Systematic Specific Surface Area Analyses on Rocks to Implement as a Necessary, Quick, and Informative Method to Understand Geo-Mechanical Parameter in IOR Experiments

Abstract

Specific surface area (SSA) of a particle can make a major impact in understanding reservoir rock characteristics where it may indicate the possibility of fluid content. The purpose of this study is to measure and understand the SSA attribute of various rock samples from around the world. Legacy SSA measurements for carbonate and sandstone was performed using a different method, without environmental consistency and strict supervision. Moreover, this data was not adopted properly in other studies as SSA is a very niche subject that is not fully understood. The benefits of knowing the generic SSA of a particular rock type is of great significance in understanding the main characteristics of a specific rock type and its fluid bearing potential. What is more important is understanding the variation of SSA measurements across various samples of the same lithology due to mineralogical or textural variations. However, there is a lack of published content focused around a compilation of SSA measurements and its relationship with mineralogical or texture contributing factors for even the most common rock types. In this thesis, rock samples mainly consist of chalk samples from diverse geologic locations (Denmark, Belgium, North Sea, Ireland, and etc.) that were collected for various Improved Oil Recovery (IOR) experiments. Furthermore, several types of rock samples are tested to compile an exhaustive database using a particular method at University of Stavanger (UiS) for SSA measurements (Brunauer-Emmett-Teller theory). The SSA results for chalk samples do not vary much when compare to other rock types where high variations are found for samples that are from the same formation. There are a few parameters that can influence the SSA results and several correlations with other rock attributes are prepared to understand the dependency of these parameters. Thus, the goal of the study is to measure, evaluate, observe, and compile SSA analyses and results for several rock samples in a published form as a quick reference guide. Furthermore, the SSA will be used to calculate permeability of samples and then compared with measured permeability values. In anticipation this study will be able to help students to have a better understanding of SSA and apply the relevant knowledge in various industrial applications. More focused research needs to be done in the future to resolve the errors and pitfalls that are faced during analyzing and understanding SSA inferred from rock samples in the laboratory versus their natural geological setting.