Effect of fracturing on the petrophysical sampling of cores for the estimation of porosity and permeability

Authors

  • Eduardo Antonio Rossello Instituto de Geociencias Básicas, Aplicadas y Ambientales de Buenos Aires. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Universidad de Buenos Aires. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6466-9956
  • Marcelo Laprea-Bigott Texas A&M University. Harold Vance Department of Petroleum Engineering. Richardson Building. Texas. United States of America. https://orcid.org/0009-0007-7348-6442

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.59069/24225703e012

Keywords:

lithological cores, petrophysical studies, fractures, naturally fractured reservoirs

Abstract

Petrophysical sampling is an essential tool to determine the porosity and permeability of a reservoir rock in order to understand its storage conditions, recovery and productivity of the fluids it contains, and thus assess the economic potential of an exploratory project. However, the limited size of the different types of cores conditions the true validity of their determinations when they are extrapolated to the rest of the reservoir. The mechanical limitation in the extraction of cores (plugs) in lithological areas without fractures fails to reflect the behaviour of the rock group. The porosity and permeability measurements obtained from laboratory samples, when only the undeformed rock is considered, are significantly lower than the overall values when the contribution of fractures is incorporated. In this study, the influence of fracturing in the petrophysical sampling of heterogeneous lithologies of cores for the determination of porosity and permeability in reservoir rocks is investigated. We discuss how fractures can affect petrophysical measurements and how these can impact the accuracy of porosity and permeability estimates in reservoir evaluation. The results obtained provide valuable petrophysical information to improve sampling techniques in areas with the presence of fractures for better characterization of reservoirs and more informed decision making in the oil and gas industry.

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Published

2023-11-16

How to Cite

Rossello, E. A., & Laprea-Bigott, M. (2023). Effect of fracturing on the petrophysical sampling of cores for the estimation of porosity and permeability. Journal of Engineering Geology and the Environment, (50), e012. https://doi.org/10.59069/24225703e012
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