Investigating the Influences of Pore-Scale Characteristics on Tight Oil Migration by a Two-Phase Pore Network Model

The migration of expelled hydrocarbon from source rock into unconventional tight reservoirs is subject to different pore-scale fluid transport mechanisms as opposed to the conventional counterparts and therefore plays a crucial role in controlling the hydrocarbon distribution and accumulation in the...

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Main Authors: Jianhui Zeng, Yongchao Zhang, Jingsheng Ma, Changling Liu, Zhe Cao
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wiley 2020-01-01
Series:Geofluids
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2020/4890758
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author Jianhui Zeng
Yongchao Zhang
Jingsheng Ma
Changling Liu
Zhe Cao
author_facet Jianhui Zeng
Yongchao Zhang
Jingsheng Ma
Changling Liu
Zhe Cao
author_sort Jianhui Zeng
collection DOAJ
description The migration of expelled hydrocarbon from source rock into unconventional tight reservoirs is subject to different pore-scale fluid transport mechanisms as opposed to the conventional counterparts and therefore plays a crucial role in controlling the hydrocarbon distribution and accumulation in the former. One of the different mechanisms is related to the formation of a more viscous boundary layer (BL) of brine, i.e., wetting phase fluid on pore surfaces, giving rise to the so-called BL effect. In this work, a two-phase pore network model (PNM) that considers this BL effect is developed to study the influences of pore-scale characteristics on the oil migration process, manifested through the BL effect in tight-sandstone media. Good agreements are reached between experimentally derived relative permeability curves and predicted ones, by applying this model to the pore-network networks extracted from the same samples. Then, this validated model was used to evaluate the impacts of the following factors on the oil migration process: pore radius, coordination number, aspect ratio, brine viscosity, and wettability. The results show that all factors can influence the oil migration process but at different magnitudes. The applicability and significance of the developed tight oil migration PNM are discussed in this work.
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institution Kabale University
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spelling doaj-art-7c72899a53be4a2aa91b19b6bd13ef622025-02-03T05:53:52ZengWileyGeofluids1468-81151468-81232020-01-01202010.1155/2020/48907584890758Investigating the Influences of Pore-Scale Characteristics on Tight Oil Migration by a Two-Phase Pore Network ModelJianhui Zeng0Yongchao Zhang1Jingsheng Ma2Changling Liu3Zhe Cao4State Key Laboratory of Petroleum Resources and Prospecting, China University of Petroleum, Beijing 102249, ChinaThe Key Laboratory of Gas Hydrate, Ministry of Natural Resources, Qingdao Institute of Marine Geology, Qingdao 266071, ChinaInstitute of Petroleum Engineering, Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh EH14 4AS, UKThe Key Laboratory of Gas Hydrate, Ministry of Natural Resources, Qingdao Institute of Marine Geology, Qingdao 266071, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Petroleum Resources and Prospecting, China University of Petroleum, Beijing 102249, ChinaThe migration of expelled hydrocarbon from source rock into unconventional tight reservoirs is subject to different pore-scale fluid transport mechanisms as opposed to the conventional counterparts and therefore plays a crucial role in controlling the hydrocarbon distribution and accumulation in the former. One of the different mechanisms is related to the formation of a more viscous boundary layer (BL) of brine, i.e., wetting phase fluid on pore surfaces, giving rise to the so-called BL effect. In this work, a two-phase pore network model (PNM) that considers this BL effect is developed to study the influences of pore-scale characteristics on the oil migration process, manifested through the BL effect in tight-sandstone media. Good agreements are reached between experimentally derived relative permeability curves and predicted ones, by applying this model to the pore-network networks extracted from the same samples. Then, this validated model was used to evaluate the impacts of the following factors on the oil migration process: pore radius, coordination number, aspect ratio, brine viscosity, and wettability. The results show that all factors can influence the oil migration process but at different magnitudes. The applicability and significance of the developed tight oil migration PNM are discussed in this work.http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2020/4890758
spellingShingle Jianhui Zeng
Yongchao Zhang
Jingsheng Ma
Changling Liu
Zhe Cao
Investigating the Influences of Pore-Scale Characteristics on Tight Oil Migration by a Two-Phase Pore Network Model
Geofluids
title Investigating the Influences of Pore-Scale Characteristics on Tight Oil Migration by a Two-Phase Pore Network Model
title_full Investigating the Influences of Pore-Scale Characteristics on Tight Oil Migration by a Two-Phase Pore Network Model
title_fullStr Investigating the Influences of Pore-Scale Characteristics on Tight Oil Migration by a Two-Phase Pore Network Model
title_full_unstemmed Investigating the Influences of Pore-Scale Characteristics on Tight Oil Migration by a Two-Phase Pore Network Model
title_short Investigating the Influences of Pore-Scale Characteristics on Tight Oil Migration by a Two-Phase Pore Network Model
title_sort investigating the influences of pore scale characteristics on tight oil migration by a two phase pore network model
url http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2020/4890758
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