Pore-scale probing CO2 huff-n-puff in extracting shale oil from different types of pores using online T1–T2 nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy

CO₂ huff-n-puff shows great potential to promote shale oil recovery after primary depletion. However, the extracting process of shale oil residing in different types of pores induced by the injected CO₂ remains unclear. Moreover, how to saturate shale core samples with oil is still an experimental challenge, and needs a recommended procedure. These issues significantly impede probing CO₂ huff-n-puff in extracting shale oil as a means of enhanced oil recovery (EOR) processes. In this paper, the oil saturation process of shale core samples and their CO₂ extraction response with respect to pore types were investigated using online T₁–T₂ nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. The results indicated that the oil saturation of shale core samples rapidly increased in the first 16 days under the conditions of 60 °C and 30 MPa and then tended to plateau. The maximum oil saturation could reach 46.2% after a vacuum and pressurization duration of 20 days. After saturation, three distinct regions were identified on the T₁–T₂ NMR spectra of the shale core samples, corresponding to kerogen, organic pores (OPs), and inorganic pores (IPs), respectively. The oil trapped in IPs was the primary target for CO₂ huff-n-puff in shale with a maximum cumulative oil recovery (COR) of 70% original oil in place (OOIP) after three cycles, while the oil trapped in OPs and kerogen presented challenges for extraction (COR < 24.2% OOIP in OPs and almost none for kerogen). CO₂ preferentially extracted the accessible oil trapped in large IPs, while due to the tiny pores and strong affinity of oil-wet walls, the oil saturated in OPs mainly existed in an adsorbed state, leading to an insignificant COR. Furthermore, COR demonstrated a linear increasing tendency with soaking pressure, even when the pressure noticeably exceeded the minimum miscible pressure, implying that the formation of a miscible phase between CO₂ and oil was not the primary drive for CO₂ huff-n-puff in shale.