Conventional and unconventional reservoirs are both critical in oilfield developments. After waterflooding treatments over decades, the petrophysical properties of a conventional reservoir may change in many aspects. It is crucial to identify the variations of these petrophysical properties after the long-term waterflooding treatments, both at the pore and core scales. For unconventional reservoirs, the productivity and performance of hydraulic fracturing in shales are challenging because of the complicated petrophysical properties. The confining pressure imposed on a shale formation has a tremendous impact on the permeability of the rock. The correlation between confining pressure and rock permeability is complicated and might be nonlinear. In this thesis, a series of laboratory tests was conducted on core samples extracted from four U.S. shale formations to measure their petrophysical properties. In addition, a special 2D microfluidic equipment that simulates the pore structure of a sandstone formation was developed to investigate the influence of injection flow rate on the development of high-permeability flow channels. Moreover, the multiple linear regression (MLR) model was applied with the predictors based on the development stages to quantify the variations of reservoir petrophysical properties. The MLR model outcome indicated that certain variables were effectively correlated to the permeability. The 2D microfluidic model demonstrated the development of viscous fingering when the injection water flow rate was higher than a certain level, which resulted in reduced overall sweep efficiency. These comprehensive laboratory experiments demonstrate the role of confining pressure, Klinkenberg effect, and bedding plane direction on the gas flow in the nanoscale pore space in shales. / Master of Science / Conventional and unconventional hydrocarbon reservoirs are both important in oil-gas development. The waterflooding treatment is the injection of water into a petroleum reservoir to increase reservoir pressure and to displace residual oil, which is a widely used enhanced oil recovery method. However, after waterflooding treatments for several decades, it may bring many changes in the properties of a conventional reservoir. To optimize subsequent oilfield development plans, it is our duty to identify the variations of these properties after the long-term waterflooding treatments, both at the pore and core scales. In unconventional reservoirs, hydraulic fracturing has been widely used to produce hydrocarbon resources from shale or other tight rocks at an economically viable production rate. The operation of hydraulic fracturing in shales is challenging because of the complicated reservoir pressure. The external pressure imposed on a shale formation has a tremendous impact on the permeability of the rock. The correlation between pressure and rock permeability is intricate. In this thesis, a series of laboratory tests was conducted on core samples to measure their properties and the pressure. Moreover, a statistical model was applied to quantify the variations of reservoir properties. The results indicated that certain reservoir properties were effectively correlated to the permeability. These comprehensive investigations demonstrate the role of pressure, special gas flow effect, and rock bedding direction on the gas flow in the extremely small pore in shales.

Parmi la multitude des données pétrophysiques utilisées pour décrire une formationgéologique, certaines permettent spécifiquement d'en prédire la capacité de production,à savoir : la porosité, la perméabilité intrinsèque et le coefficient de Klinkenberg.Dans le cas particulier des gas shales, ces trois propriétés essentielles sont extrêmementdifficiles à mesurer précisément, compte tenu de la complexité de cesroches. Cette thèse s'inscrit dans la continuité de travaux menés au laboratoire I2M départementTREFLE, sur l'analyse et l'amélioration de la méthode Pulse Decay, quiconstitue la méthode de mesure transitoire classiquement utilisée dans l'industriepétrolière pour identifier une ou plusieurs des propriétés d'intérêt. Les multiplespoints faibles de la méthode Pulse Decay sont ici présentés, de même que les pointsforts de la nouvelle méthode issue du perfectionnement de la méthode Pulse Decay,à savoir la méthode Step Decay, développée au laboratoire I2M et brevetée en partenariatavec TOTAL. Plus précisément, les performances de la méthode Step Decaysont ici étudiée aussi bien numériquement qu'expérimentalement, en condition homogène,comme en condition hétérogène. Ce manuscrit fournit également les résultatsd'une analyse portant sur la méthode Pulse Decay sur broyat, qui forme une alternativepossible à la méthode Pulse Decay sur carotte mais dont la fiabilité est fortementremise en question. / Among the multitude of petrophysical data used to describe a geological formation,some of them allow specifically to predict the production capacity, namely: the porosity,the intrinsic permeability and the Klinkenberg coefficient. In the particular case ofgas shales, these three essential properties are extremely difficult to measure precisely,because of the complexicity of these rocks. This thesis is the continuity ofworks led in I2M laboratory-TREFLE department, on the analysis and the improvementof the Pulse Decay method, which is the classical transient method of measurementused in the oil&gas industry to identify one or several of the properties ofinterest. The numerous weaknesses of the Pulse Decay method are here presented,as the strengths of the new method derived from the improvement of the Pulse Decaymethod, namely the Step Decay method, developed in I2M laboratory and patentedin partnership with TOTAL. More exactly, the performances of the Step Decaymethod are here studied numerically as well as experimentally, in homogeneouscondition, as in heterogeneous condition. This manuscript provides also the results ofan analysis dealing with the Pulse Decay method on cuttings, which forms a possiblealternative to the Pulse Decay method on plug but which reliability is highly questioned.