Laboratory evaluation of flow properties of Niutitang shale at reservoir conditions

Abstract

Absolute and water saturation dependent gas flow under reservoir conditions is important for the exploration of deep energy resources. Steady-state and various unsteady-state argon permeability tests were conducted on dry Niutitang shale during the confinement loading and unloading cycles, then different gases were used for steady-state permeability tests at the final confinement of 20 MPa. Permeability decreased by 36% with the confinement increasing from 5 MPa to 60 MPa, and around 66% of the permeability reductions was recovered after the unloading cycles. The apparent steady-state permeabilities were 38% higher than those derived by unsteady-state methods due to the enhanced slip flow. T..