Experimental investigation of shale imbibition capacity and the factors influencing loss of hydraulic fracturing fluids  

作　　者：Hong-Kui Ge Liu Yang Ying-Hao Shen Kai Ren Fan-Bao Meng Wen-Ming Ji Shan Wu 

机构地区：[1]State Key Laboratory of Petroleum Resources and Prospecting, China University of Petroleum

出　　处：《Petroleum Science》2015年第4期636-650,共15页石油科学（英文版）

基　　金：financially supported by the National Basic Research Program of China (973 Program) Granted No. 2015CB250903;the National Natural Science Foundation of China Granted No. 51490652;The Chongqing Institute of Geology and Mineral Resources supported this field work

摘　　要：Spontaneous imbibition of water-based frac- turing fluids into the shale matrix is considered to be the main mechanism responsible for the high volume of water loss during the flowback period. Understanding the matrix imbibition capacity and rate helps to determine the frac- turing fluid volume, optimize the flowback design, and to analyze the influences on the production of shale gas. Imbibition experiments were conducted on shale samples from the Sichuan Basin, and some tight sandstone samples from the Ordos Basin. Tight volcanic samples from the Songliao Basin were also investigated for comparison. The effects of porosity, clay minerals, surfactants, and KC1 solutions on the matrix imbibition capacity and rate were systematically investigated. The results show that the imbibition characteristic of tight rocks can be characterized by the imbibition curve shape, the imbibition capacity, the imbibition rate, and the diffusion rate. The driving forces of water imbibition are the capillary pressure and the clay absorption force. For the tight rocks with low clay contents, the imbibition capacity and rate are positively correlated with the porosity. For tight rocks with high clay content, the type and content of clay minerals are the most impor- tant factors affecting the imbibition capacity. The imbibed water volume normalized by the porosity increases with an increasing total clay content. Smectite and illite/smectite tend to greatly enhance the water imbibition capacity. Furthermore, clay-rich tight rocks can imbibe a volume of water greater than their measured pore volume. The aver- age ratio of the imbibed water volume to the pore volume is approximately 1.1 in the Niutitang shale, 1.9 in the Lujiaping shale, 2.8 in the Longmaxi shale, and 4.0 in the Yingcheng volcanic rock, and this ratio can be regarded as a parameter that indicates the influence of clay. In addition, surfactants can change the imbibition capacity due to alteration of the capillary pressure and wettability. A 10 wt% KC1 solution can inhibit cSpontaneous imbibition of water-based frac- turing fluids into the shale matrix is considered to be the main mechanism responsible for the high volume of water loss during the flowback period. Understanding the matrix imbibition capacity and rate helps to determine the frac- turing fluid volume, optimize the flowback design, and to analyze the influences on the production of shale gas. Imbibition experiments were conducted on shale samples from the Sichuan Basin, and some tight sandstone samples from the Ordos Basin. Tight volcanic samples from the Songliao Basin were also investigated for comparison. The effects of porosity, clay minerals, surfactants, and KC1 solutions on the matrix imbibition capacity and rate were systematically investigated. The results show that the imbibition characteristic of tight rocks can be characterized by the imbibition curve shape, the imbibition capacity, the imbibition rate, and the diffusion rate. The driving forces of water imbibition are the capillary pressure and the clay absorption force. For the tight rocks with low clay contents, the imbibition capacity and rate are positively correlated with the porosity. For tight rocks with high clay content, the type and content of clay minerals are the most impor- tant factors affecting the imbibition capacity. The imbibed water volume normalized by the porosity increases with an increasing total clay content. Smectite and illite/smectite tend to greatly enhance the water imbibition capacity. Furthermore, clay-rich tight rocks can imbibe a volume of water greater than their measured pore volume. The aver- age ratio of the imbibed water volume to the pore volume is approximately 1.1 in the Niutitang shale, 1.9 in the Lujiaping shale, 2.8 in the Longmaxi shale, and 4.0 in the Yingcheng volcanic rock, and this ratio can be regarded as a parameter that indicates the influence of clay. In addition, surfactants can change the imbibition capacity due to alteration of the capillary pressure and wettability. A 10 wt% KC1 solution can inhibit c

关 键 词：Imbibition . Shale Fracturing fluid Capillary pressure CLAY 

分 类 号：TE357.12[石油与天然气工程—油气田开发工程]