Petrophysical properties of deep Longmaxi Formation shales in the southern Sichuan Basin, SW China

Deep shale layer in the Lower Silurian Longmaxi Formation,southern Sichuan Basin is the major replacement target of shale gas exploration in China.However,the prediction of"sweet-spots"in deep shale gas reservoirs lacks physical basis due to the short of systematic experimental research on the physical properties of the deep shale.Based on petrological,acoustic and hardness measurements,variation law and control factors of dynamic and static elastic properties of the deep shale samples are investigated.The study results show that the deep shale samples are similar to the middle-shallow shale in terms of mineral composition and pore type.Geochemical characteristics of organic-rich shale samples(TOC>2%)indicate that these shale samples have a framework of microcrystalline quartz grains;the intergranular pores in these shale samples are between rigid quartz grains and have mechanical property of hard pore.The lean-organic shale samples(TOC<2%),with quartz primarily coming from terrigenous debris,feature plastic clay mineral particles as the support frame in rock texture.Intergranular pores in these samples are between clay particles,and show features of soft pores in mechanical property.The difference in microtexture of the deep shale samples results in an asymmetrical inverted V-type change in velocity with quartz content,and the organic-rich shale samples have a smaller variation rate in velocity-porosity and velocity-organic matter content.Also due to the difference in microtexture,the organic-rich shale and organic-lean shale can be clearly discriminated in the cross plots of P-wave impedance versus Poisson’s ratio as well as elasticity modulus versus Poisson’s ratio.The shale samples with quartz mainly coming from biogenic silica show higher hardness and brittleness,while the shale samples with quartz from terrigenous debris have hardness and brittleness less affected by quartz content.The study results can provide a basis for well-logging interpretation and"sweet spot"prediction of Longmaxi Formation shale gas reservoirs.

Pore Types and Quantitative Evaluation of Pore Volumes in the Longmaxi Formation Shale of Southeast Chongqing, China

The common microscale to nanoscale pore types were introduced and divided into organic and inorganic pores to estimate their contributions to porosity in the Lower Silurian Longmaxi Formation shale of southeast Chongqing. Following the material balance principle, the organic porosity values, which changed with formation subsidence and thermal evolution, were calculated using chemical kinetics methods and corrected via the organic porosity correction coefficient, which was obtained from field emission scanning electron microscopy. Grain density values were determined using the contents and true densities of compositions in the shale samples. The total porosity was calculated based on the grain and bulk densities. The inorganic porosity was determined from the difference between the total porosity and organic porosity at the same depth. The results show that inorganic pores mainly contain microfractures, microchannels, clay intergranular pores, intercrystalline pores and intracrystalline pores in the Lower Silurian Longmaxi Formation shale of southeast Chongqing. Organic pores mainly include organopore and fossil pore. The total porosity, organic porosity and inorganic porosity of organic-rich shale samples can be quantitatively evaluated using this method. The total porosity, organic porosity and inorganic porosity values of the Longmaxi Formation shale samples from the well Pyl in southeast Chongqing lie in 2.75%-6.14%, 0.08%-2.52% and 1.41%-4.92% with average values of 4.34%, 0.95% and 3.39%, respectively. The contributions of the inorganic pores to the total porosity are significantly greater than those of the organic pores.

Source Rock and Cap Rock Controls on the Upper Ordovician Wufeng Formation–Lower Silurian Longmaxi Formation Shale Gas Accumulation in the Sichuan Basin and its Peripheral Areas

Objective The Upper Ordovician Wufeng Formation-Lower Silurian Longmaxi Formation is one of the priority interval for shale gas exploration in the Sichuan Basin and its peripheral areas, and commercial shale gas has been discovered from this interval in Jiaoshiba, Changning and Weiyuan shale gas fields in Sichuan Province. However, there is no significant discovery in other parts of the basin due to the different quality of black shale and the differences of tectonic evolution. Based on the progress of shale gas geological theory and exploration discoveries, as well as the theory of ＂source rock and cap rock controls on hydrocarbon accumulation＂, of the Upper Ordovician the main controlling factors Wufeng Formation-Lower Silurian Longmaxi Formation shale gas enrichment in the Sichuan Basin and its peripheral areas were analyzed, and the source rock and cap rock controls on the shale gas were also discussed. The results can provide new insights for the next shale gas exploration in this area.

A Strain Rate Dependent Constitutive Model for the Lower Silurian Longmaxi Formation Shale in the Fuling Gas Field of the Sichuan Basin,China

Shale,as a kind of brittle rock,often exhibits different nonlinear stress-strain behavior,failure and timedependent behavior under different strain rates.To capture these features,this work conducted triaxial compression tests under axial strain rates ranging from 5×10-6 s-1 to 1×10-3 s-1.The results show that both elastic modulus and peak strength have a positive correlation relationship with strain rates.These strain rate-dependent mechanical behaviors of shale are originated from damage growth,which is described by a damage parameter.When axial strain is the same,the damage parameter is positively correlated with strain rate.When strain rate is the same,with an increase of axial strain,the damage parameter decreases firstly from an initial value(about 0.1 to 0.2),soon reaches its minimum(about 0.1),and then increases to an asymptotic value of 0.8.Based on the experimental results,taking yield stress as the cut-off point and considering damage variable evolution,a new measure of micro-mechanical strength is proposed.Based on the Lemaitre’s equivalent strain assumption and the new measure of micro-mechanical strength,a statistical strain-rate dependent damage constitutive model for shale that couples physically meaningful model parameters was established.Numerical back-calculations of these triaxial compression tests results demonstrate the ability of the model to reproduce the primary features of the strain rate dependent mechanical behavior of shale.

