Explaining breakthrough behaviour in shale rock: influence of capillary effects and geomechanics

Abstract

Shale rock, being a common caprock for carbon dioxide reservoirs, is subject to extensive research. One of the topics is breakthrough phenomena during injection of supercritical carbon dioxide in shale, the nature of which is still to be fully understood. In the present paper, a two-phase flow model, which may possibly be used to explain the breakthrough behaviour is examined. Capillary effects and geomechanics are included in the model, and influential model parameters are determined.