Browsing by Subject "permeability"
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Item Alleviation of effective permeability reduction of gas-condensate due to condensate buildup near wellbore(Texas A&M University, 2006-04-12) Carballo Salas, Jose GilbertoWhen the reservoir pressure is decreased below dew point pressure of the gas near the wellbore, gas-condensate wells start to decrease production because condensate is separated from the gas around the wellbore causing a decrease in gas relative permeability. This effect is more dramatic if the permeability of the reservoir is low. The idea proposed for reducing this problem is to eliminate the irreducible water saturation near the wellbore to leave more space for the gas to flow and therefore increase the productivity of the well. In this research a simulation study was performed to determine the range of permeabilities where the cylinder of condensate will seriously affect the well??s productivity, and the distance the removal of water around the wellbore has to be extended in order to have acceleration of production and an increase in the final reserves. A compositional-radial reservoir was simulated with one well in the center of 109 grids. Three gas-condensate fluids with different heptanes plus compositions ( 4, 8 and 11 mole %), and two irreducible water saturations were used. The fitting of the Equation of State (EOS) was performed using the method proposed by Aguilar and McCain. Several simulations were performed with several permeabilities to determine the permeabilities for which the productivity is not affected by the presence of the cylinder of condensate. At constant permeability, various radii of a region of zero initial water saturation around the wellbore were simulated and comparisons of the effects of removal of irreducible water on productivity were made. Reservoirs with permeabilities lower than 100 mD showed a reduction in the ultimate reserves due to the cylinder of condensate. The optimal radius of water removal depends on the fluid composition and the irreducible water saturation of the reservoir. The expected increase in reserves due to water removal varies from 10 to 80 % for gas production and from 4 to 30% for condensate production.Item An Investigation of the Effects of Exogenous Crosslinking of Bovine Annulus Fibrosus Tissue(2010-07-14) Golightly, Jonathan M.This study investigates the changes due to crosslinking treatment in stiffness, permeability, and glycosaminoglycan (GAG) content of bovine intervertebral discs. The objective of this study was to determine the mechanical and biochemical effects of crosslinking treatment on lumbar bovine tissue. Previous studies have found that crosslinking can increase stiffness and permeability in the intervertebral disc. These changes have not yet been investigated by confined compression, stress-relaxation tests of young bovine tissue. Eleven lumbar motion segments were harvested from calf spines and soaked in a saline solution or one of four crosslinking treatments (genipin, methylglyoxal, proanthrocyanidin, and EDC). Five mm diameter samples were removed from the midannulus region at anterior / anterior-lateral locations, confined in a saline bath, swelled to equilibrium, and tested in confined compression stress-relaxation to 15% strain in 5% increments. Radial samples were also harvested, treated with saline solution and EDC, and tested in the same manner. The aggregate modulus and hydraulic permeability were calculated using the nonlinear biphasic theory. Swelling pressure was calculated as the load at swelling equilibrium. GAG content was measured using the dimethylmethylene blue assay. Differences with P value < 0.05 were considered significant. In the axial orientation, all crosslinking treatments except methyglyoxal at least doubled the aggregate modulus relative to soaked controls (P less than 0.05). Genipin treatment resulted in 78% lower axial permeability, proanthrocyanidin (PA) 50% lower, and EDC treatment 84% lower relative to soaked controls (P < 0.05). GAG content measured in the methyglyoxal treatment group was 25% lower than in soaked control group. Genipin (G), proanthrocyanidin (PA), and EDC treatment increased the swelling pressure by at least 65% (P less than 0.05). In the radial orientation, EDC treatment increased the stiffness by 75%, and did not significantly affect the permeability or swelling pressure. Some crosslinking treatments proved effective in increasing the stiffness and swelling pressure of the disc. The increased swelling pressure in G, PA, and EDC treatment groups relative to soaked controls suggests reduced GAG leaching during soaking treatment, further confirmed by the reduction in permeability in these groups.Item Evaluating permeability anisotropy in the early Jurassic Tilje formation, offshore mid-Norway(Texas A&M University, 2005-11-01) Aliyev, KananThe problem of evaluating permeability anisotropy in