InterPore2026

Wettability and Fluid Phase Redistribution Analysis by High-Resolution Micro-CT

21 May 2026, 15:20

15m

Oral Presentation (MS10) Advances in imaging porous media: techniques, software and case studies MS10

Speaker

Prof. Maira Lima (Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ))

Description

Wettability is a fundamental parameter in the petrophysical characterization of reservoir rocks, as it controls fluid distribution, capillary displacement, and hydrocarbon recovery efficiency (Morrow, N. R., 1990; Blunt, M. J., 2017). This study investigates the wettability of a miniplug sample from Brazilian pre-salt reservoir rocks using high-resolution X-ray microcomputed tomography (micro-CT). By integrating pore-scale topological analyses with the spatial distribution of fluids within the rock, the objective is to establish a non-destructive methodology capable of inferring wettability behavior from the geometry of the fluid–fluid–solid interfaces under different saturation conditions (Andrew, M. et al, 2014).
The sample was subjected to controlled saturation processes with doped formation) brine and subsequently aged in oil. Micro-CT images were acquired at all stages: dry, fully brine-saturated, and during the oil-injection process at increasing flow rates. It is important to emphasize that the injections were performed up to breakthrough, and after stabilization, an additional volume of oil was injected. This entire procedure enabled the identification and segmentation of the phases present in the sample during the described stages, allowing the extraction of metrics such as pore connectivity, throat-size distribution, interface analysis between fluids and rock, and the evaluation of fluid distribution during the aging process.
The proposed methodology demonstrated strong potential for wettability analysis in 3D images obtained from miniplugs, providing high-resolution visualization and supporting interpretations consistent with laboratory-based analyses. The results reinforce the importance of considering wettability as a spatially variable property, strongly influenced by microtexture and saturation history.
It is concluded that high-resolution micro-CT represents a robust tool for the three-dimensional characterization of wettability in reservoir rocks, enabling advances in the understanding of multiphase-flow mechanisms and supporting more realistic fluid-recovery models. Future studies should integrate in situ experiments and multiscale approaches in order to enhance representativeness and validate the methodology across different lithotypes and field conditions.