Journal of Oil, Gas and Petrochemical Technology

Journal of Oil, Gas and Petrochemical Technology

Effect of cyclic loading on Anhydrite mechanical and petrophysical properties: an Iranian Underground Gas Storage Caprock

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors
Hossein Jalalifar 1
Mostafa Farrokhi 1
Saeed Kariminasab 2
1 Department of Petroleum Engineering, Shahid Bahonar University of Kerman
2 Department of Mining Engineering, Shahid Bahonar University of Kerman
10.22034/jogpt.2021.239074.1077
Abstract
Underground gas storage (UGS) in depleted reservoirs holds the highest amount of working gas. In this study, Anhydrite caprock of an Iranian depleted reservoir was studied due to an increase in the number of seismic activities around this field. Anhydrite mechanical properties degrade due to cyclic loading effects resulted from the natural gas injection-production mechanisms. Anhydrite specimens were cored from the outcrop samples. The similarity of Anhydrite outcrop and drilling cuttings was confirmed using X-ray diffraction and SEM EDAX mineral analysis. The effect of cyclic loading on Anhydrite specimens has  not been studied previously. The specimens loaded 10, 20, and 30 times in the range of 18, 21, 24, and 25 MPa respectively. Anhydrite unconfined compressive strength (UCS) reduced between 3.5 to 23.9 percent under the cyclic loading experiments. The UCS is more sensitive to the intensity of loading rather than the cyclic times. The specimens CT images were obtained before and after the cyclic loading tests. Also petrophysical properties of the specimens were measured. The study of the specimens’ damage indicated that the anhydrite loading threshold was greater than 40 percent of the original UCS.
Keywords
Underground gas storage
Anhydrite
Unconfined Compressive Strength
Cyclic loading
Loading Threshold
[1]           CEDIGAZ. Overview of underground gas storage in the world 2018 [Online].
[2]           M. R. Azin R, Helalizadeh A, Zirrahi M, "Investigation of underground sour gas storage in a depleted gas reservoir," Oil & Gas Science and Technology–Revue d’IFP Energies nouvelles, vol. 69(7), pp. 1227-36, 2014.
[3]           N. A. Azin RE, Entezari J, "Underground gas storage in a partially depleted gas reservoir," Oil & Gas Science and Technology-Revue de l'IFP, vol. 63(6), pp. 691-703, 2008.
[4]           CEDIGAZ. Medium and Long Term Natural Gas Outlook 2018 [Online].
[5]           R. Malakooti, Azin, R., "The optimization of underground gas storage in a partially depleted gas reservoir," Petroleum Science and Technology, vol. 29(8), pp. 824-36, 2011.
[6]           J. E. Streit and R. R. Hillis, "Estimating fault stability and sustainable fluid pressures for underground storage of CO2 in porous rock," Energy, vol. 29, pp. 1445-1456, 2004.
[7]           J. Liu, H. Xie, Z. Hou, C. Yang, and L. Chen, "Damage evolution of rock salt under cyclic loading in unixial tests," Acta Geotechnica, vol. 9, pp. 153-160, 2014.
[8]           Y. Wang, L. Ma, P. Fan, and Y. Chen, "A fatigue damage model for rock salt considering the effects of loading frequency and amplitude," International Journal of Mining Science and Technology, vol. 26, pp. 955-958, 2016.
[9]           E. Liu and S. He, "Effects of cyclic dynamic loading on the mechanical properties of intact rock samples under confining pressure conditions," Engineering Geology, vol. 125, pp. 81-91, 2012.
[10]         J. Šancer, M. Štrejbar, and A. Maleňáková, "Effects of cyclic loading on the rheological properties of sandstones," Open Geosciences, vol. 3, pp. 207-214, 2011.