the Tilje Formation, Heidrum field, offshore mid-Norway, has been investigated by the Statoil Research Centre by a detailed combination of the geological and petrophysical data. The large diversity and contrasting levels of heterogeneity within depositional facies observed in the Tilje Formation reflect complicated patterns of deposition along deltaic shorelines and the adjunct shelf of a tidally influenced, narrow seaway. Permeability anisotropy can alter the directionality of the fluid flow in the reservoir, and thereby affect the most important exploration procedures: perforation, water and gas injection, production, and estimation of the field resource. This thesis presents a simplified method of modeling permeability anisotropy in the Tilje Formation.Item Evidence of Pressure Dependent Permeability in Long-Term Shale Gas Production and Pressure Transient Responses(2012-12-11) Vera Rosales, Fabian 1986-The current state of shale gas reservoir dynamics demands understanding long-term production, and existing models that address important parameters like fracture half-length, permeability, and stimulated shale volume assume constant permeability. Petroleum geologists suggest that observed steep declining rates may involve pressure-dependent permeability (PDP). This study accounts for PDP in three potential shale media: the shale matrix, the existing natural fractures, and the created hydraulic fractures. Sensitivity studies comparing expected long-term rate and pressure production behavior with and without PDP show that these two are distinct when presented as a sequence of coupled build-up rate-normalized pressure (BU-RNP) and its logarithmic derivative, making PDP a recognizable trend. Pressure and rate field data demonstrate evidence of PDP only in Horn River and Haynesville but not in Fayetteville shale. While the presence of PDP did not seem to impact the long term recovery forecast, it is possible to determine whether the observed behavior relates to change in hydraulic fracture conductivity or to change in fracture network permeability. As well, it provides insight on whether apparent fracture networks relate to an existing natural fracture network in the shale or to a fracture network induced during hydraulic fracturing.Item Evolution of Frictional Behavior of Punchbowl Fault Gouges Sheared at Seismic Slip Rates and Mechanical and Hydraulic Properties of Nankai Trough Accretionary Prism Sediments Deformed at Different Loading Paths(2012-02-14) Kitajima, HirokoFrictional measurements were made on natural fault gouge at seismic slip rates using a high-speed rotary-shear apparatus to study effects of slip velocity, acceleration, displacement, normal stress, and water content. Thermal-, mechanical-, and fluid-flowcoupled FEM models and microstructure observations were implemented to analyze experimental results. Slightly sheared starting material (Unit 1) and a strongly sheared and foliated gouge (Unit 2) are produced when frictional heating is insignificant and the coefficient of sliding friction is 0.4 to 0.6. A random fabric gouge with rounded prophyroclasts (Unit 3) and an extremely-fine, microfoliated layer (Unit 4) develop when significant frictional heating occurs at greater velocity and normal stress, and the coefficient of sliding friction drops to approximately 0.2. The frictional behavior at coseismic slip can be explained by thermal pressurization and a temperature-dependent constitutive relation, in which the friction coefficient is proportional to 1/T and increases with temperature (temperature-strengthening) at low temperature conditions and decreases with temperature (temperature-weakening) at higher temperature conditions. The friction coefficient, normal stress, pore pressure, and temperature within the gouge layer vary with position (radius) and time, and they depend largely on the frictional heating rate. The critical displacement for dynamic weakening is approximately 10 m or less, and can be understood as the displacement required to form a localized slip zone and achieve a steady-state temperature condition. The temporal and spatial evolution of hydromechanical properties of recovered from the Nankai Trough (IODP NanTroSEIZE Stage 1 Expeditions) have been investigated along different stress paths, which simulate the natural conditions of loading during sedimentation, underthrusting, underplating, overthrusting, and exhumation in subduction systems. Porosity evolution is relatively independent of stress path, and the sediment porosity decreases as the yield surface expands. In contrast, permeability evolution depends on the stress path and the consolidation state, e.g., permeability reduction by shear-enhanced compaction occurs at a greater rate under triaxialcompression relative to uniaxial-strain and isotropic loading. In addition, experimental yielding of sediment is well described by Cam-Clay model of soil mechanics, which is useful to better