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Capillarity 2022, 5(4): 65-74 https://doi.org/10.46690/capi.2022.04.01
Original Article | Open Access | Issue | Published: 23 June 2022

Molecular modeling on Gulong shale oil and wettability of reservoir matrix

Show Author's Information FengLu Cui1,  Xu Jin2( ),  He Liu2,  HengAn Wu1( ),  FengChao Wang1
CAS Key Laboratory of Mechanical Behavior and Design of Materials, Department of Modern Mechanics, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230027, P. R. China
PetroChina Research Institute of Petroleum Exploration & Development, Beijing 100083, P. R. China
Keywords:
molecular modeling, wetting, molecular dynamics simulations, Shale oil, oil-matrix interactions
Cite this article:
Cui F, Jin X, Liu H, et al. Molecular modeling on Gulong shale oil and wettability of reservoir matrix. Capillarity, 2022, 5(4): 65-74. https://doi.org/10.46690/capi.2022.04.01
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Abstract Full text About this article

Understanding molecular interactions between oil and reservoir matrix is crucial to develop a productive strategy for enhanced oil recovery. Molecular dynamics simulation has become an important method for analyzing microscopic mechanisms of some static properties and dynamic processes. However, molecular modeling of shale oil and reservoir matrix is still challenging, due to their complex features. Wettability, which is the measurement of oil-matrix interactions, requires in-depth understanding from the microscopic perspective. In this study, the density, interfacial tension and viscosity of eleven common components in shale oil are calculated using molecular dynamics simulations. Then a molecular model of Gulong shale oil is built, based on the reported experimental results and simulations. Compared with the variation in hydrocarbon content, the change in polar component content leads to more significant variations in the physical properties of shale oil. This molecular model is also employed to investigate the wettability of shale-oil nanodroplets on minerals and organic matter, with or without the surrounding aqueous phase. This work suggests fresh ideas for studying the oil-matrix interactions on the nanoscale and provides theoretical guidance for shale oil exploitation.


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Molecular modeling on Gulong shale oil and wettability of reservoir matrix

Show Author's information FengLu Cui1, Xu Jin2( ), He Liu2, HengAn Wu1( ), FengChao Wang1
CAS Key Laboratory of Mechanical Behavior and Design of Materials, Department of Modern Mechanics, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230027, P. R. China
PetroChina Research Institute of Petroleum Exploration & Development, Beijing 100083, P. R. China

Abstract

Understanding molecular interactions between oil and reservoir matrix is crucial to develop a productive strategy for enhanced oil recovery. Molecular dynamics simulation has become an important method for analyzing microscopic mechanisms of some static properties and dynamic processes. However, molecular modeling of shale oil and reservoir matrix is still challenging, due to their complex features. Wettability, which is the measurement of oil-matrix interactions, requires in-depth understanding from the microscopic perspective. In this study, the density, interfacial tension and viscosity of eleven common components in shale oil are calculated using molecular dynamics simulations. Then a molecular model of Gulong shale oil is built, based on the reported experimental results and simulations. Compared with the variation in hydrocarbon content, the change in polar component content leads to more significant variations in the physical properties of shale oil. This molecular model is also employed to investigate the wettability of shale-oil nanodroplets on minerals and organic matter, with or without the surrounding aqueous phase. This work suggests fresh ideas for studying the oil-matrix interactions on the nanoscale and provides theoretical guidance for shale oil exploitation.

Keywords: molecular modeling, wetting, molecular dynamics simulations, Shale oil, oil-matrix interactions

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Publication history

Received: 15 May 2022
Revised: 13 June 2022
Accepted: 20 June 2022
Published: 23 June 2022
Issue date: August 2022

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© The Author(s) 2022.

Acknowledgements

This work was financially supported by the National Key Research and Development Program of China (No. 2019YFA0708700), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 11922213) and the Youth Innovation Promotion Association CAS (No. 2020449). The numerical calculations were performed on the supercomputing system in Hefei Advanced Computing Center and the Supercomputing Center of University of Science and Technology of China.

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Open Access This article is distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY-NC-ND) license, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

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