Analysis of pore throat characteristics of tight sandstone reservoirs

• Main Authors: Zhao Xinli, Yang Zhengming, Liu Xuewei, Wang Zhiyuan, Luo Yutian
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: De Gruyter 2020-10-01
• Series: Open Geosciences
• Subjects: tight sandstone; high-pressure mercury intrusion; thin section; pore throat structure; fractal dimension; e basin
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.1515/geo-2020-0121

The characterization of pore throat structure in tight reservoirs is the basis for the effective development of tight oil. In order to effectively characterize the pore -throat structure of tight sandstone in E Basin, China, this study used high-pressure mercury intrusion (HPMI) testing technology and thin section (TS) technology to jointly explore the characteristics of tight oil pore throat structure. The results of the TS test show that there are many types of pores in the tight sandstone, mainly the primary intergranular pores, dissolved pores, and microfractures. Based on the pore throat parameters obtained by HPMI experiments, the pore throat radius of tight sandstone is between 0.0035 and 2.6158 µm. There are two peaks in the pore throat distribution curve, indicating that the tight sandstone contains at least two types of pores. This is consistent with the results of the TS experiments. In addition, based on the fractal theory and obtained capillary pressure curve by HPMI experiments, the fractal characteristics of tight sandstone pore throat are quantitatively characterized. The results show that the tight sandstones in E Basin have piecewise fractal (multifractal) features. The segmentation fractal feature occurs at a pore throat radius of approximately 0.06 µm. Therefore, according to the fractal characteristics, the tight sandstone pore throat of the study block is divided into macropores (pore throat radius > 0.06 µm) and micropores (pore throat radius < 0.06 µm). The fractal dimension DL of the macropores is larger than the fractal dimension DS of the micropores, indicating that the surface of the macropores is rough and the pores are irregular. This study cannot only provide certain support for characterizing the size of tight oil pore throat, but also plays an inspiring role in understanding the tight pore structure of tight sandstone.