Effects of Pore Water Content on Stress Sensitivity of Tight Sandstone Oil Reservoirs: A Study of the Mahu Block (Xinjiang Province, China)

Abstract

Traditional stress sensitivity experiments are typically conducted under dry conditions, without considering the reservoir’s water content. In reality, the presence of water within pores significantly influences the extent of stress sensitivity damage in tight sandstone oil formations, subsequently affecting the determination of stress sensitivity coefficients during experimentation. By investigating sandstone samples from wells in the Mahu Block of China’s Xinjiang province, we observed that increasing water saturation reduces the stress sensitivity of tight sandstone. By conducting stress sensitivity experiments under varying water content conditions, we found that the stress sensitivity coefficient is not a constant value but decreases as water saturation increases. Based on experimental comparisons, an optimized power-law model for stress-sensitive damage assessment was refined. By conducting stress-sensitive damage assessment experiments under different water content conditions and integrating the concept of comprehensive compression coefficient, an improved stress-sensitive power-law model was established allowing for the influence of water content. The accuracy of this improved model was increased by 46.98% compared to the original power-law model through experimental validation. The research outcomes can enhance the accuracy of permeability and productivity evaluation, providing valuable guidance for unconventional oil and gas development.