Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD American Association of Petroleum Geologists
Résumé : In reservoir engineering, hydrodynamic properties can be estimated from downhole electrical data using heuristic models (e.g., Archie and Kozeny-Carman's equations) relating electrical conductivity to porosity and permeability. Although proven to be predictive for many sandstone reservoirs, the models mostly fail when applied to carbonate reservoirs that generally display extremely complex pore network structures. In this article, we investigate the control of the three-dimensional (3-D) geometry and morphology of the pore network on the electrical and flow properties, comparing core-scale laboratory measurements and 3-D x-ray microtomography image analysis of samples from a Miocene reefal carbonate platform located in Mallorca (Spain). The results show that micrometer- to centimeter-scale heterogeneities strongly influence the measured macroscopic physical parameters that are then used to evaluate the hydrodynamic properties of the rock, and therefore, existing models might not provide accurate descriptions because these heterogeneities occur at scales smaller than those of the integration volume of the borehole geophysical methods. However, associated with specific data processing, 3-D imagery techniques are a useful and probably unique mean to characterize the rock heterogeneity and, thus, the properties variability.
ISSN: 0149-1423

hal-00950066
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00950066
DOI : 10.1306/05221312134

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Elsevier
Résumé : International audience
Coastal aquifers often display seawater intrusion resulting in the formation of a salty water wedge progressing inland. This study investigates the mass transfers in the mixing zone at the freshwater-seawater interface where the water is out of equilibrium with the rock-forming carbonates. Investigations were conducted in two boreholes, separated by 5 m, at the Ses Sitjoles test site (Mallorca Island, Spain) where repeated electrical conductivity logs of the formation and the saturating fluid, as well as regular pore-water sampling and permanent downhole multi-parameter monitoring of the water were performed over a period of 9 a. In the mixing zone, the significant acidification, the calcite saturation index profile and the Ca concentration profile cannot be explained by conservative mixing nor by dissolution-precipitation reactions only. Conversely, the analysis of organic C content and of the distinctly different time-resolved pH profiles measured in the two boreholes suggests the development of perennial biomass that triggers calcite dissolution. Moreover, the presence of biomass seems to be correlated with the permeability and vertical connectivity at the meter-scale. It is speculated that the mechanism could be self-activated because the microbiological activity induces calcite dissolution and tends to increase porosity and permeability that favors biomass development.
ISSN: 0883-2927

hal-00937665
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00937665
DOI : 10.1016/j.apgeochem.2013.09.011

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Springer Verlag (Germany) Springer Verlag
Résumé : International audience
The dissolution of carbonate rocks usually leads to both porosity (ϕ) and permeability (k) increase. We present experimental evidences and physical-based models of positive and anti-correlated dynamics of k and ϕ observed during dissolution experiments of carbonate rocks. We study the way the rate of change of ϕ and k is controlled by the degree of undersaturation of the percolating solution for two different types of carbonate rocks. We document the occurrence of an anti-correlated k−ϕ trend when the flowing fluid (deionized water) has a weak capacity of dissolution. A positive correlation is found when CO2 is added to the deionized water to increase the potential dissolution rate. Detailed analyses of the microstructures of the rock performed by X-ray microtomography reveal that low dissolution rate favors detachment of solid particles and their subsequent accumulation at the pore-throat inlet. Particles are detached from the rock matrix due to the differential dissolution rate of the indurated grains and the microporous cement. We then propose a simple phenomenological model to interpret the effect of the pore-throat clogging by the accumulation of partially dissolved carbonate particles. We conjecture that permeability is controlled by the decrease of the effective hydraulic radius and the increase of the tortuosity due to partial and localized obstruction of the pore network. Conversely, increasing the level of undersaturation of the flowing solution leads to an augmented potential of dissolving most of the transported particles before they reach the throats. In this case, both k and ϕ increase and display power-law correlations.
ISSN: 0169-3913

hal-01174145
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01174145
DOI : 10.1007/s11242-015-0456-2

