scholarly journals Pore Structure and Fractal Characteristics of Organic-Rich Lacustrine Shales of the Kongdian Formation, Cangdong Sag, Bohai Bay Basin

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shouxu Pan ◽  
Ming Zha ◽  
Changhai Gao ◽  
Jiangxiu Qu ◽  
Xiujian Ding

In order to examine the pore structure and reveal the fractal geometric nature of shales, a series of laboratory experiments were conducted on lacustrine shale samples cored from the Kongdian Formation. Based on the low temperature nitrogen adsorption, fluorescent thin section and field emission scanning electronic microscope, a comprehensive pore structure classification and evaluation were conducted on shale samples. Fractal dimensions D1 and D2 (with relative pressure of 0–0.45 and 0.45–1.00, respectively) were obtained from the nitrogen adsorption data using the fractal Frenkel-Halsey-Hill (FHH) method. With additional means of X-ray diffraction analysis, total organic carbon content analysis and thermal maturity analysis, the relationships between pore structure parameters, fractal dimensions, TOC content and mineral composition are presented and discussed in this paper. The results show that interparticle pores and microfractures are predominant, whereas organic matter pores are rarely found. The pore morphology is primarily featured with wide-open ends and slit-shaped structures. In terms of pore scale, mesopores and macropores are predominant. The value of fractal dimension D1 representing small pores ranges from 2.0173 to 2.4642 with an average of 2.1735. The value of D2 which represents large pores ranges from 2.3616 to 2.5981 with an average of 2.4960. These low numbers are an indication of few pore types and relatively low heterogeneity. In addition, smaller D1 values reveal that large pores have more complicated spatial structures than smaller ones. The results of correlation analysis show that: 1) D2 is correlated positively with specific surface area but negatively with average pore diameter; 2) D1 and D2 literally show no obvious relationship with mineral composition, TOC content or vitrinite reflectance (Ro); 3) both total Barrett-Joyner-Halenda (BJH) volume and specific surface area show a positive relationship with dolomite content and a negative relationship with felsic minerals content. These results demonstrate that the pore types are relatively few and dominated by mesopores, and the content of brittle minerals such as dolomite and felsic minerals control the pore structure development whilst organic matter and clay minerals have less influence due to low thermal maturity and abundance of clay minerals.

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
pp. 682-692
Author(s):  
Youzhi Wang ◽  
Cui Mao

The pore structure characteristic is an important index to measure and evaluate the storage capacity and fracturing coal reservoir. The coal of Baliancheng coalfield in Hunchun Basin was selected for experiments including low temperature nitrogen adsorption method, Argon Ion milling Scanning Electron Microscopy (Ar-SEM), Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR), X-ray diffraction method, quantitative mineral clay analysis method. The pore structure of coal was quantitatively characterized by means of fractal theory. Meanwhile, the influences of pores fractal dimension were discussed with experiment data. The results show that the organic pores in Baliancheng coalfield are mainly plant tissue pores, interparticle pores and gas pores, and the mineral pores are corrosion pores and clay mineral pores. There are mainly slit pore and wedge-shaped pore in curve I of Low temperature nitrogen adsorption. There are ink pores in curve II with characteristics of a large specific surface area and average pore diameter. The two peaks of NMR T2 spectrum indicate that the adsorption pores are relatively developed and their connectivity is poor. The three peaks show the seepage pores and cracks well developed, which are beneficial to improve the porosity and permeability of coal reservoir. When the pore diameter is 2–100 nm, the fractal dimensions D1 and D2 obtained by nitrogen adsorption experiment. there are positive correlations between water content and specific surface area and surface fractal dimension D1, The fractal dimension D2 was positively and negatively correlated with ash content and average pore diameters respectively. The fractal dimensions DN1 and DN2 were obtained by using the NMR in the range of 0.1 μm˜10 μm. DN1 are positively correlated with specific surface area of adsorption pores. DN2 are positively correlated volume of seepage pores. The fractal dimension DM and dissolution hole fractal dimension Dc were calculated by SEM image method, respectively controlled by clay mineral and feldspar content. There is a remarkable positive correlation between D1 and DN1 and Langmuir volume of coal, so fractal dimension can effectively quantify the adsorption capacity of coal.


