Experimental study on vertical light hydrocarbon microseepage mechanisms.
- Resource Type
- Article
- Authors
- Wang, Guojian; Qian, Qin; Kluswman, Ronald W.; Wang, Min; Han, Zuozhen
- Source
- Petroleum Science & Technology. 2023, Vol. 41 Issue 23, p2257-2276. 20p.
- Subject
- *GAS seepage
*WATER table
*SEEPAGE
*HYDROCARBONS
*MICROBUBBLES
*BUOYANCY
*PECLET number
- Language
- ISSN
- 1091-6466
Understanding hydrocarbon microseepage mechanism is important for interpreting hydrocarbon anomalies in the surface geochemical exploration. An experiment was developed to simulate the vertical microseepage of hydrocarbons with multiple lithological layers. The results revealed that the microseepage below the water table was dominated by buoyancy of microbubbles with diffusion as a secondary mechanism, however, it was dominated by diffusion with little effect by gas convection above the water table. The micro-fractures were the dominant channels for microseepage. A phenomenological model was developed to quantify the vertical microseepage in different media and provided a better tool in a field environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]