Abstract

The continuous gas displacement in unconsolidated sandstone gas reservoirs will necessarily result in the pore structure and rock permeability variations, which cannot be neglected in the gas development process. However, the variations have not been comprehensively addressed yet, especially for the rock structure in pore scale. This work presented the quantitative results of pore structure in microscale and permeability variations during gas displacement in unconsolidated sandstone reservoirs through computed tomography (CT) reconstruction analysis. The results indicated that a more than 3% increase in porosity after gas displacement resulted from the enlargement of the pore and throat with a diameter of more than 20 μm and 3 μm, respectively, owing to the release and migration of clay and fine particles, in spite of the distribution frequency decline of both pore and throat with a small diameter. The pore connectivity would be enhanced by the increase of the connected pores as well as the enlargement of the pore and throat sizes. However, the pore-throat coordination number could only change with slight improvement. In terms of permeability and relative permeability changes with pore structure, the improvement of permeability after gas displacement was higher than that of porosity, and the continuous gas displacement would broaden gas-water flow region and lower irreducible water saturation and residual gas saturation, and then, the equal phase relative permeability point would shift to the right. These investigations will contribute to more accurate reserve evaluation and productivity prediction.

1. Introduction

Natural gas as a clean energy resource has been wildly applied in various fields, including heating, power generation, automobile fuel, food processing, steel industry, chemical refining, hydrogen production, and synthetic ammonia [13]. More attention has been paid to the exploration and development of natural gas. How to get a better development effect becomes crucial to extracting more resources. Among all types of natural gas reservoirs in China, the development of unconsolidated sandstone gas reservoirs such as the gas fields in the Qaidam Basin, western South China Sea, and Baoshan Basin [46] has been confronted with kinds of problems including sand production, water channeling, and more serious heterogeneity [79], further affecting the productivity. These problems result from the changes in the petrophysical properties of the unconsolidated sandstone, especially the changes in the pore structure and permeability [10, 11].

The changes are primarily on account of the release and migration of rock mineral particles including clay and fine particles in the long-term flow of gas and water [12, 13]. The continuous fluid flow in porous media, especially in the unconsolidated sandstone, will enlarge and also block the pore throat, further changing the permeability [14, 15]. The pore structure and permeability variations should be comprehensively addressed so as to get a better understanding of them. However, the research to date mostly concentrates on the macroscopic time-dependent porosity and permeability evolution in core and field scale including physical and numerical simulation [1618], especially for oil reservoirs [1922]. And the macroscopic investigation will not provide a revealing insight into the microscope evolution. The general ways to investigate the pore structure include centrifuge, mercury intrusion, nitrogen adsorption, nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), and computed tomography (CT) [2327]. All of them can reflect the pore size distribution but cannot physically present the spatial pore structure except CT [28]. With the rapid development of experimental detection technology, the CT technology with higher scanning precision and better reconstruction algorithm makes it easy to provide a deep insight into the changes in pore scale [29, 30]. It has been increasingly utilized in the fluid distribution and pore structure reconstruction [31, 32]. By the CT reconstruction analysis, the parameters can be characterized in pore scale, including the number and geometry of pore and throat, 3D pore structure, and pore connectivity [33, 34]. The changes in pore scale can further clarify the changes in macroscopic porosity and permeability. However, rare research has been conducted to investigate pore structure and permeability variations during gas displacement through CT reconstruction analysis.

Therefore, this work conducted the quantitative evaluations of pore structure in microscale and permeability variations during gas displacement in unconsolidated sandstone reservoirs by means of CT reconstruction analysis. Firstly, the number and size distribution of the pore and throat were evaluated to probe into the pore structure variations after gas displacement. Then, the pore connectivity was investigated from the aspects of the changes of connected pores and pore-throat coordination number. Eventually, the changes in the macroscopic porosity and permeability including relative permeability were further evaluated and clarified by the variations of the structure and connectivity in the pore scale. The comprehensive investigations will provide a deeper insight into the rock petrophysical property changes in the gas displacement process in unconsolidated sandstone gas reservoirs and contribute to more accurate reserve evaluation and productivity prediction.

2. Experimental Section

2.1. Materials

The rock cores used in the experiments were obtained with a water saturation of 0.46 from the unconsolidated sandstone gas reservoir at a depth of 1414.73 m. The XRD analysis was carried out on an X-ray diffractometer (TD-3500, Tongda Science & Technology Co., Ltd., China) to determine the compositions of the core as shown in Table 1. Due to the loose structure of the rock sample, the core samples were drilled out by liquid nitrogen freezing technology rather than the common treatment. Two types of the core samples were drilled out to investigate the pore structure by CT reconstruction and clarify the gas-water permeability. The permeability and porosity of each sample were tested using an automated permeameter-porosimeter (AP-608, Coretest Systems, USA). The petrophysical properties of the core samples are listed in Table 2.

