Shale Matrix Petrophysical Evolution due to Spontaneous Water Imbibition

Shale matrix alteration resulting from fracturing water–rock interactions has become a major concern. It significantly affects economic production from shale gas formation. Previous studies mostly failed to investigate the thickness of the water intrusion zone and quantified its effects on shale geophysical alteration. As a result, we present a one-dimensional countercurrent water imbibition model in which capillary pressure and chemical osmosis stress are included. This model is used to predict water front movement with respect to soaking durations. Based on the simulation results and theory derivations, the matrix porosity-permeability and mechanical alteration models are set up to reveal shale geophysical variables change due to shale–water interactions. Our results show that during the water imbibition process, capillary pressure plays a more crucial role than osmosis pressure. Furthermore, both core-scaled porosity and permeability are negatively associated with water saturation, the extent of which depends on different driving forces and penetration depth. Finally, water soaking is quantitatively demonstrated to induce an increase in compressive strength and stress sensitivity but a reduction in the elastic modulus. These findings will provide efficient insights into driving mechanisms involved in the water–rock interactions. The study is useful to be incorporated into production models for predicting hydrocarbon production from shale reservoirs.