Matrix permeability measurement from fractured unconventional source-rock samples: Method and application

Shale matrix permeability is one of the most important parameters for characterizing a source rock reservoir and for predicting hydrocarbon production. The low permeability value and the presence of induced fractures during core retrieval and transportation make the accurate measurement of the true permeability values for source rocks a significant challenge for the industry. The steady state flow method and the transient pressure pulse decay method on core plug samples mainly measure the permeability of fractures when fractures are present. While the Gas Research Institute (GRI) method that uses pressure decay on crushed rock samples was designed to overcome this difficulty associated with the induced fractures, its measurement results are reported to be sensitive to the particle size of crushed rock samples and also need correction of Knudsen diffusion effect. Moreover, the GRI method is limited to the unconfined stress condition. This work develops a practical method to measure the matrix permeability values from fractured source rock samples by extending the commonly used pressure pulse decay method. A source rock sample with fractures can be more accurately described by a dual-continuum system consisting of a fracture continuum and a matrix continuum. During the pulse decay test, the initial flow across the source rock sample is dominated by the fracture continuum because it has much higher permeability values than those for the rock matrix. Thus, the initial gas pressure signals from the test are used to estimate the fracture permeability. During the late-stage of a pulse decay test, the flow process within the rock sample is controlled by the rock matrix. The observed pressure signals at this stage are used for estimating matrix permeability. The method is based on the analytical solution to gas flow in the fractured rock sample and relatively simple to apply in practice. Both fracture and matrix permeability's dependence on the effective stress can be assessed with this method.