Characterization of Pore Structure and Fluid Mobility of Shale Reservoirs

Accompanying the commercial exploitation of shale oil and gas in North America, shale oil has gradually become an important resource, sparking great interest among countries around the world in recent years. In this study, focusing on the Paleogene Shahejie Formation in Bohai Bay (Eastern China), techniques such as CT, nitrogen adsorption, mercury injection capillary pressure (MICP), and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) were used to characterize the pore structure and mobility of the shale reservoir. Based on the X-ray CT data, the pore radius of the shale reservoir is in the range 0.5–65 μm, and the pore coordination number is concentrated in the range of 1–4. The shale reservoir is poorly connected. The minimum size of the unit body for establishing the digital core model is 380 μm. Based on the experimental data of nitrogen adsorption and MICP, the pores of shale in the study area are mainly classified as ink-bottle-shaped pores, transition-shaped pores, and flat plate slit-shaped pores. The specific surface area and volume of pores are mainly attributed to meso- and macropores. The movable fluid saturation of shale is distributed from 23.59 to 44.42%, the pore throat radius is distributed from 0.001 to 6 μm, and the lower limit of the movable pore throat radius of shale is distributed between 9.0 and 20.1 nm. The movable fluid porosity is mainly distributed between 0.84 and 4.08%, with an average movable fluid porosity of 2.37%. The findings provide a theoretical basis for the efficient development of shale oil resources.