Experimental Assessment of the Influence of Colloid Migration on the Filtration Characteristics of Carbonate Rocks under Cyclic Loading

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Abstract

The influence of natural colloidal particle migration on changes in the permeability of carbonate reservoirs under transient and cyclic loading is considered. To exclude chemical and plastic factors, an experimental technique was developed based on the saturation and drying of cores with isopropyl alcohol as an inert fluid. The studies were conducted on carbonate cores with different porosity and initial permeability. It was shown that after saturation and drying cycles, the permeability of individual samples either decreases or increases depending on the nature of colloid migration: blocking or clearing of pore channels. It was determined that the maximum permeability values in the loading cycle reflect the true permeability of the rock, at which the effect of colloidal migration is minimal. Based on the obtained data, power-law dependences of relative permeability on effective pressure with high correlation coefficients (R2 > 0.99) were constructed, which allows us to isolate the elastic component of changes in filtration properties. A comparison of water-saturated experiments revealed a significant effect of mineral dissolution (calcite, halite, etc.) on the increase in apparent permeability. Microscopic and tomographic analysis confirmed the preservation of the overall structure, but also revealed localized colloid redistribution, similar to the "coffee ring" effect. The developed methodology provides a quantitative assessment of the contribution of colloid migration to permeability hysteresis and can be used to refine reservoir flow-mechanical models, improving the accuracy of reservoir performance predictions.

Keywords

permeabilitycolloid migrationcarbonate reservoirspermeability hysteresisfiltration propertieseffective pressure

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Article information

Published
24 October 2025
Issue date
24 October 2025
Issue
Vol. 25, No. 3 (2025)
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