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD
Résumé : International audience
The porosity (from values of <1% up to more than 50%, with a mean value of 36.5%) and permeability (from very low values to 20.4 D, with a mean value around 800 mD) of 38 plugs, with a diameter 40 mm, have been measured. These plugs were taken approximately every 1.5 m along a 100 m-long core, sampling a series of reefal carbonate platform lithofacies. A non-unique relationship between porosity and permeability is obtained. In addition, the porosity was measured from processing X-ray micro-tomography images with resolutions ranging from 0.42 to 190.0 µm and sampling volumes ranging from less than 1 µm3 to few cm3. Depending on the structure of the pore network, the computed porosity is, in some cases, controlled by the X-ray image resolution and the sampled volume. While high resolution is required to image micro-porous material, large samples with lower resolution images are necessary for identifying distributed vugs and millimetre-scale structures. This study shows that multi-resolution X-ray micro-tomography is an effective tool for characterizing the multi-scale pore structure of carbonate rocks and understanding how it may control key petrophysical parameters such as porosity and permeability.
Geological Society Special Publication

hal-01174157
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01174157
DOI : 10.1144/SP406.12

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD
Résumé : In coastal carbonate aquifers submitted to a saline intrusion, water - rock interactions processes at the interface between freshwater and saltwater are a cause for heterogeneities development within the porous media. The dissolutions and precipitations induced by the mixing zone play a major role in the transport properties of the reservoir and so in the long term evolution of the saltwater intrusion. The characterization and the in situ observation of a current saline intrusion in the Llucmajor carbonate platform at the experimental site of Ses Sitjoles (South-Easth of Mallorca Island, Spain), allowed to study the temporal evolution of the saltwater intrusion and the biogeochemical processes active in the mixing zone. The influence of microstructure, characterized using X-Ray microtomography, on the petrophysical and flow properties was investigated in laboratory and flow-through experiments were also conducted to study the modifications of the microstructures when submitted to water - rock interactions processes. The mixing zone at the Ses Sitjoles site appears as quite thick and not very sensitive to climate and anthropic stress and is proved to be the locus of active microbiological activity. Laboratory studies highlight a strong control of the microporosity on transport processes and of pCO2 on water - rock interactions. The percolation experiments of slightly reactive waters reveal calcite dissolution together with a decrease in permeability due to a rearrangement of micro-grains within the microporous network.
Les processus d'interactions fluide-roche à l'interface eau douce-eau salée, dans les aquifères carbonatés côtiers soumis à une intrusion saline, sont une des causes du développement d'hétérogénéités dans la structure du milieu poreux. Les dissolutions et/ou précipitations engendrées par la présence de cette zone de mélange jouent un rôle déterminant pour les propriétés de transport du réservoir et donc l'évolution à long terme de l'intrusion d'eau salée. En prenant l'exemple de la plateforme carbonatée de Llucmajor au niveau du site expérimental de Ses Sitjoles (Sud-Est de Majorque, Espagne), un travail de caractérisation et d'observation in situ à moyen terme de l'intrusion saline actuelle de ce réservoir permet de décrire son évolution temporelle et les processus biogéochimiques actifs dans la zone de mélange. L'influence de la microstructure du milieu poreux, caractérisée par microtomographie RX, sur les propriétés pétrophysiques et hydrodynamiques est étudiée en laboratoire et des expériences de percolations d'eaux réactives (mélanges eau douce - eau salée et eau pure chargée en CO2) sont réalisées afin d'étudier les modifications de ces microstructures lorsqu'elles sont soumises à des interactions eau - roche. La zone de mélange eau douce - eau salée rencontrée au niveau du site de Ses Sitjoles est large et peu sensible aux contraintes extérieures (climatologiques et anthropiques) et constitue un lieu d'activité microbiologique particulièrement actif. En laboratoire, on observe un fort contrôle des phénomènes de transport par la microporosité et des processus d'interactions eau - roche par la pCO2. Dans le cas d'une percolation de fluides moyennement réactifs, les expériences mettent en évidence une dissolution de calcite accompagnée par une diminution de la perméabilité, liée à un réarrangement des micro-grains à l'intérieur du réseau microporeux.
https://tel.archives-ouvertes.fr/tel-00767152

tel-00767152
https://tel.archives-ouvertes.fr/tel-00767152
https://tel.archives-ouvertes.fr/tel-00767152/document
https://tel.archives-ouvertes.fr/tel-00767152/file/thesegaring.pdf