estimate the in-situ stress, consolidation state, and strength of sediment in nature.Item Probabilistic analysis of air void structure and its relationship to permeability and moisture damage of hot mix asphalt(Texas A&M University, 2006-04-12) Castelblanco Torres, AdharaThe permeability of hot mix asphalt (HMA) is of special interest to engineers and researchers due to the effects that water has on asphalt pavement performance. Significant research has been done to study HMA permeability. However, most of the studies primarily focused on relating permeability to the average percent air voids in the mix. Such relationships cannot predict permeability accurately due to the different distributions of air void structures at a given average percent of air voids. Air void distribution is a function of many factors such as mix design, compaction method, and aggregate properties. Recent advances in X-ray computed tomography and image analysis techniques offer a unique opportunity to better quantify the air void structure and, consequently, predict HMA permeability. This study is focused on portraying permeability as a function of air void size distribution by using a probabilistic approach that was previously developed by Garcia Bengochea for soils. This approach expresses permeability as a function of the probability density function (pdf) of the air void size distribution. Equations are derived in this thesis to describe this relationship for laboratory specimens compacted using the linear kneading compactor (LKC) and Superave^TM gyratory compactor (SGC) as well as for field cores (labeled as MS). A good correlation exists between permeability and the pdf of the air voids that formed the flow paths (i.e. connected voids). The relationship between moisture damage, air void structure, and cohesive and adhesive bond energy is also investigated in this study. Moisture damage is evaluated by monitoring changes in mechanical properties due to moisture conditioning. The influence of air void structure on pore pressure is studied using a recently developed program at Texas A&M University that simulates fluid flow and pore pressure in a porous medium. The surface free energy of the aggregates and asphalt are calculated from laboratory measurements using the Universal Sorption Device (USD) and the Wilhelmy Plate method, respectively, in order to test the compatibility of the aggregates with the asphalt in the presence of water.Item Stress-dependent permeability on tight gas reservoirs(Texas A&M University, 2005-02-17) Rodriguez, Cesar AlexanderPeople in the oil and gas industry sometimes do not consider pressure-dependent permeability in reservoir performance calculations. It basically happens due to lack of lab data to determine level of dependency. This thesis attempts to evaluate the error introduced in calculations when a constant permeability is assumed in tight gas reservoir. It is desired to determine how accurate are conventional pressure analysis calculations when the reservoir has a strong pressure-dependent permeability. The analysis considers the error due to effects of permeability and skin factor. Also included is the error associated when calculating Original Gas in Place in the reservoir. The mathematical model considers analytical and numerical solutions of radial and linear flow of gas through porous media. The model includes both the conventional method, which assumes a constant permeability (pressure-independent), and a numerical method that incorporates a pressure-dependent permeability. Analysis focuses on different levels of pressure draw down in a well located in the center of a homogeneous reservoir considering two types of flow field geometries: radial and linear. Two different producing control modes for the producer well are considered: constant rate and constant bottom hole pressure. Methodology consists of simulated tight gas well production with k(p) included. Then, we analyze results as though k(p) effects were ignored and finally, observe errors in determining permeability (k) and skin factor (s). Additionally, we calculate pore volume and OGIP in the reservoir. Analysis demonstrates that incorporation of pressure-dependence of permeability k(p) is critical in order to avoid inference of erroneous values of permeability, skin factor and OGIP from well test analysis of tight gas reservoirs. Estimation of these parameters depends on draw down in the reservoir. The great impact of permeability, skin factor and OGIP calculations are useful in business decisions and profitability for the oil company. Miscalculation of permeability and skin factor can lead to wrong decisions regarding well stimulation, which reduces well profitability. In most cases the OGIP calculated is underestimated. Calculated values are lower than the correct value. It can be taken as an advantage if we consider that additional gas wells and reserves would be incorporated in the exploitation plan.