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Nanopore Heterogeneity and Accessibility in Oil and Gas Bearing Cretaceous KG (Raghampuram) Shale, KG Basin, India: An Advanced Multi-analytical Study

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Abstract

This study investigated the impact of pore accessibility and complexity on gas storage, transport, and recovery potential in the little-studied thermally mature Raghampuram shale samples collected from 2930 to 2987 m depth of Krishna–Godavari basin, India. Our findings reveal that sample nature (powdered, chipped, or cores) and assessment methods significantly influence pore accessibility evaluation, highlighting a research gap in the interpretation of irregularity, complexity, and heterogeneity of shale pore structure using unreliable monofractal theories. Employing a multiscale methodology involving low-pressure N2 and CO2 sorption, synchrotron small-angle scattering, and He-pycnometry techniques, we estimated accessibility in powder and core samples. Powder samples displayed a pore accessibility range of 36.07–106.94%, which was a substantial increase (154.54–423.07%) compared to that of solid core samples (1.61–4.16%). Total organic carbon was found to influence closed pore formation, while clay, carbonate, and quartz + K-feldspar contributed to open pores. Multifractal analyses comparing pore heterogeneity and complexity between accessible and inaccessible pores demonstrated higher heterogeneity and complexity in the latter, with accessible pores exhibiting simpler characteristics. Pore size distributions of both accessible and total pores (includes both accessible and inaccessible pores) exhibited multifractal behavior. Our findings emphasize the significance of evaluating pore accessibility and heterogeneity in shale-gas analysis, providing fresh insights into the interlinked elements of pore structure, composition, and gas recovery potential, thus advancing reservoir characterization understanding.

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Data Availability

The raw data and materials related to this research are available in the Mendeley Data Repository (https://doi.org/10.17632/ztjbz25jpf.1).

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Acknowledgments

The authors acknowledge critical and constructive reviews from four anonymous reviewers and editorial guidance by John Carranza. The ACMS, IIT Kanpur supported the XRD and low-pressure N2 and CO2 adsorption tests. Solid State Physics Division, BARC, provided the SWAXS beamline for pore-analysis. AB acknowledges a senior research fellowship for his doctoral research. This work is supported by a Pan IIT-ONGC research grant awarded to SM and a collaboration with Keshava Deva Malaviya Institute of Petroleum Exploration (KDMIPE), ONGC, Dehradun.

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  1. Experimental Rock Deformation Laboratory, Department of Earth Sciences, Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur, Kanpur, 208016, India

    Abinash Bal & Santanu Misra

  2. Solid State Physics Division, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Mumbai, 400085, India

    Debasis Sen

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Correspondence to Santanu Misra.

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Bal, A., Misra, S. & Sen, D. Nanopore Heterogeneity and Accessibility in Oil and Gas Bearing Cretaceous KG (Raghampuram) Shale, KG Basin, India: An Advanced Multi-analytical Study. Nat Resour Res (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11053-024-10319-3

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