Experimental Time-Lapse Visualization of Mud-Filtrate Invasion and Mudcake Deposition Using X-Ray Radiography

Abstract

Accurate description and modeling of multiphase fluid flow are of paramount importance for subsurface resource engineering. The main source of information to quantify in-situ rock properties are borehole geophysical measurements, which are very often riddled with uncertainty ensuing from rock heterogeneity/anisotropy and mud-filtrate invasion effects. Therefore, experimental methods are needed to accurately describe and quantify the physics of mud-filtrate invasion and mudcake deposition and its effects on borehole geophysical measurements. We developed a new high-resolution (10 to 50 μm) experimental method to investigate the invasion of water- and oil-based drilling muds into rectangular rock samples using X-ray radiography. During mud injection, rock simples are scanned using high-resolution X-ray radiography, enabling the time-lapse visualization of both mud-filtrate invasion and external/internal mudcake deposition. Our experimental method successfully examines the effects of rock heterogeneity, bedding plane orientation, and anisotropy on the spatial distribution of fluids and mudcake formation resulting from mud-filtrate invasion. It also emphasizes the importance of mud properties on the final fluid saturation state once mudcake seals the borehole. The procedure is fast, accurate, and reliable to quantify the process of mud-filtrate invasion at the core scale, enabling an improved understanding of invasion effects on borehole geophysical measurements following drilling operations, especially in spatially complex rocks such as laminated sandstones and carbonates.