Measuring low permeabilities of gas-sands and shales using a pressure transmission technique

Abstract Liquid and gas permeability measurements for tight gas-sand and shales were done using a pressure transmission technique in specially designed apparatus in which confining pressure, pore pressure, and temperature are independently controlled. Downstream pressure changes were measured after increasing and maintaining upstream pressure constant. The initial pressure difference changes only after the pressure pulse propagates across the sample. For low permeability samples, the downstream pressure increase is delayed but the measurement senses a greater sample volume. On the other hand, conventional pulse decay techniques provide a more rapid response but are sensitive to local sample permeability heterogeneity. Permeability measured for the rocks studied varies from 1.18×10−15 to 3.95×10−21 m2. The measured permeability anisotropy ratio in gas shale varies from 20% to 31%. The magnitudes of permeability anisotropy remain almost constant, but the absolute permeability values decrease by a factor of 10 with a 29.79 MPa effective pressure. All samples showed a nonlinear reduction in permeability with increasing effective pressure. The rate of reduction is markedly different from sample to sample and with flow direction. This reduction can be described by a cubic k–σ law and explained by preferential flow through microcracks.