The mechanism of porous reservoir permeability deterioration due to pore pressure decrease

Evgenii Kozhevnikov, Mikhail Turbakov, Evgenii Riabokon, Evgenii Gladkikh, Mikhail Guzev, Chengzhi Qi, Xiaozhao Li

Abstract view|74|times       PDF download|36|times

Abstract


This study investigates the causes of permeability decline in porous reservoirs under decreasing reservoir pressure by comparing laboratory experiments with well test data. Well tests indicate a greater sensitivity of permeability to pressure changes in reservoir formations compared to laboratory conditions and for this remain unclear. Field studies of permeability changes in northern Perm oil fields were conducted alongside laboratory experiments on core permeability under pressure. Results showed that highly permeable samples exhibited the greatest decline in permeability during elastic deformations, with reductions of 6% for limestones and 20% for sandstones. The relationship between permeability and purely elastic deformations for both rock types was accurately described by a power law. By comparing coefficients from field and lab studies, the mechanism of permeability decline in field conditions was established. A model incorporating elastic and plastic deformations of porous reservoirs was developed. The model considers the localization of plastic deformations in horizontal and vertical low-permeability deformation bands. Findings indicate that highly permeable formations are more susceptible to deformation band formation, particularly in thicker layers. The decrease in permeability was found to correlate strongly with the formation thickness, likely due to the formation of transverse deformation bands in pore layers.

Document Type: Original article

Cite as: Kozhevnikov, E., Turbakov, M., Riabokon, E., Gladkikh, E., Guzev, M., Qi, C., Li, X. The mechanism of porous reservoir permeability deterioration due to pore pressure decrease. Advances in Geo-Energy Research, 2024, 13(2): 96-105. https://doi.org/10.46690/ager.2024.08.04


Keywords


Permeability, effective pressure, reservoir deformation, core, deformation bands

Full Text:

PDF

References


Alkhasli, S., Zeynalov, G., Shahtakhtinskiy, A. Quantifying occurrence of deformation bands in sandstone as a function of structural and petrophysical factors and their impact on reservoir quality: An example from outcrop analog of Productive Series (Pliocene), South Caspian Basin. Journal of Petroleum Exploration and Production Technology, 2022, 12: 1977-1995.

Anyim, K., Gan, Q. Fault zone exploitation in geothermal reservoirs: Production optimization, permeability evolution and induced seismicity. Advances in Geo-Energy Research, 2020, 4(1): 1-12.

Asahina, D., Pan, P., Sato, M., et al. Hydraulic and mechanical responses of porous sandstone during pore pressure-induced reactivation of fracture planes: An experimental study. Rock Mechanics and Rock Engineering, 2019, 52: 1645-1656.

Bedrikovetsky, P., Vaz, A., Machado, F., et al. Skin due to fines mobilization, migration, and straining during steady-state oil production. Petroleum Science and Technology, 2012, 30(15): 1539-1547.

Bernabe, Y. The effective pressure law for permeability during pore pressure and confining pressure cycling of several crystalline rocks. Journal of Geophysical Research, 1987, 92(B1): 649-657.

Clauset, A., Shalizi, C. R., Newman, M. E. J. Power-law distributions in empirical data. SIAM Review, 2009, 51(4): 661-703.

Dobrynin, V. M. Effect of overburden pressure on some properties of sandstones. Society of Petroleum Engineers Journal, 1962, 2(4): 360-366.

Dyke, C. G., Dobereiner, L. Evaluating the strength and deformability of sandstones. Quarterly Journal of Engi neering Geology, 1991, 24: 123-134.

Hu, Z., Klaver, J., Schmatz, J., et al. Stress sensitivity of porosity and permeability of Cobourg limestone. Engineering Geology, 2020, 273: 105632.

Jiang, J., Yang, J. Coupled fluid flow and geomechanics modeling of stress-sensitive production behavior in fractured shale gas reservoirs. International Journal of Rock Mechanics and Mining Sciences, 2018, 101: 1-12.

Kilmer, N. H., Morrow, N. R., Pitman, J. K. Pressure sensitivity of low permeability sandstones, Journal of Petroleum Science and Engineering, 1987, 1(1): 65-81.