[11]         M. He, N. Li, Y. Chen, and C. Zhu, "Strength and fatigue properties of sandstone under dynamic cyclic loading," Shock and Vibration, vol. 2016, 2016.
[12]         L. Costin and D. Holcomb, "Time-dependent failure of rock under cyclic loading," Tectonophysics, vol. 79, pp. 279-296, 1981.
[13]         M. Rao and Y. Ramana, "A study of progressive failure of rock under cyclic loading by ultrasonic and AE monitoring techniques," Rock Mechanics and Rock Engineering, vol. 25, pp. 237-251, 1992.
[14]         K. Fuenkajorn and D. Phueakphum, "Effects of cyclic loading on mechanical properties of Maha Sarakham salt," Engineering Geology, vol. 112, pp. 43-52, 2010.
[15]         W. Liang, C. Zhang, H. Gao, X. Yang, S. Xu, and Y. Zhao, "Experiments on mechanical properties of salt rocks under cyclic loading," Journal of Rock Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering, vol. 4, pp. 54-61, 2012.
[16]         A. Pouya, C. Zhu, and C. Arson, "Micro–macro approach of salt viscous fatigue under cyclic loading," Mechanics of Materials, vol. 93, pp. 13-31, 2016.
[17]         Y. Chen, K. Watanabe, H. Kusuda, E. Kusaka, and M. Mabuchi, "Crack growth in Westerly granite during a cyclic loading test," Engineering Geology, vol. 117, pp. 189-197, 2011.
[18]         Y. Zhang, Y. Chen, R. Yu, L. Hu, and M. Irfan, "Effect of loading rate on the felicity effect of three rock types," Rock Mechanics and Rock Engineering, vol. 50, pp. 1673-1681, 2017.
[19]         A. Taheri, N. Hamzah, and Q. Dai, "Degradation and improvement of mechanical properties of rock under triaxial compressive cyclic loading," Japanese Geotechnical Society Special Publication, vol. 5, pp. 71-78, 2017.
[20]         Y. Guo, C. Yang, L. Wang, and F. Xu, "Effects of Cyclic Loading on the Mechanical Properties of Mature Bedding Shale," Advances in Civil Engineering, vol. 2018, 2018.
[21]         E. C. Robertson, R. A. Robie, and K. G. Books, "Physical properties of salt, anhydrite and gypsum: preliminary report," 1958.
[22]         W. Schwerdtner, J.-M. Tou, and P. Hertz, "Elastic properties of single crystals of anhydrite," Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences, vol. 2, pp. 673-683, 1965.
[23]         S. A. Smith, P. McLellan, C. Hawkes, E. N. Steadman, and J. A. Harju, "Geomechanical testing and modeling of reservoir and cap rock integrity in an acid gas EOR/sequestration project, Zama, Alberta, Canada," Energy Procedia, vol. 1, pp. 2169-2176, 2009.
[24]         S. J. Hangx, C. J. Spiers, and C. J. Peach, "Mechanical behavior of anhydrite caprock and implications for CO2 sealing capacity," Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth, vol. 115, 2010.
[25]         M. Malenda, L. Frash, and J. Carey, "Uniaxial Compression Analysis and Microdeformation Characterization of Kevin Dome Anhydrite Caprock," in AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts, 2015.
[26]         B. Mehrgini, H. Memarian, M. B. Dusseault, A. Ghavidel, and M. Heydarizadeh, "Geomechanical characteristics of common reservoir caprock in Iran (Gachsaran Formation), experimental and statistical analysis," Journal of Natural Gas Science and Engineering, vol. 34, pp. 898-907, 2016.
[27]         F. Bell, "A survey of the engineering properties of some anhydrite and gypsum from the north and midlands of England," Engineering geology, vol. 38, pp. 1-23, 1994.
[28]         F. I. Shalabi, E. J. Cording, and O. H. Al-Hattamleh, "Estimation of rock engineering properties using hardness tests," Engineering Geology, vol. 90, pp. 138-147, 2007.
Journal of Oil, Gas and Petrochemical Technology
Volume 8, Number 1
June 2021
Pages 15-22