2021 ◽  
Vol 2021 ◽  
pp. 1-13
Author(s):  
Yao Cheng ◽  
Yifeng Xie ◽  
Yulin Ma ◽  
Yanlin Zhao

In this study, the pore structure and fractal characteristics of shale samples with different bedding directions and sizes from the Longmaxi Formation of the Changning block in the Sichuan Basin were investigated by using CT imaging and low-temperature nitrogen adsorption experiments. The pore morphology, pore structure characteristics, relationships between the fractal dimensions and pore parameters, and effect of the size and bedding direction on pore morphology and various pore parameters were explored. In terms of pore structure characteristics, we found that the pores of shale samples were well developed and connected, forming a large number of pore clusters. The pores were mainly open pores and mesopores, which contributed the most to the specific surface area of the pores. Two fractal dimensions D1 and D2 were calculated from nitrogen adsorption data at relative pressures of 0–0.45 and 0.45–1, using the FHH method. These fractal dimensions characterized the pore surface and pore structure complexity, respectively. D1 ranged from 2.773 to 2.923, with a mean value of 2.821, and D2 varied from 2.853 to 2.899, with a mean value of 2.874. These variations indicated that there were irregular pore surfaces and sophisticated pore structures in the shale. The sample size and bedding direction had a significant impact on pore morphology and various pore parameters. Several pore characteristics of the vertical samples were superior to those of the horizontal samples. With an increase in size, the pore distribution became more uniform, the number of pore clusters increased, and the connectivity between pore clusters was enhanced. There was a good positive correlation between the fractal dimension D2 and specific surface area and moderate positive correlation between D2 and porosity and between D2 and pore volume. However, the fractal dimension D1 had a weak negative correlation with porosity and specific surface area and moderate negative correlation with pore volume. Moreover, both D1 and D2 tended to decrease with increasing average pore diameter.


Minerals ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 377
Author(s):  
Zhelin Wang ◽  
Xuewei Jiang ◽  
Mao Pan ◽  
Yongmin Shi

Fractal dimension is a critical parameter to evaluate the heterogeneity of complex pore structure in tight sandstone gas and other low permeability reservoirs. To quantify the fractal dimension of tight sandstone at various pore size classes and evaluate their implications on mineral composition and nano pore structure parameters, we conducted an integrated approach of N2 adsorption/desorption experiment (N2-GA), X-ray diffraction (X-RD), and field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM) on Sulige tight sandstone reservoirs. By comparing the nine types of fractal dimensions calculated from N2 adsorption data, we put forward the concept of “concentrated” fractal dimensions and “scattered” fractal dimensions (DN2, DN3, DN5, DN7 and DN8) for the first time according to its concentration extent of distribute in different samples. Result shows that mineral composition has a significant influence of a different level on specific surface area (SSA), pore volume (PV), and fractal dimensions (DN), respectively, where the “scattered” fractal dimension is more sensitive to certain specific property of the reservoir, including mineral content and the specific surface area contribution rate (Sr) of type II mesopores (Mesopore-II: 10~50nm). In addition, three type of hysteresis loops were distinguished corresponding to different pore shape combination of N2-GA isotherm curve, which reveals that pore structure heterogeneity is mainly controlled by inkbottle-shaped pores and the volume contribution rate (Vr) of mesopores in this study area. These findings could contribute to a better understanding of the controlling effect of pore heterogeneity on natural gas storage and adsorption.


Minerals ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 298
Author(s):  
Chenlong Ding ◽  
Jinxian He ◽  
Hongchen Wu ◽  
Xiaoli Zhang

