Stress Sensitivity And Flow Characteristics Of Shale Oil Reservoirs

Understanding the in-situ matrix permeability and how it evolves during production is of great importance for shale reservoir characterization and is essential for accurate production forecasting.Once the hydraulic fracture has been created,subsequent production requires flow of hydrocarbons through the shale matrix into the fractures.Furthermore,hydrocarbon production process will change the effective stress of the reservoir.The effective-stress effect may have great impact on the aperture of flow paths and the fluid flow.Therefore,the stress sensitivity of the permeability of a shale reservoir has to be taken into account in the modelling of the permeability evolution and production forecasting.To better understand how permeability evolves with effective stress,we have conducted laboratory experiments with different shale core samples and analysis the permeability and porosity depletion effect on the production process and built single well production model considering the stress sensitivity effect.Organic-rich shale oil reservoirs have various complexities related to the physics of oil storage and transport.The shale matrix has a complex pore structure,with sizes ranging from nanometers to micrometers.Oil flow in shale is a poorly understood and potentially complex phenomenon.Here we present an imbibition method to analysis the flow characteristics and address the effect of dissolved oil volume on the nanopore storage capacity.Understanding oil storage and transport mechanisms in shale is crucial for reservoir estimation and oil production forecast.