Determination of in situ hydrocarbon contents in shale oil plays. Part 2: Two-dimensional nuclear magnetic resonance (2D NMR) as a potential approach to characterize preserved cores

Determination of the in situ hydrocarbon content and occurrence characteristics of shale oil reservoirs is crucial for reserve prediction and efficient development. Although many scholars have studied the fluid saturation of conventional coring shale using solvent and thermal extraction methods, with time consuming and only volumes or mass of oil and water were given, which could not reveal the occurrence characteristics of oil and water in samples. This study proposes a two-dimensional (2D) nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) T1–T2 mapping method to systematically assess the in situ water and oil content, distribution, and their evaporative loss laws of preserved shales. Sixty preserved shales with different maturities were selected from the first member of the Qingshankou Formation in the northern Songliao Basin, China. Each preserved sample was divided into two parts and analyzed using a high-frequency (22 MHz) NMR and Dean–Stark extraction respectively. Furthermore, a time-elapsed NMR T1–T2 mapping was performed on a preserved shale core sample after varying the exposure times in an open environment. Results show that T1–T2 mapping can be used to determine the porosity, water and oil contents, and saturations of preserved shales. Oil content measured using T1–T2 mapping was consistent with that obtained by Dean–Stark extraction, with a correlation coefficient (R2) as high as 90% when crude oils of varying maturities were used for NMR calibration.The T1/T2 of oil inpreserved shale showed a negative trend with maturity, and the T2 of oil was often higher than that of water, indicating oil is enriched in the relative macropores. After exposing the preserved shale to open air for 150–200 h, 1) the total loss ratio of oil and water was approximately 80%; 2)the fluid evaporation loss rate follows the orders: oil > water and fluids in larger pores > smaller pores; 3)the free oil content decreased by approximately 92%, whereas the absorbed oil content varied slightly. As a nondestructive, rapid, and minimal sample preparation method, 2D NMR can efficiently assess both fluids content and distribution of a core sample in only 5 min, thus displaying its great advantages and applications for preserved shales with fast fluid evaporation to determine the in situ fluid content.