Numerical Simulation Based on the Canister Test for Shale Gas Content Calculation

Shujuan Kang, Le Lu, Hui Tian, Yunfeng Yang, Chengyang Jiang and Qisheng Ma
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Shujuan Kang: CAS Engineering Laboratory for Deep Resources Equipment and Technology, Institute of Geology and Geophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100029, China
Le Lu: Power Environmental & Energy Research Institute, Covina, CA 91722, USA
Hui Tian: State Key Laboratory of Organic Geochemistry, Guangzhou Institute of Geochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510640, China
Yunfeng Yang: Suzhou Grand Energy Technology Ltd., Suzhou 215129, China
Chengyang Jiang: Power Environmental & Energy Research Institute, Covina, CA 91722, USA
Qisheng Ma: ChemEOR Inc., Covina, CA 91722, USA

Energies, 2021, vol. 14, issue 20, 1-15

Abstract: The accurate determination of the gas in place in shale reservoirs is a basic but challenging issue for shale gas evaluation. Conventional canister gas desorption tests on retrieved core samples and subsequent data analyses (via linear or polynomial regression)—originally developed for coalbed methane, where gases are mainly stored in the adsorbed phase—is unadvisable for shale gas, which is stored as an appreciable amount of free gas in shale reservoirs. In the present study, a mathematical model that simultaneously takes into account gas expansion, adsorption/desorption, and the gas flow in shale is proposed to simulate gas release from a core sample retrieved from the Lower Silurian Longmaxi Formation of the Fuling shale gas field, Sichuan Basin. The results indicate that, compared with the value of 2.11 m 3 /t rock estimated with the traditional United States Bureau of Mines (USBM) method, the total gas in place within the studied Longmaxi Shale estimated with our mathematical model under reservoir pressure conditions is up to 5.88 m 3 /t rock, which is more consistent with the result from the new volumetric approach based on Ambrose et al. According to our mathematical model, the content of free gas is 4.11 m 3 /t rock at true “time zero”, which accounts for 69.9% of the total gas. On the other hand, the lost gas portion is determined to be up to 4.88 m 3 /t rock (~85% of the total gas). These results suggest that the majority of the free shale gas is actually trapped within the pore space of the shale formation.

Keywords: shale gas; mathematical model; canister test; gas content; Longmaxi Shale (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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