ERE1.5 Petrophysics of unconventional hydrocarbon reservoirs |
Petrophysics of unconventional reservoirs has become a rapidly expanding discipline in industry and academia, mostly as a result of the growing interest in the exploration of these resource plays all over the world. These include for instance tight sands, deep unmineable coal seams and deep shale formations. Optimizing the development of these unconventional resources, while minimizing their environmental impact, requires a deeper understanding of the coupled physico-chemical and mechanical processes that take place during their exploitation. The latter might make use of stimulation techniques, such as hydraulic fracturing and gas injection, thus adding complexity to the whole operation. In this context, key topics include among others single and multiphase flow in low-permeability rocks, adsorption/desorption and diffusion in micropores, routine and advanced experimental techniques for determination of fluid transport, mechanical, capillary and physico-chemical properties of low-permeability and micro-fissured rocks, advanced imaging techniques for pore space/flow paths characterization. We welcome participants from all disciplines for submissions of experimental and modeling results elucidating these processes across a range of conditions and scales.