Ordos Basin is an important continental shale gas exploration site in China. The micropore structure of the shale reservoir is of great importance for shale gas evaluation. The Taiyuan Formation of the lower Permian is the main exploration interval for this area. To examine the nanometer pore structures in the Taiyuan Formation shale reservoirs in the Lin-Xing area, Northern Shaanxi, the microscopic pore structure characteristics were analyzed via nitrogen adsorption experiments. The pore structure parameters, such as specific surface area, pore volume, and aperture distribution, of shale were calculated; the significance of the pore structure for shale gas storage was analyzed; and the main controlling factors of pore development were assessed. The results indicated the surface area and hole volume of the shale sample to be 0.141–2.188 m2/g and 0.001398–0.008718 cm3/g, respectively. According to the IUPAC (International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry) classification, mesopores and macropores were dominant in the pore structure, with the presence of a certain number of micropores. The adsorption curves were similar to the standard IV (a)-type isotherm line, and the hysteresis loop type was mainly similar to H3 and H4 types, indicating that most pores are dominated by open type pores, such as parallel plate-shaped pores and wedge-shaped slit pores. The micropores and mesopores provide the vast majority of the specific surface area, functioning as the main area for the adsorption of gas in the shale. The mesopores and macropores provide the vast majority of the pore volume, functioning as the main storage areas for the gas in the shale. Total organic carbon had no notable linear correlation with the total pore volume and the specific surface area. Vitrinite reflectance (Ro) had no notable correlation with the specific surface area, but did have a low “U” curve correlation with the total pore volume. There was no relationship between the quartz content and specific surface area and total pore volume. In addition, there was no notable correlation between the clay mineral content and total specific surface area and total pore volume.


Geofluids ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 2021 ◽  
pp. 1-16
Author(s):  
Weiwei Liu ◽  
Kun Zhang ◽  
Qianwen Li ◽  
Zhanhai Yu ◽  
Sihong Cheng ◽  
...  

Due to the specificity of the geological background, terrestrial strata are widely distributed in the major hydrocarbon-bearing basins in China. In addition, terrestrial shales are generally featured with high thickness, multiple layers, high TOC content, ideal organic matter types, and moderate thermal evolution, laying a solid material foundation for hydrocarbon generation. However, the quantitative characterization study on their pore structure remains inadequate. In this study, core samples were selected from the Middle Jurassic Lianggaoshan Formation in the southeastern Sichuan Basin of the Upper Yangtze Region for analyses on its TOC content and mineral composition. Besides, experiments including oil washing, the adsorption/desorption of CO2 and nitrogen, and high-pressure mercury pressure experiments were carried out. The pore structure of different petrographic types of terrestrial shales can be accurately and quantitatively characterized with these works. The following conclusions were drawn: for organic-rich mixed shales and organic-rich clay shales, the TOC content is the highest; the pore volume, which is primarily provided by macropores and specific surface area, which is provided by mesopores, was the largest, thus providing more space for shale oil and gas reservation. The pores take on a shape either close to a parallel plate slit or close to or of an ink bottle. For organic-matter-bearing shales, both the pore volume and specific surface area are the second-largest and are provided by the same sized pores with organic-rich mixed shales. Its pores take on a shape approximating either a parallel plate slit or an ink bottle. Organic-matter-bearing mixed shales have the lowest pore volume and specific surface area; its pore volume is primarily provided by macropores, and the specific surface area by mesopores and the shape of the pores are close to an ink bottle.


Fractals ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 26 (02) ◽  
pp. 1840016 ◽  
Author(s):  
JUN LIU ◽  
YANBIN YAO ◽  
DAMENG LIU ◽  
YIDONG CAI ◽  
JIANCHAO CAI

