Effect of initial water saturation and water film on imbibition behavior in tight reservoirs using nuclear magnetic resonance technique

Abstract

Initial water saturation has a significant influence on spontaneous imbibition, and it impacts the imbibition rate and imbibed liquid dynamic distribution among pore networks. At present, the effect of initial water saturation on spontaneous imbibition is still unclear, especially the water film effect caused by initial water saturation varies during imbibition. To address these issues, we prepared the samples with varied initial water saturation through vapor adsorption and then conducted spontaneous imbibitions on these samples, which were monitored by nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR). Samples were selected from tight sandstone reservoirs in the eastern Ordos Basin. From the NMR spectrum corresponding to different imbibition duration, the left wing of the left peak at the initial water saturation is usually higher than the ones after imbibition, mainly caused by the water film effect. When the water film on the surface of large pores is too thin, it is prone to be interpreted as water in small pores because the water film has a quick relaxation time than the water in the center part of pores. The water film effect disappears when the whole pores are filled with water, and the inversed small pores decrease. The relaxation time of the water film is shorter than 0.51 ms in the tested samples. This study is conducive to understanding the effect of initial water saturation on liquid dynamic distribution during imbibition, especially the water film effect variation during imbibition and the T2 value of the water film.