The effect of oil extraction on porosity and methane adsorption for dry and moisture-equilibrated shales

The porosity and methane adsorption capacity of shale used to estimate gas in place (GIP) are affected both by moisture and oil residing in the pore structure, as well as oil naturally present from maturation, which can include contaminant drilling mud fluids used for drilling. To demonstrate the impact of extractable oil on methane adsorption capacity for both dry and moisture-equilibrated shales, two overmature shales from China (SH1, SH2) and two lower mature shales from UK (BS3, GH4) have been investigated. The oils extracted from the overmature shales (<0.5 wt% TOC) are in low yield and arise from oil-based drilling mud, while the much higher yields from the lower maturity UK shales (1.1–2.5 wt% TOC) is mainly from oil generated by maturation. After extraction, minimal changes (<5%) in total nanopore volume (