Impact of Water Saturation on Gas Storage in Clay-rich Shale

dc.contributor.advisorChen, Zhangxin
dc.contributor.authorZhu, Lihua
dc.contributor.committeememberSundararaj, Uttandaraman
dc.date2020-11
dc.date.accessioned2020-10-02T18:42:00Z
dc.date.available2020-10-02T18:42:00Z
dc.date.issued2020-09-22
dc.description.abstractFor shale gas reservoirs, to evaluate the total gas-in-place (GIP) requires us to estimate the adsorbed gas amount accurately because the adsorbed gas generally constitutes 40%-85% of the total GIPs. However, under geologic conditions, water saturations always exist in shale reservoirs, which largely decreases the natural gas adsorption capability of shale, thus affecting the reliability of shale gas resources evaluation. In this thesis, we have built a mathematical model for calculations about gas adsorption in shale clay in different water environments, where the Langmuir adsorption equation is adopted for the gas-liquid interaction between methane and dry clay surface, and the Gibbs equation is used to characterize the gas-liquid interaction between methane and an adsorbed water film. Through our calculation, with the water saturation in a 4-nm slit pore being 20%, methane adsorption capacity is decreased by 55.4%, compared with dry conditions; when the water saturation in a 4-nm capillary is 36%, methane adsorption capacity is decreased by 80%. This proposed model is then extended to porous media which follows the log-normal pore size distribution (PSD). Based on the results, we have found that the shapes and sizes of nanopores in shale can affect the moisture distribution features and gas adsorption capability. Influences of water on methane adsorption capability mainly acts as (i) an adsorbed water film in large pores decreases the affinity between methane and pore-walls; (ii) capillary water totally blocks some small pores and makes them loose abilities to adsorb methane. When the water saturation of the slit-pore porous media reaches 43%, with the 2-nm slit pores blocked by water, the gas adsorption capability declines by 50% compared with dry conditions. When the water saturation of the capillary porous media arrives at 45%, with the 3-nm slit pores blocked by moisture, the methane adsorption capacity is deceased by 70% compared with dry conditions.en_US
dc.identifier.citationZhu, L. (2020). Impact of Water Saturation on Gas Storage in Clay-rich Shale (Master's thesis, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada). Retrieved from https://prism.ucalgary.ca.en_US
dc.identifier.doihttp://dx.doi.org/10.11575/PRISM/38326
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/1880/112668
dc.language.isoengen_US
dc.publisher.facultySchulich School of Engineeringen_US
dc.publisher.institutionUniversity of Calgaryen
dc.rightsUniversity of Calgary graduate students retain copyright ownership and moral rights for their thesis. You may use this material in any way that is permitted by the Copyright Act or through licensing that has been assigned to the document. For uses that are not allowable under copyright legislation or licensing, you are required to seek permission.en_US
dc.subject.classificationEngineeringen_US
dc.subject.classificationEngineering--Petroleumen_US
dc.titleImpact of Water Saturation on Gas Storage in Clay-rich Shaleen_US
dc.typemaster thesisen_US
thesis.degree.disciplineEngineering – Chemical & Petroleumen_US
thesis.degree.grantorUniversity of Calgaryen_US
thesis.degree.nameMaster of Science (MSc)en_US
ucalgary.item.requestcopytrueen_US
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