The new multistage water adsorption model of Longmaxi Formation shale considering the spatial configuration relationship between organic matter and clay minerals

The water adsorption by shale significantly affects shale gas content and its seepage capacity.However,the mechanism of water adsorption by shale is still unclear due to its strong heterogeneity and complicated pore structure.The relationship between the adsorbed water content at different relative humidities(RHs)and shale compositions,as well as shale pore structure and the spatial configuration relationship between organic matter(OM)and clay minerals,was investigated to clarify the controlling factors and mechanisms of water adsorption by Longmaxi Formation shale from the Southern Sichuan Basin in China.Consequently,the water adsorption process could be generally divided into three different stages from 0%RH to 99%RH.Furthermore,the Johnston’s clay mine ral interlayer pore structure model(JCM),the Freundlich model(FM)and the Dubinin-Astakhov model(DAM)were tested to fit the three water adsorption stages from low RH to high RH,respectively.The fitting results of the JCM and FM at lower RHs were far from good,while the fitting results of DAM at higher RHs were acceptable.Accordingly,two revised models(LRHM and MRHM)considering the spatial configuration relationship between OM and clay minerals were proposed for the two stages with lower RHs,and performed better fitting results indicating the pronounced effect of the spatial configuration relationship between OM and clay minerals on the water adsorption process of Longmaxi Formation shale.The outcomes of this study will contribute to clarifying the water distribution characteristics in the pore network of shale samples with variable water contents.

Logging prediction and evaluation of fracture toughness for the shales in the Longmaxi Formation, Southern Sichuan Basin

The mode-I fracture toughness is of great significance for evaluating the fracturing ability of shale reservoirs.In this study,the mode-I fracture toughness of the shale in the Lower Silurian Longmaxi Formation,Southern Sichuan Basin was determined with the Cracked Chevron Notched Brazilian Disc(CCNBD).Based on the experimental data,the relationships among the mode-I fracture toughness,the density,the acoustic time and the clay mineral content were analyzed.The shale samples for fracture toughness test from cores were commonly limited,the investigation of fracture toughness using well logs was necessary.Therefore,a prediction model was proposed by correlating the fracture toughness with well logs responses.The results indicate that the fracture toughness of shale samples is from 0.4744 MPa$m1/2 to 1.0607 MPa$m1/2 with an average of 0.7817 MPa$m1/2,indicating that the anisotropy of fracture toughness of the Longmaxi Formation shale.The clay mineral content and the density have a positive effect on the fracture toughness,whereas the acoustic time plays a negative role on the fracture toughness.The clay mineral content has an important effect on the relationships among fracture toughness,acoustic time and density.The prediction model can provide continuous data of mode-I fracture toughness along the wellbore for field hydraulic fracturing operation,and it has certain guiding significance in the exploration and development of oil and gas reservoirs.

Methane Adsorption Capacity Reduction Process of Water-Bearing Shale Samples and Its Influencing Factors: One Example of Silurian Longmaxi Formation Shale from the Southern Sichuan Basin in China

Due to the existence of water content in shale reservoir,it is quite meaningful to clarify the effect of water content on the methane adsorption capacity(MAC)of shale.However,the role of spatial configuration relationship between organic matter(OM)and clay minerals in the MAC reduction process is still unclear.The Silurian Longmaxi Formation shale samples from the Southern Sichuan Basin in China were prepared at five relative humidity(RH)conditions(0%,16%,41%,76%,99%)and the methane adsorption experiments were conducted on these water-bearing shale samples to clarify the MAC reduction process considering the spatial configuration relationship between clay minerals and OM and establish the empirical model to fit the stages.Total organic carbon(TOC)content and mineral compositions were analyzed and the pore structures of these shale samples were characterized by field-emission scanning electron microscopy(FE-SEM),N2 adsorption and high-pressure mercury intrusion porosimetry(HPMIP).The results showed that the MAC reduction of clay minerals in OM occurred at different RH conditions from that of clay minerals outside OM.Furthermore,the amount of MAC reduction of shale samples prepared at the same RH condition was negatively related with clay content,which indicated the protection role of clay minerals for the MAC of water-bearing shale samples.The MAC reduction process was generally divided into three stages for siliceous and clayey shale samples.And the MAC of OM started to decline during stage(1)for calcareous shale sample mainly because water could enter OM pores more smoothly through hydrophobic pathway provided by carbonate minerals than through hydrophilic clay mineral pores.Overall,this study will contribute to improving the evaluation method of shale gas reserve.

Experimental study on hydration damage mechanism of shale from the Longmaxi Formation in southern Sichuan Basin, China

As a serious problem in drilling operation,wellbore instability restricts efficient development of shale gas.The interaction between the drilling fluid and shale with hydration swelling property would have impact on the generation and propagation mechanism of cracks in shale formation,leading to wellbore instability.In order to investigate the influence of the hydration swelling on the crack propagation,mineral components and physicochemical properties of shale from the Lower Silurian Longmaxi Formation(LF)were investigated by using the XRD analysis,cation exchange capabilities(CEC)analysis,and SEM observation,and we researched the hydration mechanism of LF shale.Results show that quartz and clay mineral are dominated in mineral composition,and illite content averaged 67%in clay mineral.Meanwhile,CEC of the LF shale are 94.4 mmol/kg.The process of water intruding inside shale along microcracks was able to be observed through high power microscope,meanwhile,the hydration swelling stress would concentrate at the crack tip.The microcracks would propagate,bifurcate and connect with each other,with increase of water immersing time,and it would ultimately develop into macro-fracture.Moreover,the macrocracks extend and coalesce along the bedding,resulting in the rock failure into blocks.Hydration swelling is one of the major causes that lead to wellbore instability of the LF shale,and therefore improving sealing capacity and inhibition of drilling fluid system is an effective measure to stabilize a borehole.