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Fractal Analysis of Pore Structure Differences Between Shale and Sandstone Based on the Nitrogen Adsorption Method

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Abstract

Pore structure, a critical factor influencing the physical properties of oil and gas reservoirs, shows great variation with the reservoir rock type. Efficient exploration and development of oil and gas resources require comprehensive understanding of pore structure differences between various reservoirs. In this study, to clarify these differences, pore size distributions and pore structure parameters were obtained through low-pressure nitrogen (N2) adsorption–desorption experiments using shale, low-permeability sandstone, and tight sandstone as rock types. Pore space fractal dimension obtained from a proposed calculating method and pore surface fractal dimension obtained from the Frenkel–Halsey–Hill model were combined with N2 adsorption results to analyze quantitatively the pore structures of shale and sandstone. The results show that shale consisted mainly of inkbottle-shaped pores whereas sandstone was composed of slit-shaped pores. Compared with sandstone, shale had a larger specific surface area but smaller average pore diameter and pore volume. In addition, the pore structure heterogeneity and pore surface irregularity of shale were more significant, considering its larger fractal dimensions. Relationships among fractal dimensions and porosity, permeability, and pore structure parameters explained that pore size and pore distribution were the main influencing factors of porosity and permeability. These results highlight the practicability of fractal theory in characterizing pore structure and petrophysical properties of unconventional reservoirs.

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Notes

  1. 1 md = 1 millidarcy = 0.986923 × 10−15 m2.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. 42172159, 42004086) and the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (No. CUGGC04). We would like to thank Dr. Yuxuan Xia for his helpful suggestions on our work.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Key Laboratory of Tectonics and Petroleum Resources, Ministry of Education, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan, 430074, China

    Sai Xu, Lei Wang, Feng Yang & Jianchao Cai

  2. Research Institute of Petroleum Exploration and Development, PetroChina, Beijing, 100083, China

    Zhengming Yang & Songtao Wu

  3. Institute of Geophysics and Geomatics, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan, 430074, China

    Wei Wei

  4. State Key Laboratory of Petroleum Resources and Prospecting, China University of Petroleum, Beijing, 102249, China

    Jianchao Cai

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  1. Sai Xu
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Xu, S., Yang, Z., Wu, S. et al. Fractal Analysis of Pore Structure Differences Between Shale and Sandstone Based on the Nitrogen Adsorption Method. Nat Resour Res 31, 1759–1773 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11053-022-10056-5

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