Title
A Characterization of Tight Sandstone: Effect of Clay Mineralogy on Pore-Framework
Author
Alkharraa, H.S.H. (TU Delft Reservoir Engineering)
Wolf, K.H.A.A. (TU Delft Applied Geophysics and Petrophysics) 
Kwak, Hyung T. (Saudi Aramco)
Deshenenkov, Ivan S. (Saudi Aramco)
AlDuhailan, Mohammed A. (Saudi Aramco)
Mahmoud, Mohamed A. (King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals)
Arifi, Suliman A. (King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals)
AlQahtani, Naif B. (King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals)
AlQuraishi, Abdulrahman A. (King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals)
Zitha, P.L.J. (TU Delft Reservoir Engineering)
Date
2023
Abstract
Macro-, meso-, micro-pore systems combined with clay content are critical for fluid flow behavior in tight sandstone formations. This study investigates the impact of clay mineralogy on pore systems in tight rocks. Three outcrop samples were selected based on their comparative petrophysical parameters (Bandera, Kentucky, and Scioto). Our experiments carried out to study the impact of clay content on micro-pore systems in tight sandstone reservoirs involve the following techniques: Routine core analysis (RCA), to estimate the main petrophysical parameters such as porosity and permeability, X-ray diffraction (XRD), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) to assess mineralogy and elemental composition, Mercury Injection Capillary Pressure (MICP), Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR), and Micro-Computed Tomography (Micro-CT) to analyze pore size distributions. Clay structure results show the presence of booklets of kaolinite and platelets to filamentous shapes of illite. The Scioto sample exhibits a micro-pore system with an average pore body size of 12.6±0.6 μm and an average pore throat size of 0.25±0.19 μm. In Bandera and Kentucky samples illite shows pore-bridging clay filling with an average mineral size of around 0.25±0.03 μm, which reduces the micro-pore throat system sizes. In addition, pore-filling kaolinite minerals with a diameter of 5.1±0.21 μm, also reduce the micro-pore body sizes. This study qualifies and quantifies the relationship of clay content with primary petrophysical properties of three tight sandstones. The results help to advance procedures for planning oil recovery and CO2 sequestration in tight sandstone reservoirs.
Subject
asia government
pore
Mineral
bandera
permeability
china government
upstream oil & gas
north america government
structural geology
reservoir characterization
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http://resolver.tudelft.nl/uuid:2dfecab0-b0c7-4309-b007-461d714f3715
DOI
https://doi.org/10.2118/212638-MS
Publisher
Society of Petroleum Engineers
Embargo date
2023-07-24
ISBN
9781613999738
Source
Society of Petroleum Engineers - SPE Reservoir Characterisation and Simulation Conference and Exhibition 2023, RCSC 2023
Event
2023 SPE Reservoir Characterisation and Simulation Conference and Exhibition, RCSC 2023, 2023-01-24 → 2023-01-26, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
Series
Society of Petroleum Engineers - SPE Reservoir Characterisation and Simulation Conference and Exhibition 2023, RCSC 2023
Bibliographical note
Green Open Access added to TU Delft Institutional Repository ‘You share, we take care!’ – Taverne project https://www.openaccess.nl/en/you-share-we-take-care Otherwise as indicated in the copyright section: the publisher is the copyright holder of this work and the author uses the Dutch legislation to make this work public.
Part of collection
Institutional Repository
Document type
conference paper
Rights
© 2023 H.S.H. Alkharraa, K.H.A.A. Wolf, Hyung T. Kwak, Ivan S. Deshenenkov, Mohammed A. AlDuhailan, Mohamed A. Mahmoud, Suliman A. Arifi, Naif B. AlQahtani, Abdulrahman A. AlQuraishi, P.L.J. Zitha