Kozhevnikov, E. V., Riabokon, E. P., Turbakov, M. S. A model of reservoir permeability evolution during oil production. Energies, 2021a, 14(9): 2695.

Kozhevnikov, E. V., Turbakov, M. S., Gladkikh, E. A., et al. Colloidal-induced permeability degradation assessment of porous media. Géotechnique Letters, 2022a, 12(3): 217-224.

Kozhevnikov, E. V., Turbakov, M. S., Gladkikh, E. P., et al. Colloid migration as a reason for porous sandstone permeability degradation during coreflooding. Energies, 2022b, 15(8): 2845.

Kozhevnikov, E. V., Turbakov, M. S., Riabokon, E. P., et al. Effect of effective pressure on the permeability of rocks based on well testing results. Energies, 2021b, 14(8): 2306.

Kozhevnikov, E. V., Turbakov, M. S., Riabokon, E. P., et al. Apparent permeability evolution due to colloid migration under cyclic confining pressure: On the example of porous limestone. Transport in Porous Media, 2023, 151: 263-286.

Kozhevnikov, E. V., Turbakov, M. S., Riabokon, E. P., et al. Rock permeability evolution during cyclic loading and colloid migration after saturation and drying. Advances in Geo-Energy Research, 2024, 11(3): 208-219.

Lei, G., Liao, Q., Lin, Q., et al. Stress dependent gas-water relative permeability in gas hydrates: A theoretical model. Advances in Geo-Energy Research, 2020a, 4(3): 326-338.

Lei, G., Liao, Q., Zhang, D., et al. A mechanistic model for permeability in deformable gas hydrate-bearing sediments. Journal of Natural Gas Science and Engineering, 2020b, 83: 103554.

Lothe, A. E., Gabrielsen, R. H., Hagen, N. B., et al. An experimental study of the texture of deformation bands: effects on the porosity and permeability of sandstones. Petroleum Geoscience, 2002, 8: 195-207.

Ma, D., Miao, X., Chen, Z., et al. Experimental investigation of seepage properties of fractured rocks under different confining pressures. Rock Mechanics and Rock Engineering, 2013, 46: 1135-1144.

Main, I. G., Kwon, O., Ngwenya, B. T., et al. Fault sealing during deformation-band growth in porous sandstone. Geology, 2000, 28(12): 1131-1134.

Ngwenya, B. T., Kwon, O., Elphick, S. C., et al. Permeability evolution during progressive development of deformation bands in porous sandstones. Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth, 2003, 108(B7): 2343.

Nolte, S., Fink, R., Krooss, B. M., et al. Simultaneous determination of the effective stress coefficients for permeability and volumetric strain on a tight sandstone. Journal of Natural Gas Science and Engineering, 2021, 95: 104186.

Raziperchikolaee, S. Impact of stress dependence of elastic moduli and poroelastic constants on earth surface uplift due to injection. Advances in Geo-Energy Research, 2023, 10(1): 56-64.

Sigal, R. F. The pressure dependence of permeability. Petro-physics, 2002, 43(2): 92-102.

Sulem, J., Ouffroukh, H. Shear banding in drained and undrained triaxial tests on a saturated sandstone: Porosity and permeability evolution. International Journal of Rock Mechanics and Mining Sciences, 2006, 43(2): 292-310.

Terzaghi, C. Principles of soil mechanics: VI-Elastic behavior of sand and clay. Engineering News-Record, 1925, 95: 987-990.

Turbakov, M. S., Kozhevnikov, E. V., Riabokon, E. P., et al. Permeability evolution of porous sandstone in the initial period of oil production: Comparison of well test and coreflooding data. Energies, 2022, 15(17): 6137.

Wang, D., Qian, Q., Zhong, A., et al. Numerical modeling of micro-particle migration in channels. Advances in Geo-Energy Research, 2023, 10(2): 117-132.




DOI: https://doi.org/10.46690/ager.2024.08.04

Refbacks

  • There are currently no refbacks.


Copyright (c) 2024 The Author(s)

Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Copyright ©2018. All Rights Reserved