Energies, Vol. 19, Pages 164: Simulation and Sensitivity Analysis of CO2 Migration and Pressure Propagation Considering Molecular Diffusion and Geochemical Reactions in Shale Oil Reservoirs

Energies, Vol. 19, Pages 164: Simulation and Sensitivity Analysis of CO2 Migration and Pressure Propagation Considering Molecular Diffusion and Geochemical Reactions in Shale Oil Reservoirs

Energies doi: 10.3390/en19010164

Authors:
Ruihong Qiao
Bing Yang
Hai Huang
Qianqian Ren
Zijie Cheng
Huanyu Feng

Unconventional shale oil reservoirs, characterized by ultra-low porosity and permeability, severely constrain oil recovery. CO2-enhanced oil recovery (CO2-EOR) following hydraulic fracturing is an effective approach that combines incremental oil recovery with long-term CO2 storage. However, CO2 transport in the fracture–matrix system is complex, especially when molecular diffusion and geochemical reactions are coupled. This study conducts numerical simulations on a representative shale reservoir in the Ordos Basin, incorporating both mechanisms under post-fracturing injection–soaking conditions. The results show that molecular diffusion enhances CO2 mass transfer across the fracture–matrix interface, increasing the final CO2 sweep efficiency by 0.17 percentage points relative to convection alone, whereas geochemical reactions reduce it by about 0.3 percentage points. When both mechanisms coexist, the net effect is a decrease of approximately 0.2 percentage points in CO2 sweep efficiency. In contrast, pressure sweep efficiency differs by less than 0.5 percentage points among all cases and stabilizes near 47%, suggesting that pressure propagation is only weakly affected by diffusion and reactions. Sensitivity analysis reveals that, among operational parameters, injection pressure and injection rate strongly affect CO2 sweep efficiency, whereas soaking time governs pressure propagation. Among reservoir parameters, permeability has the most pronounced influence on both CO2 and pressure sweep efficiencies, followed by temperature, while initial reservoir pressure has minimal impact. This work quantitatively elucidates the coupled roles of molecular diffusion and geochemical reactions in shale reservoirs and provides practical guidance for optimizing post-fracturing CO2-EOR operations.