Liquid Intake of Organic Shales

Organic shales are exposed to treatment fluids during and after hydraulic fracturing operations. The fluid–shale interaction influences the petrophysical alteration of the fractured shale and the fate of the fracturing fluid. We systematically measured the spontaneous water and oil intake of five shale samples collected from the cores of two wells drilled in the Horn River basin. The samples represent three shale formations with different mineralogy and petrophysical properties. We characterize the samples by measuring the porosity, conducting X-ray diffraction, and interpreting the well logging data and scanning electron microscopy images. The water intake is higher than the oil intake for all samples. The excess water intake and the physical alteration degree correlate with the shale mineralogy and petrophysical properties. The ratio between the water and oil intake is much higher than the ratio between the water and oil capillary pressures, even for the non-swelling shales. The comparative study indicates that the water intake of organic shales is controlled by both adsorption and capillarity.