Effect of polymer on disproportionate permeability reduction to gas and water for fractured shales

Author

Lingbo Liu

Abstract

"Large volumes of fracturing fluid are required in shale slickwater fracs, and a considerable amount of polymer friction reducer would remain in microfractures if the polymer has not been broken before gas production. It is of major interest to evaluate the effect of polymer on water/gas flow behavior in the microfractures of shale reservoirs. We fabricated six shale fracture models with different fracture widths and set up a core flooding apparatus to conduct brine/gas-injection experiments before and after polymer treatment. A method by which to calculate the residual resistance factor for gas (F_rr,gas) was defined. The experimental results illustrate that polymer can reduce the permeability to water more than to gas. In the first cycle of brine/gas injection experiments after polymer treatment, the residual resistance factor for brine (F_rr,water) and F_rr,gas exhibited power-law characteristics through their shear rate and superficial gas velocity, respectively. The F_rr,water and F_rr,gas tended to decrease as the fracture width grew. Surprisingly, the F_rr,gas was less than one in larger fractures in which F_rr,gas tended to stabilize after polymer treatment, which indicates that polymer treatment does not impair gas flow in wider fractures, and may even improve it. The mechanisms responsible for disproportionate permeability reduction (DPR) in the fractured shales were proposed in this paper."--Abstract, page iii.

Advisor(s)

Bai, Baojun

Committee Member(s)

Bai, Baojun
Wei, Mingzhen
Song, Zhaojie

Department(s)

Geosciences and Geological and Petroleum Engineering

Degree Name

M.S. in Petroleum Engineering

Publisher

Missouri University of Science and Technology

Publication Date

Spring 2015

Pagination

xii, 76 pages

Note about bibliography

Includes bibliographical references (pages 71-75).

Rights

© 2015 Lingbo Liu, All rights reserved.

Document Type

Thesis - Open Access

File Type

text

Language

English

Subject Headings

Permeability -- TestingOil fields -- Production methodsOil saturation in reservoirsPolymers -- Analysis

Thesis Number

T 10683

Electronic OCLC #

913486709

Recommended Citation

Liu, Lingbo, "Effect of polymer on disproportionate permeability reduction to gas and water for fractured shales" (2015). Masters Theses. 7405.
https://scholarsmine.mst.edu/masters_theses/7405