The Evolution Law of Wettability Degree After Energy Replenishment in Tight Type-II Reservoirs with Different Pore Structures
Abstract
1. Introduction
2. Differences in Wettability Evolution Characteristics
2.1. Experimental Materials
2.2. Wettability Experiment
2.2.1. Experimental Methods
- (1)
- Core slice. The size is 25 mm × 50 mm;
- (2)
- Sample drying. Place the sliced rock cores into a constant-temperature oven (80 °C) for 12 h to dry;
- (3)
- Liquid squeezing. Place the core slice on the operating table and squeeze 10 μL of liquid;
- (4)
- Measure the wetting angle and take photos. Rotate the worktable lifting handwheel to make the surface of the sample contact the droplet and ensure that the droplet is displayed in the window. The software will automatically capture images according to the set data until completion.
- (5)
- After saturating the rock sample with CO2 and N2, repeat steps (1) to (4) to evaluate the changes in the wetting angle after different media are energized.
2.2.2. Results and Discussion
2.3. Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Analysis
3. Analysis of Factors Influencing Wettability Evolution
3.1. Pore Throat Structure
3.2. Energy Supplement Medium
4. Conclusions
- (1)
- The typical pore throat structure characteristics of tight Type-II reservoirs have been clarified, with matrix minerals (quartz + feldspar) accounting for over 90% and good initial hydrophilicity. However, the Z401 block has the most developed pores, relatively good pore connectivity, and the greatest contribution to permeability. The M2 block has relatively developed large pores, with a better average pore radius and throat radius than other blocks, and better pore sorting. The pore development in blocks S123 and G93 is poor, with a small average pore volume and poor connectivity between pores.
- (2)
- The influence of the pore throat structure on wettability is as follows: the reservoir where the rock samples in the four blocks is located is a hydrophilic reservoir, with a minimum in situ wetting angle of about 27° in the ancient G93 block, while the other blocks have a wetting angle of 37–40°. After energy supplementation, the changes in the M2 and G93 blocks are the greatest, but they still belong to a hydrophilic reservoir.
- (3)
- The results of the influence of different energy replenishment media are as follows: natural gas has the greatest impact on wettability, which is due to its similar solubility to the oil phase. After adsorption, the interface characteristics are changed, and the changes are most significant; CO2 is the second largest and N2 has the smallest change amplitude, which is due to the mixing mechanism between CO2 and crude oil causing a significant change in wettability. Natural gas is mainly adsorbed on the surface of rocks, and the change in surface properties combined with the theory of similar solubility increases the wetting angle; CO2 is mainly used for interface cleaning, improving the pore throat structure and altering wettability. Therefore, considering the injection cost, we recommended prioritizing the use of CO2 to supplement the formation energy.
- (4)
- Presently, the mainstream method for studying wettability is to use industry standards, but the differences in reservoir formation and the pore throat structure between tight oil and conventional oil reservoirs are huge. Therefore, using industry testing standards under micro nanopore throat conditions may have certain limitations. In addition, experiments on the core slice are destructive, and parallel experiments still need further exploration.
Author Contributions
Funding
Data Availability Statement
Conflicts of Interest
References
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Researchers | Research object | Methods | Advantage | Disadvantage |
---|---|---|---|---|
Gao, Zhiye, et al. [9] | Shale | CA | Intuitive and simple | Destructive experiment, slicing requires smoothness |
Iglauer [5] | Quartz | MS | Accurate simulation | Unclassified non-uniformity |
Ghedan [21] | Carbonate rocks | RIC | Simulate the process of reservoir formation | Poor quantitation |
Pinto [26] | Carbonate rocks | Surfactant | Dynamic test | Destructive experiment, slicing requires smoothness |
