1887

Abstract

Summary

This study evaluates the sealing capacity of various lithologies of the Ionian zone in Greece, through the analysis of 11 outcrop and 6 well samples using X-ray Diffraction (XRD) and Mercury Injection Capillary Pressure (MICP) techniques. Samples were collected from Epirus and Lefkas (Greece) and wells in Crete. XRD analysis identified mineralogical compositions, particularly focusing on evaporitic lithotypes. MICP testing, conducted with a Poremaster60GT porosimeter, assessed pore size distribution and capillary entry pressures, providing estimates of the maximum hydrocarbon (HC) and CO column heights each lithology could retain. Results showed that shale samples exhibited homogeneous microporosity and high sealing efficiency, capable of retaining significant oil and CO columns, constrained primarily by geomechanical properties. Mudstones demonstrated slightly larger pore sizes but retained excellent sealing potential for oil (up to 1315 m) and CO (up to 269 m). In contrast, evaporitic samples, impacted by weathering and reduced plasticity, exhibited wider macropore distributions and significantly lower sealing capacities (oil: 5–66.61 m; CO: ∼1–13.26 m). These findings highlight the strong capillary sealing potential of shales and mudstones, while suggesting that evaporitic rock performance in outcrop samples may underestimate true reservoir conditions due to surface degradation and MICP limitations in microporosity detection.

© EAGE Publications BV
Loading

Article metrics loading...

/content/papers/10.3997/2214-4609.202532011
2025-09-14
2026-02-09

  • From This Site

    /content/papers/10.3997/2214-4609.202532011
    dcterms_title,dcterms_subject,pub_keyword
    -contentType:Journal -contentType:Contributor -contentType:Concept -contentType:Institution
    10
    5
Loading full text...

Full text loading...

References

  1. Bellas, S. M. [1997]. Calcareous nannofossils of the Tertiary flysch (Post Eocene to Early Miocene) of the Ionian Zone in Epirus, NW- Greece: taxonomy and biostratigraphical correlations. Selbstverlag Fachbereich Geowissenschaften, FU Berlin.
     [Google Scholar]
  2. Karakitsios, V.S. [2013] Western Greece and Ionian Sea petroleum systems. AAPG Bulletin, 97, 1567–1595.
     [Google Scholar]
  3. Lohr, Celeste & Hackley, Paul. [2018]. Using mercury injection pressure analyses to estimate sealing capacity of the Tuscaloosa marine shale in Mississippi, USA: Implications for carbon dioxide sequestration. International Journal of Greenhouse Gas Control. 78. 375–387. 10.1016/j.ijggc.2018.09.006.
     https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijggc.2018.09.006 [Google Scholar]
  4. Soto, J.I., Tranos, M.D., Bega, Z., Dooley, T.P., Hernández, P., Hudec, M.R. et al. [2024] Contrasting styles of salt-tectonic processes in the Ionian Zone (Greece and Albania): Integrating surface geology, subsurface data, and experimental models. Tectonics, 43, e2023TC008104.
     [Google Scholar]
  5. Vakalas, I., Tripsanas, E., Tzimeas, C. and Konstantopoulos, P. [2024a] Sedimentary characteristics and basin evolution of a compartmentalized foreland basin—Internal Ionian Zone, Western Greece. Energies, 17(2), 315. https://doi.org/10.3390/en17020315
     [Google Scholar]
  6. Vakalas, I., Kokkalas, S., Triantafyllidis, S. et al. [2024b] Lower Cretaceous to Eocene calciturbidites and calcidebrites of the Ionian Zone, western Greece: Insights into the factors controlling deposition. Mediterranean Geoscience Reviews, 7(1), 1–27. https://doi.org/10.1007/s42990-024-00148-0
     [Google Scholar]
  7. Vakalas, I., Kokkalas, S., Konstantopoulos, P., Tzimeas, C., Kampolis, I., Tsiglifi, H., Pérez-Martin, R., Hernandez-Jiménez, P. and Pita-Gutierrez, J.P. [2023] Implications of salt diapirism in syn-depositional architecture of a carbonate margin-to-edge transition: An example from Plataria Syncline, Ionian Zone, NW Greece. Applied Sciences, 13(12), 7043. https://doi.org/10.3390/app13127043
     [Google Scholar]
  8. Vakalas, I., Ananiadis, G., Kontopoulos, N., Stoykova, K. and Zelilidis, A.S. [2004] Age determination and palaeogeographic reconstruction of Pindos Foreland Basin based on calcareous nannofossils. Bulletin of the Geological Society of Greece, 36, 864–873.
     [Google Scholar]
  9. Watts, N.L. [1987] Theoretical aspects of cap-rock and fault seals for single- and two-phase hydrocarbon columns. Marine and Petroleum Geology, 4(4), 274–307.
     [Google Scholar]
/content/papers/10.3997/2214-4609.202532011
Loading
Initial Assessment of the Sealing Capacity of Caprocks in the Ionian Zone Reservoirs, Greece
Conference Proceedings 2025, 1 (2025); https://doi.org/10.3997/2214-4609.202532011
/content/papers/10.3997/2214-4609.202532011
/content/papers/10.3997/2214-4609.202532011
Loading

Data & Media loading...

Most Cited This Month Most Cited RSS feed

This is a required field
Please enter a valid email address
Approval was a Success
Invalid data
An Error Occurred
Approval was partially successful, following selected items could not be processed due to error