A Critical Review of Osmosis-Associated Imbibition in Unconventional Formations

In petroleum engineering, imbibition is one of the most important elements for the hydraulic fracturing and water flooding processes, when extraneous fluids are introduced to the reservoir. However, in unconventional shale formations, osmosis has been often overlooked, but it can influence the imbibition process between the working fluid and the contacting formation rocks. The main objective of this study is to understand effects of fluid–rock interactions for osmosis-associated imbibition in unconventional formations. This paper summarizes previous studies on imbibition in unconventional formations, including shale, tight carbonate, and tight sandstone formations. Various key factors and their influence on the imbibition processes are discussed. Then, the causes and role of osmotic forces in fluid imbibition processes are summarized based on previous and recent field observations and laboratory measurements. Moreover, some numerical simulation approaches to model the osmosis-associated imbibition are summarized and compared. Finally, a discussion on the practical implications and field observations of osmosis-associated imbibition is included.