Sheshdeh [20] | - | Amott-USBM | High precision | Long testing time and large model error |
Zhang, Weihang, et al. [47] | ZLJformation Dongyueyu section shale | SI, NMR | Consider the fluid characteristics | Complex data processing with model errors |
Alzaabi [46] | Shale | Zeta potential | Strong continuity | Multiple solutions |
Block | Core No. | Before Replenishing Energy | After Replenishing Energy | Wettability | Permeability (mD) | Porosity (%) | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Contact Angle (°) | Avg (°) | Visualization | Medium | Contact Angle (°) | Avg (°) | Visualization | |||||
M2 | 506-2-1 | 41.20 | 42.46 | CO2 | 52.16 | 53.93 | hydrophilic | 0.0284 | 8.79 | ||
44.08 | 55.70 | ||||||||||
506-2-2 | 31.54 | 36.35 | N2 | 35.49 | 47.40 | hydrophilic | |||||
41.16 | 59.31 | ||||||||||
506-2-3 | 48.78 | 47.29 | Natural gas | 62.59 | 66.47 | Hydrophilic (weak) | |||||
45.79 | 70.35 | ||||||||||
Z401 | 17-2-1 | 23.97 | 27.05 | CO2 | 38.42 | 37.33 | hydrophilic | 0.0649 | 8.35 | ||
30.13 | 36.24 | ||||||||||
17-2-2 | 23.79 | 37.12 | N2 | 43.58 | 36.94 | hydrophilic | |||||
50.45 | 30.30 | ||||||||||
17-2-3 | 27.20 | 30.37 | Natural gas | 28.14 | 24.87 | hydrophilic | |||||
33.54 | 21.60 | ||||||||||
S123 | 232-1 | 49.94 | 61.38 | CO2 | 63.74 | 66.30 | Hydrophilic (weak) | 0.0405 | 10.55 | ||
72.81 | 68.85 | ||||||||||
232-2 | 36.29 | 34.81 | N2 | 49.04 | 39.63 | hydrophilic | |||||
33.32 | 30.21 | ||||||||||
232-3 | 39.46 | 35.78 | Natural gas | 54.94 | 42.88 | hydrophilic | |||||
32.10 | 30.82 | ||||||||||
G93 | 27-2-1 | 43.90 | 46.39 | CO2 | 29.52 | 37.77 | hydrophilic | 0.0264 | 10.36 | ||
48.87 | 46.02 | ||||||||||
27-2-2 | 33.68 | 42.59 | N2 | 43.58 | 33.79 | hydrophilic | |||||
51.49 | 23.99 | ||||||||||
27-2-3 | 35.44 | 36.62 | Natural gas | 53.88 | 51.92 | hydrophilic | |||||
37.79 | 49.96 |
Block | Core No. | Dry Weight/g | Wet Weight/g | Water Absorption/g | Dry Weight/g | Medium | Wet Weight After Supplement/g | Water Absorption/g | Peak Area of T2 Spectrum Before Saturation Medium | Peak Area of T2 Spectrum After Saturation Medium | Peak Area Growth Rate/% |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
M2 | M-C-1 | 11.760 | 11.848 | 0.088 | 11.769 | CO2 | 11.841 | 0.072 | 7841.03 | 8312.86 | 6.02 |
M-N-2 | 11.631 | 11.716 | 0.085 | 11.641 | N2 | 11.711 | 0.070 | 8246.82 | 8148.99 | −1.19 | |
M-T-3 | 11.790 | 11.879 | 0.089 | 11.797 | natural gas | 11.896 | 0.099 | 7565.23 | 9187.13 | 21.43 | |
Z401 | D-C-1 | 11.705 | 11.824 | 0.119 | 11.641 | CO2 | 11.809 | 0.168 | 6071.16 | 5679.95 | −6.44 |
D-N-2 | 11.618 | 11.736 | 0.118 | 11.544 | N2 | 11.752 | 0.208 | 6473.21 | 7028.68 | 8.58 | |
D-T-3 | 11.173 | 11.305 | 0.132 | 11.112 | natural gas | 11.317 | 0.205 | 6732.28 | 6719.89 | −0.18 | |
S123 | S-C-1 | 11.526 | 11.699 | 0.173 | 11.529 | CO2 | 11.741 | 0.212 | 6898.80 | 7871.60 | 14.10 |
S-N-2 | 11.525 | 11.706 | 0.181 | 11.510 | N2 | 11.754 | 0.244 | 7034.26 | 8579.45 | 21.96 | |
S-T-3 | 11.645 | 11.853 | 0.208 | 11.626 | natural gas | 11.896 | 0.270 | 886.03 | 8853.47 | 12.26 | |
G93 | G-C-1 | 11.885 | 11.995 | 0.110 | 12.003 | CO2 | 12.033 | 0.030 | 5544.42 | 7329.38 | 32.19 |
G-N-2 | 12.149 | 12.319 | 0.170 | 12.160 | N2 | 12.317 | 0.157 | 8992.97 | 8843.20 | −1.66 | |
G-T-3 | 11.327 | 11.438 | 0.111 | 11.280 | natural gas | 11.467 | 0.187 | 6159.28 | 7090.08 | 15.11 |
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Li, C.; Yin, D. The Evolution Law of Wettability Degree After Energy Replenishment in Tight Type-II Reservoirs with Different Pore Structures. Processes 2025, 13, 2797. https://doi.org/10.3390/pr13092797
Li C, Yin D. The Evolution Law of Wettability Degree After Energy Replenishment in Tight Type-II Reservoirs with Different Pore Structures. Processes. 2025; 13(9):2797. https://doi.org/10.3390/pr13092797
Chicago/Turabian StyleLi, Chunguang, and Daiyin Yin. 2025. "The Evolution Law of Wettability Degree After Energy Replenishment in Tight Type-II Reservoirs with Different Pore Structures" Processes 13, no. 9: 2797. https://doi.org/10.3390/pr13092797
APA StyleLi, C., & Yin, D. (2025). The Evolution Law of Wettability Degree After Energy Replenishment in Tight Type-II Reservoirs with Different Pore Structures. Processes, 13(9), 2797. https://doi.org/10.3390/pr13092797