Assessment of Tight Rock Wettability by Spontaneous Imbibition at Elevated Pressures
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University of Calgary PRISM: University of Calgary's Digital Repository Graduate Studies The Vault: Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2019-01-23 Assessment of Tight Rock Wettability by Spontaneous Imbibition at Elevated Pressures Sánchez Martinez, John Jairo Sánchez Martinez, J. J. (2019). Assessment of Tight Rock Wettability by Spontaneous Imbibition at Elevated Pressures (Unpublished master's thesis). University of Calgary, Calgary, AB. http://hdl.handle.net/1880/109505 master thesis University of Calgary graduate students retain copyright ownership and moral rights for their thesis. You may use this material in any way that is permitted by the Copyright Act or through licensing that has been assigned to the document. For uses that are not allowable under copyright legislation or licensing, you are required to seek permission. Downloaded from PRISM: https://prism.ucalgary.ca UNIVERSITY OF CALGARY Assessment of Tight Rock Wettability by Spontaneous Imbibition at Elevated Pressures by John Jairo Sánchez Martínez A THESIS SUBMITTED TO THE FACULTY OF GRADUATE STUDIES IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF SCIENCE GRADUATE PROGRAM IN CHEMICAL ENGINEERING CALGARY, ALBERTA JANUARY, 2019 © John Jairo Sánchez Martínez 2019 Abstract Wettability is an important reservoir property and must be well understood as it gives an indication of how fluids are distributed through the porous media. In tight reservoirs, which generally have been produced using hydraulic fracturing, the wettability evaluation becomes even more important for enhancing oil recovery, as it is a reference point for understanding the interaction between the fracturing fluids and the reservoir, to then be able to alter the rock wettability tendency into a more water-wet system by using appropriate fracturing fluids that would displace the oil into the matrix to the fractures by spontaneous imbibition. It is known that the wettability evaluation of a reservoir is affected by multiple factors (core preservation state, fluid properties, temperature and pressure), and that the most representative results are obtained by using conditions as similar to the reservoir as possible. However, different than conventional reservoirs, in tight media reservoirs the measurement of wettability and its alteration become even more challenging, basically due to its low porosity and permeability, and also due to its mineralogical heterogeneity. As a first approach for evaluating the wettability tendency of tight media reservoirs as close as possible to the reservoir conditions, a novel apparatus and methodology were designed in this thesis for assessing the wettability tendency of tight media samples by spontaneous imbibition tests at elevated pressures. Furthermore, the wettability tendency of four tight media core plugs from the Lower Shaunavon reservoir were evaluated by multiple spontaneous imbibition tests at atmospheric and elevated pressures. Keywords: Wettability, spontaneous imbibition, elevated pressure, tight media reservoirs. ii Acknowledgements First, I thank God for all his blessings. In addition, I want to thank my supervisor, Dr. Apostolos Kantzas for his continuous support and guidance. I am also grateful with Department of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering at the University of Calgary, for accepting me in the Master of Science program. Finally, I want to thank all people from PERM Inc. and specially Lilly Yu for her collaboration and guidance. iii Dedication This thesis is dedicated to God, my son Santiago, my daughter Lucía and my wife Carolina; to my parents, Jairo and Ligia; and to my mother in law, Ruth. iv Table of Contents Abstract .............................................................................................................................. ii Acknowledgements .......................................................................................................... iii Dedication ......................................................................................................................... iv Table of Contents ...............................................................................................................v List of Tables ................................................................................................................... vii List of Figures and Illustrations ................................................................................... viii List of Symbols, Abbreviations and Nomenclature ...................................................... xi 1. Chapter One: Introduction ....................................................................................12 2.1. Lower Shaunavon Reservoir ...............................................................................13 2. Chapter Two: Literature Review ..........................................................................16 2.1. Wettability ............................................................................................................16 2.1.1. Classification..........................................................................................16 2.1.2. Wettability Measurement Methods at Atmospheric Conditions ......17 Traditional .........................................................................................................17 Modern ..............................................................................................................22 2.2. Tight Media Wettability Survey .........................................................................24 2.2.1. Montney .................................................................................................25 2.2.2. Bakken....................................................................................................27 2.2.3. Duvernay ................................................................................................30 2.3. Wettability Measurements Methods at High Pressure and High Temperature35 2.3.1. High Temperature.................................................................................35 2.3.2. High Pressure ........................................................................................36 2.3.3. High Temperature and Pressure .........................................................38 3. Chapter Three: Methodology ................................................................................42 3.1. Apparatus Design .................................................................................................42 3.1.1. Equipment..............................................................................................43 Sight Glass Cell .................................................................................................44 Cathetometer .....................................................................................................45 3.2. Materials ...............................................................................................................46 3.2.1. Fluids ......................................................................................................46 Oil .................................................................................................................47 Brine .................................................................................................................47 Fluids Properties ...............................................................................................47 3.2.2. Rock Samples.........................................................................................48 3.3. Experiment Design ...............................................................................................50 3.3.1. Spontaneous Imbibition at Elevated Pressures Design .....................51 Samples Restoration ..........................................................................................51 Spontaneous Imbibition at Elevated Pressures ...............................................61 3.3.2. Spontaneous Imbibition Tests ..............................................................67 4. Chapter Four: Results ............................................................................................69 4.1. Berea Sandstone Samples ....................................................................................69 v 4.1.1. Cleaned Samples ...................................................................................69 4.1.2. Restored Samples ..................................................................................70 Atmospheric Pressure Spontaneous Imbibition ..............................................71 High Pressure Spontaneous Imbibition ...........................................................71 4.2. Shaunavon Samples .............................................................................................73 4.2.1. Cleaned Samples ...................................................................................73 4.2.2. Brine Saturated Samples ......................................................................74 Oil Spontaneous Imbibition ..............................................................................74 4.2.3. Restored Samples ..................................................................................75 Atmospheric Pressure Spontaneous Imbibition ..............................................76 High Pressure Spontaneous Imbibition ...........................................................76 4.3. Wettability Assessment Summary ......................................................................78