Mechanism of ultrasonic strengthening fluidity of low mature shale oil: A case study of the first member of Lucaogou Formation, western Jimusaer Sag, Northwest China

The low mature shale oil resources of Lucaogou Formation in Jimusar Sag have a great potential, but the heavy oil quality limits large-scale economic development significantly. Ultrasonic is a typical representative of heavy oil viscosity reduction and anhydrous fracturing technology, and how to understand the action characteristics and mechanism of ultrasonic effect on reservoir is a critical issue to enhance shale oil production in the industrialized application of power ultrasonic. Therefore, the comparative experiments with different time of power ultrasonic loading were conducted to analyze the response mechanism of reservoir characteristics and the change of fluid mobility. The results indicate that the ultrasonic treatment is ameliorative to the pore-fracture structure, and the improvement degree is controlled by the mechanical vibration and cavitation of ultrasound. Generally, the location with weak cementation strength or relatively developed microcrack is preferred to pore expansion. After the ultrasonic treatment, the shale oil quality becomes lighter, and the transformation of shale oil from adsorbed to free, is accelerated due to enhanced fluidity. Pore-expanding effect and fluid mobility enhancement are essential aspects of the power ultrasonic loading to improve the recovery of low mature shale oil. The results of this study support the feasibility analysis of ultrasonic enhanced shale oil exploitation theoretically.