Morphological and petrophysical evaluation of tight gas resources and energy production in Pakistan

Abstract

Tight gas is a highly potential source of energy that can meet the energy deficit in Pakistan. The production of gas from conventional gas reserves are continuously declining in a massive manner and increasing demand of hydrocarbons as an energy source is soaring at huge levels. Therefore, the energy deficit can only be met through tight gas unconventional sources of energy. Tight gas is a natural gas having very low permeability and marginable matrix porosity which extends diversely into the geological formations of Pakistan. That is the major reason of huge level of uncertainty for development of tight gas reservoirs. However, the production mechanism of tight gas reservoirs is too much difficult and complex as compared to conventional resources of hydrocarbons. Hence, the tight gas resources are equivocal and debatable regarding the sustainability and utilization. This paper provides a systematic study on the tight gas reservoirs through petro-physical evaluation of outcrop samples of tight rocks. In this regard, an experimental study is carried out on outcrops of tight gas near Chilton formation Indus basin trough and different techniques namely SEM (Scanning Electron Microscopy), AFM (Atomic Force Microscopy) have been employed to evaluate the permeability, porosity and fluid saturation. Furthermore, simulation studies on the core flooding in the close packed outcrop samples have been performed in order to estimate the permeability reduction caused by different phases.