Deformation of pores in response to uniaxial and hydrostatic stress cycling in Marcellus Shale: Implications for gas recovery

One of the main challenges during gas production from shale reservoirs is low recovery rate. One contributing factor to this outcome is an insufficient understanding of pore systems, especially pore behavior following changes in reservoir conditions or resulting from gas production practices. Because the pressure in the producing well can be controlled, understanding the effects of pressure variation on the pore size distribution and methane trapping is necessary to help design optimal conditions to improve the gas recovery rate. This work is the first systematic study of sub-millimeter pore deformation in shale caused by uniaxial and hydrostatic stress up to 100 MPa. Overmature samples from the Middle Devonian Marcellus Shale were analyzed using neutron scattering (SANS and USANS) techniques to interpret the response of nanopores to stress cycling of magnitude and duration compatible with the hydraulic fracturing treatments. Experiments reported here are performed at a series of uniaxial pressures up to 100 MPa and at hydrostatic pressures of deuterated methane 0 and 50 MPa. Since at the original depth of the shale samples' burial of 2184 m the hydrostatic pressure is approximately 27 MPa and the lithostatic pressure is about 55 MPa, the experimental conditions reasonably well simulate the reservoir pressure regime. Our SANS and USANS results show that different pore sizes are affected by uniaxial stress in different ways. Specifically, in the pore size range from 1 nm to 800 nm, a decrease of pore density with pressure is observed, with the most depleted being mesopores of about 100 nm in diameter. The observed decrease is likely related to deformation of kerogen, followed by a loss of pore nano-volume, as well as methane trapped in the micropores. For pores larger than 5 mu m, USANS data suggest that the negative trend is reversed at above 74 MPa, and the number density of large macropores may increase with increased stress even above the original value. The increased number of macropores at high pressure may create new interconnected conduits for gas migration, resulting in a better recovery rate. Another important finding of this study is an irreversible rearrangement of pore size distribution taking place after pressure cycling. This irreversible reorganization of pore size distribution should be taken into account during management of well production to maximize recovery rate.