Fractal characterization offers a quantitative evaluation on the heterogeneity of pore structure which greatly affects gas adsorption and transportation in shales. To compare the fractal characteristics between marine and continental shales, nine samples from the Lower Silurian Longmaxi formation in the Sichuan basin and nine from the Middle Jurassic Dameigou formation in the Qaidam basin were collected. Reservoir properties and fractal dimensions were characterized for all the collected samples. In this study, fractal dimensions were originated from the Frenkel–Halsey–Hill (FHH) model with N[Formula: see text] adsorption data. Compared to continental shale, marine shale has greater values of quartz content, porosity, specific surface area and total pore volume but lower level of clay minerals content, permeability, average pore diameter and methane adsorption capacity. The quartz in marine shale is mostly associated with biogenic origin, while that in continental shale is mainly due to terrigenous debris. The N[Formula: see text] adsorption–desorption isotherms exhibit that marine shale has fewer inkbottle-shaped pores but more plate-like and slit-shaped pores than continental shale. Two fractal dimensions ([Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text] were obtained at [Formula: see text] of 0–0.5 and 0.5–1. The dimension [Formula: see text] is commonly greater than [Formula: see text], suggesting that larger pores (diameter [Formula: see text][Formula: see text]nm) have more complex structures than small pores (diameter [Formula: see text][Formula: see text]nm). The fractal dimensions (both [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text]) positively correlate to clay minerals content, specific surface area and methane adsorption capacity, but have negative relationships with porosity, permeability and average pore diameter. The fractal dimensions increase proportionally with the increasing quartz content in marine shale but have no obvious correlation with that in continental shale. The dimension [Formula: see text] is correlative to the TOC content and permeability of marine shale at a similar degree with dimension [Formula: see text], while the dimension [Formula: see text] is more sensitive to those of continental shale than dimension [Formula: see text]. Compared with dimension [Formula: see text], for two shales, dimension [Formula: see text] is better associated with the content of clay minerals but has worse correlations with the specific surface area and average pore diameter.


Minerals ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 51
Author(s):  
Xing Niu ◽  
Detian Yan ◽  
Mingyi Hu ◽  
Zixuan Liu ◽  
Xiaosong Wei ◽  
...  

Investigating the impacts of rock composition on pore structure is of great significance to understand shale gas occurrence and gas accumulation mechanism. Shale samples from over-mature Niutitang formation of Lower Cambrian in south China were measured by X-ray diffraction (XRD), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), low pressure N2 and CO2 adsorption to elucidate the controls of distinct mineral composition on pore development. Two distinct lithofacies, namely siliceous shale and argillaceous shale, were ascertained based on their mineral composition. Due to the variability of mineral composition in different lithofacies, pore structure characteristics are not uniform. Pores in siliceous shales are dominated by interparticle pores and organic matter (OM) pores, among which the interparticle pores are mainly developed between authigenic quartz. Furthermore, most of these interparticle pores and cleavage-sheet intraparticle pores within clay minerals are usually filled by amorphous organic matter that is host to OM pores. Due to the lack of rigid minerals, argillaceous shale was cemented densely, resulting in few interparticle pores, while cleavage-sheet intraparticle pores within clay minerals are common. Comparing siliceous shales with argillaceous shales, specific surface areas and pore volumes are higher on the former than on the latter. The content of total organic carbon (TOC) and authigenic quartz have a great influence on micropore structures, but less on mesopore structure for siliceous shales. The rigid framework structure formed by authigenic quartz is believed to be able to prevent primary interparticle pores from mechanical compaction and facilitate the formation of organic matter-associated pores. In terms of argillaceous shales, due to the lack of authigenic quartz, interparticle pores were rarely developed and its pore structure is mainly controlled by illite content.


2021 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peng Li ◽  
Zhongbao Liu ◽  
Haikuan Nie ◽  
Xinping Liang ◽  
Qianwen Li ◽  
...  

The lacustrine shale in the Dongyuemiao Member of the Fuling area, Sichuan Basin, is widely distributed and has huge shale oil resource potential. It is one of the important replacement areas for shale oil exploration in China. To investigate the key shale oil evaluation well, Well FY10, in the Fuling area, X-ray diffraction (XRD) mineral analysis, Rock-Eval, argon ion polishing-scanning electron microscope (SEM), Mercury injection capillary pressure (MICP), and low pressure nitrogen adsorption were launched to determine the heterogeneity of the pore system in the lacustrine shale of the Dongyuemiao Member. The mineral composition exhibits a high degree of heterogeneity, and the shale can be divided into two main lithofacies: argillaceous shale and mixed shale. The porosity ranges from 2.95 to 8.43%, and the permeability ranges from 0.05 to 1.07 × 10−3 μm2. The physical properties of mixed shale are obviously better than those of argillaceous shale. Inorganic mineral pores, such as linear pores between clay minerals and calcite dissolution pores, are mainly developed, while a small amount of organic pores can be observed. The average total pore volume (Vp) is 0.038 ml/g with an average specific surface area of 5.38 m2/g. Mesopores provide the main Vp (average 61.72%), and micropores provide mostly specific surface area. TOC imposes a strong controlling effect on the development of micropores. Clay minerals are the main contributors to mesopores and macropores. The organic-inorganic interaction during the process of diagenesis and hydrocarbon generation controls the formation of shale pore systems.


