellow at the Australian School of Petroleum at the University of Adelaide. He held various academic and research positions at Grozny State Oil Technical University (Russian Federation/USSR) and the University of South Australia before joining the University of Adelaide. His research interests cover suspension flow in porous media, characterization of porous solids by manometric gas adsorption, thermophysical properties of fluids, application of supercritical and liquid carbon dioxide for extraction of essential oils, dissolved gas-in-oil analysis of power transformers, online monitoring of residual disinfectant concentration in drinking water, and development of computer-based systems for real-time process monitoring and control. His teaching interests include Instrumentation and Process Control, Heat Transfer, and Environmental Chemistry. He holds the University of South Australia Vice-Chancellor's Award for Innovation in Product Improvement (2002).
1
and
Abbas Zeinijahromi
Abbas Zeinijahromi 1
1
Australian School of Petroleum, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA 5005, Australia
2
Department of Energy Resources Engineering, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, USA
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Energies 2024, 17(14), 3598; https://doi.org/10.3390/en17143598 (registering DOI)
Submission received: 14 June 2024
/
Revised: 4 July 2024
/
Accepted: 18 July 2024
/
Published: 22 July 2024
Abstract
It is widely accepted in the oil and gas industry that high-ionic-strength water (HISW) can improve oil and gas recovery in unconventional shale reservoirs by limiting shale hydration. Despite numerous supporting studies, there is a lack of a systematic analysis exploring the effect of HISW on shale permeability evolution, particularly considering varying chemical compositions. In this work, we investigated the impact of different concentrations of NaCl and CaCl2 on shale permeability through sequential HISW imbibition experiments, beginning with the highest NaCl and lowest CaCl2 concentrations. After maintaining the highest effective stress for an extended period, significant permeability reduction and potential fracture generation were observed, as indicated by periodic fluctuations in differential pressure. These effects were further intensified by displacements with HISW solutions. Advanced post-experimental analyses using micro-CT scans and SEM-EDS analysis revealed microstructural changes within the sample. Our findings offer initial insight into how HISW-shale interactions influence shale permeability, using innovative approaches to simulate reservoir conditions. The findings indicate that discrepancies in the chemical composition between injected solutions and shale may lead to shale disintegration during hydraulic fracturing processes.
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MDPI and ACS Style
Bai, T.; Hashemi, S.; Melkoumian, N.; Badalyan, A.; Zeinijahromi, A.
Permeability Evolution of Shale during High-Ionic-Strength Water Sequential Imbibition. Energies 2024, 17, 3598.
https://doi.org/10.3390/en17143598
AMA Style
Bai T, Hashemi S, Melkoumian N, Badalyan A, Zeinijahromi A.
Permeability Evolution of Shale during High-Ionic-Strength Water Sequential Imbibition. Energies. 2024; 17(14):3598.
https://doi.org/10.3390/en17143598
Chicago/Turabian Style
Bai, Tianhao, Sam Hashemi, Noune Melkoumian, Alexander Badalyan, and Abbas Zeinijahromi.
2024. "Permeability Evolution of Shale during High-Ionic-Strength Water Sequential Imbibition" Energies 17, no. 14: 3598.
https://doi.org/10.3390/en17143598
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