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Erations Conducted in Shale Reservoirs Create Extensive Fracture Networks to Enhance Recovery of Hydrocarbons from Low Permeability Shale Reservoirs

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Erations Conducted in Shale Reservoirs Create Extensive Fracture Networks to Enhance Recovery of Hydrocarbons from Low Permeability Shale Reservoirs University of Alberta An Experimental Study of Spontaneous Imbibition in Horn River Shales by Kaiyrzhan Khalilullaevich Makhanov A thesis submitted to the Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Petroleum Engineering Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering ©Kaiyrzhan Khalilullaevich Makhanov Fall 2013 Edmonton, Alberta Permission is hereby granted to the University of Alberta Libraries to reproduce single copies of this thesis and to lend or sell such copies for private, scholarly or scientific research purposes only. Where the thesis is converted to, or otherwise made available in digital form, the University of Alberta will advise potential users of the thesis of these terms. The author reserves all other publication and other rights in association with the copyright in the thesis and, except as herein before provided, neither the thesis nor any substantial portion thereof may be printed or otherwise reproduced in any material form whatsoever without the author's prior written permission. Abstract Massive hydraulic fracturing operations conducted in shale reservoirs create extensive fracture networks to enhance recovery of hydrocarbons from low permeability shale reservoirs. Fluid invasion into the shale matrix is identified as one of the possible mechanisms leading to low fracturing fluid recovery after the fracturing operations. Studying the mechanisms of liquid imbibition into shale matrix is essential for understanding the fate of non-recovered fracturing fluid that can eventually lead to better utilization of water resources by reducing cost and environmental impact. This study aims to investigate effects of base fluid type (aqueous vs. oleic phase), polymer enhanced viscosity, salinity and surfactants in aqueous solutions on the imbibition rate in actual shale samples. The shale samples were collected from Fort Simpson, Muskwa and Otter Park formations, all belong to greater the Horn River Basin. The samples were characterised by measuring porosity, wettability (through contact angle measurements), mineralogy (through XRD analysis), TOC, and interpreting wire line log data. We find that imbibition rate of aqueous phase is higher than that of oleic phase. Moreover, we find that imbibition rates of KCl brine, surfactants and viscous polymer solutions are lower than that of fresh water. We find that dimensionless time used to model spontaneous imbibition in conventional rocks requires specific adjustments for application in shales. Based on applied upscaling method, it was found that spontaneous imbibition can cause significant water loss at the field scale during shut-in period after hydraulic fracturing. AKNOWLEDGEMENTS It is with tremendous gratitude that I acknowledge the support and help of my supervisors Dr. Ergun Kuru and Dr. Hassan Dehghanpour for their valuable guidance, support and engagement through the learning process of this master thesis. I wish to express my appreciation for their positive outlook and confidence in my research that inspired me and gave me motivation. Their kindness and encouragement will be always remembered. Furthermore, I would like to express my deepest gratitude to my family, who has supported me throughout the entire process of studying. I will be grateful forever for their love, understanding and encouragement. I am grateful to the people who helped me make my stay enjoyable through the duration of my studies in Canada. Special thanks to all my graduate friends and housemates. Not forgetting to my best friends who always been there. Their friendship has made my life so much interesting and memorable. I would like to thank the Bolashak International Scholarship Program for providing the constant support and financial assistance. I thank BC Ministry of Energy and Mines, the Oil and Gas Commission for providing core samples of the Horn River basin. I acknowledge Nexen, FMC Technologies and Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) for measurement and provision of the field data. I also acknowledge Dr. Dipo Omotoso for analyzing the XRD data and Engineering Technologist Mr. Todd Kinnee for his help and assistance in conducting laboratory experiments. Without them all this study would not have been successful. TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. INTRODUCTION……………………………………………………………...1 1.1 Overview and Background ............................................................. ................. 1 1.2 Statement of the Problem ............................................................................ .................... 4 1.3 Objectives of the Research.......................................................................... .................... 5 1.4 Methodology of the Research......................................................... ................. 5 1.5 Structure of the Thesis .................................................................... ................. 6 2. LITERATURE REVIEW………………………………….……………………..….8 2.1 Overview of Unconventional Resources ....................................... ................. 8 2.2.1 Hydraulic Fracturing Technique.......................................... ................. 9 2.2.2 Problems Associated with Hydraulic Fracturing of Shale Formations .................................................................................................. ............... 10 2.2 Overview of the Horn River Basin Shale ...................................... ............... 12 2.2.1 Origins and Geology ............................................................ ............... 12 2.2.2 Marketable Reserves ............................................................ ............... 14 2.3 Specific Shale Properties ................................................................ ............... 15 2.4 Fracturing Fluid Compositions ...................................................... ............... 16 2.4.1 Water Based Fluids .............................................................. ............... 17 2.4.2 Additives to Water-Based Fluids......................................... ............... 19 2.4.3 Oil Based Fluids ................................................................... ............... 20 2.5 Scaling of Spontaneous Imbibition ................................................ ............... 21 2.5.1 Handy Models ....................................................................... ............... 22 2.5.2 Li and Horne Model ............................................................. ............... 22 2.5.3 Schmid and Geiger Model ................................................... ............... 23 2.6 Estimation of Water Loss at the Field Scale ................................. ............... 25 3. PETROPHYSICAL CHARACTERIZATION OF SHALE CORES…………26 3.1 Wire Line Log Interpretations................ .................. ................... ............... 26 3.2 Total Organic Carbon (TOC) ................. .................. ................... ............... 29 3.3 XRD Analysis ......................................... .................. ................... ............... 30 3.4 Porosity Determination ........................... .................. ................... ............... 31 3.5 Contact Angle Measurements ................ .................. ................... ............... 32 4. SPONTANEOUS IMBIBITION EXPERIMENTS……………..……………....34 4.1 Materials Used ............................................................................................... 34 4.1.1 Imbibing Fluids ................................................................................ 34 4.1.2 Epoxy Seal ........................................................................................ 36 4.2 Shale Samples ................................................................................................ 36 4.3 Experimental Setup ........................................................................................ 40 4.4 Experimental Procedure ................................................................................ 40 4.4.1 Sample Preparation Procedure ........................................................ 40 4.4.2 Core Imbibition Procedure .............................................................. 41 5. IMBIBITION EXPERIMENTS: RESULTS AND DISCUSSION………...…42 5.1 Imbibition of Aqueous Solutions .................................................................. 42 5.1.1 Fresh Water Imbibition Tests ........................................................... 42 5.1.2 Effects of Brine Solution Imbibition ................................................ 44 5.1.3 Effects of Surfactant Solutions Imbibition ...................................... 47 5.1.4 Effects of Xanthan Gum Polymer Solution Imbibition .................. 51 5.2 Imbibition of Oleic Phase ............................................................................... 54 5.3 Anisotropy in Shale Samples ......................................................................... 57 6. IMBIBITION SCALING RESULTS……………………………..…………...61 6.1 Dimensionless Scaling of Spontaneous Imbibition ....................................... 61 6.1.1 Dimensionless Time Formulation ..................................................... 61 6.1.2 Analyses of Lab Data by Using Dimensionless Time ..................... 62 6.1.3 Results of Spontaneous Imbibition Scaling ...................................... 66 6.1.4 Discussions of Dimensionless Scaling Results .................................. 80 6.2 Fluid
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