Abstract
Tight sandstone gas has become an important field of natural gas development in China. The tight sandstone gas resources of Yan’an gas field in Ordos Basin have made great progress. However, due to the complex gas−water relationship, its exploration and development have been seriously restricted. The occurrence state of water molecules in tight reservoirs, the dynamic change characteristics of gas−water two-phase seepage and its main controlling factors are still unclear. In this paper, the water-occurrence state, gas−water two-phase fluid distribution and dynamic change characteristics of different types of tight reservoir rock samples in Yan’an gas field were studied by means of water vapor isothermal adsorption experiment and nuclear magnetic resonance methane flooding experiment, and the main controlling factors were discussed. The results show that water molecules in different types of tight reservoirs mainly occur in clay minerals and their main participation is in the formation of fractured and parallel plate pores. The adsorption characteristics of water molecules conform to the Dent model; that is, the adsorption is divided into single-layer adsorption, multi-layer adsorption and capillary condensation. In mudstone, limestone and fine sandstone, water mainly occurs in small-sized pores with a diameter of 0.001 μm−0.1 μm. The dynamic change characteristics of gas and water are not obvious and no longer change under 7 MPa displacement pressure, and the gas saturation is low. The gas−water dynamic change characteristics of conglomerate and medium-coarse sandstone are obvious and no longer change under 9 MPa displacement pressure. The gas saturation is high, and the water molecules mainly exist in large-sized pores with a diameter of 0.1 μm−10 μm. The development of organic matter in tight reservoir mudstone is not conducive to the occurrence of water molecules. Clay minerals are the main reason for the high water saturation of different types of tight reservoir rocks. Tight rock reservoirs with large pore size and low clay mineral content are more conducive to natural gas migration and occurrence, which is conducive to tight sandstone gas accumulation.