Shale formations containing above a critical amount of clay present significant rock-fluid interactions that affect drilling, completion, stimulation, production and economic viability of the operations. Correlating the impacts of generated osmotic potential and physico-chemical effects to formation mechanical properties and strength will provide better efficiency in the shale field developments and production optimization. In this paper, we aim to minimize the uncertainties surrounding the structural changes observed with the osmotic pressure by conducting precisely controlled coupled measurements of membrane efficiency, permeability, dynamic and static Young’s moduli, and shear strength under triaxial stress state with elevated pore pressures up to 4000 psi. The results indicate that osmotic membrane efficiency increases from 16.5% to 30.3% due to shale structural changes associated with the increase in effective stress and changing salinity of the pore fluid.
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