Nano-scale and Molecular Phenomena as New Unconventional Reservoir Physics

The molecular forces also play a significant role on fluid transport and could lead to potential non-Darcian flow effects. Osmosis of the injected water molecules leads to swelling of the clays in shale reservoirs and create a permeability skin near the fractures. During production, apparent gas permeability of the organic-rich shale and coal could experience non-Darcian (molecular transport) effects. These effects will be introduced using molecular simulations and laboratory measurements with core plugs under stress. The presentation will be concluded with a demonstration of the impact of the fracture skin and non-Darcian effects on the hydrocarbon reserves using new-generation reservoir flow simulation models.

Speaker: Yucel Akkutlu, Flotek Industries