2.2. Instruments

The instruments used in the displacement experiments mainly included an ISCO pump, intermediate container, flow meter, pressure sensor, nitrogen bottle, confining pressure system, high-resolution micronano CT scanner (nanoVoxel-4000, Tianjin Sanying Precision Instrument Co., Ltd., China), and core holder as shown in Figure 1. The XRD analysis was carried out on an X-ray diffractometer (TD-3500, Tongda Science & Technology Co., Ltd., China) to determine the compositions of the core. The porosity and permeability of the core sample were tested using an automated permeameter-porosimeter (AP-608, Coretest Systems, USA).

2.3. Methods and Procedures
2.3.1. Gas Displacement Experiments

The displacement experiments were carried out using the instruments as shown in Figure 1. The experimental procedures can be described as follows: (1) the core sample was cleaned and dried. (2) The core sample was saturated by the 3.0 wt.% KI solution, further aged for 24 h at 85°C. And then, it was scanned by micronano CT to reconstruct the pore structure. (3) The gas displacement was conducted with the gas injected into the sample along the longitudinal axis at an inlet pressure of 0.2 MPa at a flow rate of 5~7 mL/min with a confining pressure of 0.8 MPa. (4) The sample was scanned by micronano CT to reconstruct the pore structure after injecting a certain pore volume (PV) (500 PV and 1000 PV). (5) According to the CT scanning results, the reconstruction analysis was carried out to obtain the pore and throat parameters before and after gas displacement.

Additionally, the gas-water relative permeability measurements were conducted by a nonsteady state method using the same instruments except the CT scanner as the literature [35].

2.3.2. CT Reconstruction Analysis

The pore structure was analyzed by CT reconstruction. The reconstruction analysis procedures for the core sample before and after gas displacement are just as shown in Figure 2, mainly including several procedures as follows: (1)CT Scanning. The core sample was scanned by the nanoVoxel-4000 to obtain the high-resolution images(2)Data Reconstruction. The scanning data was processed by algorithm reconstruction and image rectification using the reconstruction software Voxel Studio Recon, including image gray adjustment and wave filter processing(3)Data Analysis. The reconstructed data was then analyzed by the image analysis software such as Volume Graphics Studio Max, FEI Avizo, SYPI-core, and Voxel Studio Render. The analyzed parameters mainly included the number and size of pore and throat, coordination number, and pore and throat connectivity

3. Results and Discussions

3.1. Effects of Gas Displacement on Pore Size

The core sample 1# was used to investigate the pore structure variations. The structures of pores of different sizes in the core sample before and after gas displacement were reconstructed through CT scanning analysis, which is shown in Figure 3. And then, the distribution frequencies of the number and volume of pores of different sizes before and after gas displacement were calculated according to the 3D pore reconstruction analysis, and the results are shown in Figures 4 and 5. It suggested that the small pores and large pores changed in different ways. In general, the small pores outnumbered the large pores, but the volume of pores of different sizes was in normal distribution. With the gas injection, both the number and volume of the pores with a diameter less than 20 μm accounted for lower levels, while these of the larger pores accounted for higher levels. Among the pores, the number and volume distribution frequencies of the pores with a diameter from 20 μm to 50 μm increased significantly, and the pores with a diameter of more than 100 μm came into existence after 500 PV gas was injected. It was calculated that the average and maximum pore diameter before and after gas displacement improved from 31.57 μm to 44.60 μm and 85.56 μm to 186.97 μm, respectively, as shown in Figures 6 and 7, which increased by 118.53% and 41.27%. Therefore, the continuous gas injection would lead to an apparent enlargement of pore size owing to the release and migration of unconsolidated sandstone particles [12, 14].

3.2. Effects of Gas Displacement on Pore-Throat Size

The number distribution frequencies of pore throats of different sizes before and after gas displacement were also calculated as shown in Figure 8 to investigate the pore-throat structure variations. It suggested that the number distribution frequencies of pore throats exhibited the same changes as these of the pores. The small pore throat outnumbered the large pore throat, and the number distribution frequencies of the pore throat with a diameter of less than 3 μm decreased from 56.2% to 49.7%, while these of the pore throat with a diameter of more than 3 μm increased that led to the increase of the average pore-throat diameter before and after gas displacement from 3.03 μm to 3.27 μm as shown in Figure 9. The enlargement of the pore-throat diameter due to the rock mineral particle migration would enhance the pore connectivity and then improve the core permeability [36].