2021 ◽  
pp. 1-67
Author(s):  
Zhikai Liang ◽  
Zhenxue Jiang ◽  
Zhuo Li ◽  
Fenglin Gao ◽  
Chengxi Wang ◽  
...  

The stock of shale gas in the Shahezi shale reservoir in Changling fault depression, Songliao basin is believed to be worth exploring. To conduct an in-depth study on the pore structure and fractal characterization of organic matter (OM) can help better understand the pore system of shale reservoir, which has implications for the exploration of lacustrine shale. In order to demonstrate the nanoscale pore structure and irregularity of the isolated OM, we collected a large number of samples and then conducted a series of laboratory experiments, such as the XRD, SEM, CO2, and N2 adsorption experiments conducted to determine the pore structure parameters and reveal their heterogeneity according to FHH theory. As suggested by the experimental results, the pore volume of the isolated OM ranges between 0.034 and 0.056 cm3/g, which is approximately 0.90-3.06 times that of bulk shale samples. As for the fractal dimensions D1 (2.594 on average) and D2 (2.657 on average) of bulk shale, they are larger as compared to isolated OM, indicating that inorganic minerals can make a significant difference to the heterogeneity of shale pores. The fractal dimensions (D1 and D2) of bulk shales show a close correlation with the parameters of pore structure, while there is no significant correlation observed between the dimensions of isolated OM and its parameters. In addition, thermal maturity and solid bitumen have only limited impact on the OM pore structure of isolated OM samples. Then, we conducted a further research to reveal that the insoluble OM macerals derived from terrestrial higher plants can be used to explain the difference in pore structure and heterogeneity between isolated OM samples. Therefore, we arrived at the conclusion that the composition of macerals depends on the exact pore structure and fractal characteristics of isolated OM samples with similarity in thermal maturity


Minerals ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (9) ◽  
pp. 543 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wang ◽  
Jiang ◽  
Jiang ◽  
Chang ◽  
Zhu ◽  
...  

Pore structure determines the gas occurrence and storage properties of gas shale and is a vital element for reservoir evaluation and shale gas resources assessment. Field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE‐SEM), high‐pressure mercury intrusion porosimetry (HMIP), and low‐pressure N2/CO2 adsorption were used to qualitatively and quantitatively characterize full‐scale pore structure of Longmaxi (LM) shale from the southern Sichuan Basin. Fractal dimension and its controlling factors were also discussed in our study. Longmaxi shale mainly developed organic matter (OM) pores, interparticle pores, intraparticle pores, and microfracture, of which the OM pores dominated the pore system. The pore diameters are mainly distributed in the ranges of 0.4–0.7 nm, 2–20 nm and 40–200 μm. Micro‐, meso‐ and macropores contribute 24%, 57% and 19% of the total pore volume (PV), respectively, and 64.5%, 34.6%, and 0.9% of the total specific surface area (SSA). Organic matter and clay minerals have a positive contribution to pore development. While high brittle mineral content can inhibit shale pore development. The fractal dimensions D1 and D2 which represents the roughness of the shale surface and irregularity of the space structure, respectively, are calculated based on N2 desorption data. The value of D1 is in the range of 2.6480–2.7334 (average of 2.6857), D2 is in the range of 2.8924–2.9439 (average of 2.9229), which indicates that Longmaxi shales have a rather irregular pore morphology as well as complex pore structure. Both PV and SSA positively correlated with fractal dimensions D1 and D2. The fractal dimension D1 decreases with increasing average pore diameter, while D2 is on the contrary. These results suggest that the small pores have a higher roughness surface, while the larger pores have a more complex spatial structure. The fractal dimensions of shale are jointly controlled by OM, clays and brittle minerals. The TOC content is the key factor which has a positive correlation with the fractal dimension. Clay minerals have a negative influence on fractal dimension D1, and positive influence D2, while brittle minerals show an opposite effect compared with clay minerals.


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