Translation. Region: Russian Federation –
Source: Novosibirsk State University –
An important disclaimer is at the bottom of this article.
The work was carried out at the MEDIANA experimental station, designed for synchrotron X-ray microtomography research. The purpose of the trip was to study the creep of hydraulic fracturing (HF) fractures, which is caused by proppant intrusion into the rock under lithostatic pressure. This process leads to a decrease in fracture opening and deterioration of reservoir filtration properties. Although the creep effect is widely observed both in oil fields and in laboratory conditions, its mechanisms at the pore-space scale remain poorly understood.
To visualize and analyze this process, synchrotron X-ray microtomography was used, allowing for non-destructive investigation of the evolution of the core's internal structure and the spatial distribution of proppant. Experiments were conducted on core samples with an artificial fracture filled with proppant. The samples were placed in a specialized high-pressure, X-ray-transparent cell, which simulated reservoir conditions.
The obtained experimental data are planned to be used to analyze the mechanisms of hydraulic fracture degradation, as well as to clarify the influence of rock creep on the filtration properties of fractured reservoirs. The research results will be used to construct digital core models and reduce uncertainty in assessing the properties of oil and gas reservoirs.
The trip was funded by a grant from the Russian Ministry of Education and Science, aimed at developing infrastructure and methods for using synchrotron radiation to solve problems related to the extraction of hard-to-recover oil and gas reserves. The project involves developing and testing new approaches to digital and in-situ studies of core and fluids in oil and gas reservoirs, including experiments in specialized cells simulating reservoir conditions, as well as methods for studying non-stationary filtration and geomechanical processes.
The research trip was attended by Mikhail Fokin, a research fellow at the Gazpromneft-NSU Scientific and Educational Center, Alexey Novoselov, a research fellow at the Gazpromneft-NSU Scientific and Educational Center, and E.S. Kovalenko and A.A. Kaloyan, research fellows at KISI-Kurchatov.
Explanations for the images:
Image #2: A high-pressure radiolucent cell with a core sample mounted on the turntable of the MEDIANA station. Images #3, 4: Three-dimensional tomographic reconstruction of a core sample with a fracture filled with proppant. Image #4: Central slice of a three-dimensional tomographic reconstruction of a core with a fracture filled with proppant, obtained at different points in time during the experiment.
The event was implemented within the framework of the grant of the Ministry of Education and Science of Russia No. 075-15-2025-510
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