INVESTIGATION OF NANO-POROSITY IN CARBONATE RESERVOIRS AND ITS ROLE IN UNDERSTANDING HYDROCARBON RESERVES AND RECOVERY ECONOMICS

This study examines a Kuwaiti carbonate reservoir that is classified as a tight reservoir. In one core sample, the total porosity is reported to be 14%, of which 60% of its total porosity is estimated to be nano-pores. The objective of this study is to establish existence of these nano-pores and their whereabouts, and then investigates their nano-size role in hydrocarbon storage, economics and recovery mechanism. Characterizing nano-pores available in tight carbonate reservoirs starts with examining the constituents of the rock such as, mineral type and composition of grain, pore-size, and pore-size distribution. Nano-pore characterization has integrated several tools such as X-Ray Diffraction (XRD), Scattered Electron Microscopy (SEM), and mercury-Washburn Pore Size Distribution (PSD). The XRD will examine the rockfabric minerals associated with the nano-pores. The SEM analysis, which is a 2-dimensional scale technique, is associated with the study of the pore morphology as well as the study of the grain morphology; while the PSD is a 3-dimensional technique associated in measuring the total pore size distributions. As a result of integrating these tools, findings and subsequent inquiries are raised.