Transport zones of oil confined in lipophilic nanopores: a technical note

Shale resource is becoming more important in the energy supply market. While the shale oil resource is widely distributed throughout the world, the study on the oil transport mechanisms through nanopores of shale reservoir is still at the starting stage. In this paper, a novel idea is proposed by dividing the oil in the nanopore into three sub-zones: the absorbed zone, transition zone, and bulk zone. In each zone, the oil viscosity is calculated independently. The governing equations for each zone are presented. Then, coupling with the boundary equations obtained from the continuum law, three analytic equations are developed. Finally, the equation for total mass flow rate of oil transport through nanopores is obtained linearly. The model presented in this paper is the eve before the birth of a continuous model, and the new model can also shed light on the simulation of oil transport in nanoscale pores, which is the basis of multi-scale shale oil simulation.