3.3. Effects of Gas Displacement on Pore-Throat Coordination Number

In order to investigate the pore-throat connectivity, the distribution frequencies of pore-throat coordination number before and after gas displacement were calculated as shown in Figure 10. And then, the average of the pore-throat coordination number was also calculated as shown in Figure 11. It suggested that the pore-throat coordination number from 3 to 6 accounted for the majority with a proportion of approximately 66%, and the average pore-throat coordination number came to be about 5. In terms of results before and after gas displacement, both the distribution and the average pore-throat coordination number changed slightly with few frequency declines of small pore-throat coordination number and few frequency increases of large pore-throat coordination number. The frequency decline might result from the particle blocking in the pore throat with a small diameter and low coordination number. Thus, it could be seen that the gas injection would enlarge the pore-throat diameter but have little effect on the coordination number between the pores and the throats.

3.4. Effects of Gas Displacement on Pore Connectivity

The pore structures of the CT core sample before and after gas displacement were reconstructed through CT scanning analysis, which is shown in Figure 12. And then, the porosities of both connected and isolated pores were calculated according to the 3D pore reconstruction analysis, and the results are shown in Figure 13. It suggested that the connected pores constituted the majority of the total pores with a proportion of more than 95%. After gas displacement, the porosity of the isolated pores declined, while the porosity of the connected pores increased by 10.3% from 33.9% to 37.4%, which brought about an increase of 2.5% from 35.7% to 38.2% in the total porosity. It can be seen from the results that the pore connectivity would be strengthened as a whole in spite of the pore blocking owing to the particle migration in the unconsolidated sandstone, and the reconnected pores outnumbered the reisolated pores in the gas injection process.

3.5. Effects of Gas Displacement on Porosity and Permeability

The core sample 2# was saturated by 3.0 wt.% KI solution and then flooded by gas (N2) to 1000 PV. The porosity and permeability of the core sample were measured in different injected pore volumes, and the results are shown in Figure 14. It showed that both the porosity and permeability of the core sample increased apparently from 34.22% to 37.87% and 39.24 mD to 51.32 mD, respectively, which went up by 10.67% and 30.78%. The growth rate of the permeability was greater than that of the porosity [36]. The rock permeability was primarily based on the larger pores. The increase of the permeability of the core in unconsolidated sandstone mainly resulted from the enlargement of the pore and throat with larger sizes as well as the enhancement of the pore connectivity due to the particle migration as found above. Therefore, the porosity and permeability variations would not be neglected in the continuous gas displacement process in unconsolidated sandstone gas reservoirs, which could lead to the evident changes in the gas reserves as well as the well injectivity and productivity.

3.6. Effects of Gas Displacement on Relative Permeability

In gas reservoirs with edge and bottom water, gas and water flow in the same place. The pore structure variations in the gas displacement process will necessarily result in the changes in phase relative permeability [37]. In order to investigate the gas and water flow principle, the gas-water relative permeability curves were measured before and after gas displacement as shown in Figure 15. From the measurement results, the initial gas and water relative permeability before gas injection were low sunken curves, and then, both the gas and water relative permeability increased after 1000 PV gas injection. The irreducible water saturation and the residual gas saturation dropped from 31.2% to 26.1% and 11.5% to 8.0%, which broadened the two-phase flow region. Additionally, the equal phase relative permeability point shifted to the right from 47.3% to 54.0%. The improvement of the phase relative permeability also got benefit from the enlargement of the pore and throat size as well as the enhancement of the pore connectivity. Compared with the water relative permeability, the gas relative permeability had a higher improvement.

4. Conclusions

In the current investigation, we present the quantitative results of pore structure and permeability variations during gas displacement in unconsolidated sandstone reservoirs through CT reconstruction analysis. Useful conclusions drawn from our research results are listed as follows: (1)The continuous gas displacement would bring about an increase of more than 2.5% in the total porosity and enhance the pore connectivity, which primarily resulted from the enlargement of the pore and throat with larger sizes owing to the release and migration of clay and fine particles in unconsolidated sandstone reservoirs. The porosity of the connected pores constituted the majority of the total pores with a proportion of more than 95% and increased by 10.3% after gas displacement(2)The continuous gas displacement not only improved the porosity and permeability from 34.22% to 37.87% and 39.24 mD to 51.32 mD, respectively, but also broadened the two-phase flow region. The irreducible water saturation and the residual gas saturation dropped, and the equal phase relative permeability point shifted to the right. Both the gas and water relative permeability could be enhanced after gas displacement in unconsolidated sandstone reservoirs

Abbreviations

CT:Computed tomography
NMR:Nuclear magnetic resonance
PV:Pore volume.

Data Availability

The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author, Zha Y., upon reasonable request.

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest.

Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the Hainan Branch and the Zhanjiang Branch of CNOOC China Limited, China.