Pore-by-pore capillary pressure measurements using X-ray microtomography at reservoir conditions: Curvature, snap-off, and remobilization of residual CO2

Abstract

X-ray microtomography was used to image the shape and size of residual ganglia of supercritical CO2 at resolutions of 3.5 and 2 μm and at representative subsurface conditions of temperature and pressure. The capillary pressure for each ganglion was found by measuring the curvature of the CO2-brine interface, while the pore structure was parameterized using distance maps of the pore space. The formation of the residual clusters by snap-off was examined by comparing the ganglion capillary pressure to local pore topography. The capillary pressure was found to be inversely proportional to the radius of the largest restriction (throat) surrounding the ganglion, which validates the imbibition mechanisms used in pore-network modeling. The potential mobilization of residual ganglia was assessed using a reformulation of both the capillary (Ncmacro) and Bond numbers (Nbmacro), rigorously based on a balance of pore-scale forces, with the majority of ganglia remobilized at Ncmacro around 1. Buoyancy forces were found to be small in this system (Nbmacro << 1), meaning the gravitational remobilization of CO2 after residual trapping would be extremely difficult.