Abstract
A statistical technique for the pore-scale analyses of heterogeneity and representative elemental volume (REV) in unconventional shale rocks is hereby presented. First, core samples were obtained from shale formations. The images were scanned using microcomputed tomography (micro-CT) machine at 6.7 μm resolution with voxels of 990 × 990 × 1000. These were then processed, digitised, thresholded, segmented and features captured using numerical algorithms. This allows the segmentation of each sample into four distinct morphological entities consisting of pores, organic matter, shale grains and minerals. In order to analyse the degree of heterogeneity, Eagle Ford parallel sample was further cropped into 96 subsamples. Descriptive statistical approach was then used to evaluate the existence of heterogeneity within the subsamples. Furthermore, the Eagle Ford parallel and perpendicular samples were analysed for volumetric entities representative of the petrophysical variable, porosity, using corner point cropping technique. The results of porosity REV for Eagle ford parallel and perpendicular indicated sample representation at 300 μm voxel edge. Both pore volume distribution and descriptive statistical analyses suggested that a wide variation of heterogeneity exists at this scale of investigation. Furthermore, this experiment allows for adequate extraction of necessary information and structural parameters for pore-scale modelling and simulation. Additional studies focusing on re-evaluation at higher resolution are recommended.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 753-765 |
Number of pages | 13 |
Journal | Journal of Petroleum Exploration and Production Technology |
Volume | 8 |
Issue number | 3 |
Early online date | 5 Aug 2017 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - Sept 2018 |
Bibliographical note
We express our appreciations to the Petroleum Technology Development Fund, Nigeria (PTDF), for funding this work.Keywords
- pore-scale
- REV
- shale rocks
- statistical tools
- kurtosis
- skewness
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Raw CT-scanned images of shale rock samples
Akanji, L. (Creator) & Adeleye, J. O. (Contributor), University of Aberdeen, 1 Oct 2018
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1aOhAPDgw928ypgoz9Dha69oxHoQ0UiABXI3aXuRNd8s/edit
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