Influence of supercritical CO₂ on the physical property of tight sandstone

Abstract

In low-pressure gas reservoirs, water-based fracture fluid is difficult to flowback, which is unfavorable for several tight sandstone gas reservoirs in the Sichuan Basin with low pressure and high permeability geological characteristics. Supercritical CO₂ possesses a number of remarkable physical and chemical features, including a density near to water, a viscosity close to gas, and high diffusion. Supercritical CO₂ fracturing is a new type of non-aqueous fracturing method that is favorable to fracturing flowback in low-pressure tight sandstone and has a wide range of applications. To discuss on whether supercritical CO₂ fracturing with low pressure tight sandstone is feasible. Tight sandstone cores from the Jinqiu gas field in the Sichuan Basin were used to study the influence of supercritical CO₂ on the physical properties of sandstone reservoirs. Supercritical CO₂ was used to interact with tight sandstone samples, and then the changes in porosity, permeability, and rock microstructure of tight sandstone were observed under various time, pressure, and temperature conditions. After the interaction between tight sandstone and supercritical CO₂, new dissolution pores will appear, or the original pores will be increased, and the width of some natural fractures will also be increased, and the porosity will increase by 1.09%-8.85%, and the permeability will increase by 2.34%-21.26%, quantifying the influence of supercritical CO₂ on physical properties of tight sandstone, and further improving the interaction mechanism between supercritical CO₂ and tight sandstone. This study improves in the understanding of the tight sandstone-supercritical CO₂ interaction mechanism, as well as providing an experimental foundation and technological guarantee for field testing and use of supercritical CO₂ in low-pressure tight sandstone gas reservoirs.

Keywords

Supercritical CO₂ / Low pressure tight sandstone / Porosity / Permeability / Microstructure

Acknowledgements

This publication was supported by the Scientific Research and Technology Development Project of Southwest Oil and Gas Field Company, petrochina, Project No: 20210302-05.

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