Print Email Facebook Twitter Fluid flow from matrix to fractures in Early Jurassic shales Title Fluid flow from matrix to fractures in Early Jurassic shales Author Houben, M. E. (Universiteit Utrecht) Hardebol, N.J. (TU Delft Applied Geology) Barnhoorn, A. (TU Delft Applied Geophysics and Petrophysics) Boersma, Q.D. (TU Delft Applied Geology; Universiteit Utrecht) Carone, A. (Universiteit Utrecht) Liu, Y. (Universiteit Utrecht) de Winter, D. A.M. (Universiteit Utrecht) Peach, C. J. (Universiteit Utrecht) Drury, M. R. (Universiteit Utrecht) Date 2017-04-15 Abstract The potential of shale reservoirs for gas extraction is largely determined by the permeability of the rock. Typical pore diameters in shales range from the μm down to the nm scale. The permeability of shale reservoirs is a function of the interconnectivity between the pore space and the natural fracture network present. We have measured the permeability of the Whitby Mudstone, the exposed counterpart of the Posidonia Shales buried in the Dutch subsurface and a possible target for unconventional gas, using different methods and established a correlation with the microstructures and pore networks present down to the nanometer scale. Whitby Mudstone is a clay rich rock with a low porosity. The permeability of the Whitby Mudstone is in the range of 10−18m2–10−21m2. 2D microstructures of the Whitby Mudstone show no connected pore networks, but isolated pore bodies mainly situated in the clay matrix, whereas 3D data shows that connected pore networks are present in less compacted parts of the rock. A closely spaced interconnected fracture network is often required to speed up transport of fluids from the matrix into a producing well. For fluids within the matrix the nearest natural fracture is on average at a distance of approximately 10cm in the Whitby Mudstone. The combination of the permeability data and the porosity data with natural fracture spacing of the fractures present in outcrops along the Yorkshire coast (UK) resulted in new insights into possible fluid pathways from reservoir to well. Subject Fracture networkJurassic shalesMulti-scale flowPermeabilityWhitby Mudstone To reference this document use: http://resolver.tudelft.nl/uuid:298b9ef8-7f21-47eb-8a32-8f0f811203d9 DOI https://doi.org/10.1016/j.coal.2017.03.012 ISSN 0166-5162 Source International Journal of Coal Geology, 175, 26-39 Part of collection Institutional Repository Document type journal article Rights © 2017 M. E. Houben, N.J. Hardebol, A. Barnhoorn, Q.D. Boersma, A. Carone, Y. Liu, D. A.M. de Winter, C. J. Peach, M. R. Drury Files PDF 1_s2.0_S0166516217300472_main.pdf 3.17 MB Close viewer /islandora/object/uuid:298b9ef8-7f21-47eb-8a32-8f0f811203d9/datastream/OBJ/view