Predicting Fluid Flow Regime, Permeability, and Diffusivity in Mudrocks
from Multiscale Pore Characterisation
Abstract
In geoenergy applications, mudrocks prevent fluids to leak from
temporary (H2, CH4) or permanent (CO2, radioactive waste)
storage/disposal sites and serve as a source and reservoir for
unconventional oil and gas. Understanding transport properties
integrated with dominant fluid flow mechanisms in mudrocks is essential
to better predict the performance of mudrocks within these applications.
In this study, small-angle neutron scattering (SANS) experiments were
conducted on 71 samples from 13 different sets of mudrocks across the
globe to capture the pore structure of nearly the full pore size
spectrum (2nm-5μm). We develop fractal models to predict transport
properties (permeability and diffusivity) based on the SANS-derived pore
size distributions. The results indicate that transport phenomena in
mudrocks are intrinsically pore size dependent. Depending on hydrostatic
pore pressures, transition flow develops in micropores, slip flow in
meso- and macropores, and continuum flow in larger macropores. Fluid
flow regimes progress towards larger pore sizes during reservoir
depletion or smaller pore sizes during fluid storage, so when pressure
is decreased or increased, respectively. Capturing the heterogeneity of
mudrocks by considering fractal dimension and tortuosity fractal
dimension for defined pore size ranges, fractal models integrate
apparent permeability with slip flow, Darcy permeability with continuum
flow, and gas diffusivity with diffusion flow in the matrix. This new
model of pore size dependent transport and integrated transport
properties using fractal models yields a systematic approach that can
also inform multiscale multi-physics models to better understand fluid
flow and transport phenomena in mudrocks on the reservoir and basin
scale.