Permeability is one of the key factors involved in the optimization of oil and gas production in fractured porous media. Understanding the loss in permeability influenced by the fracture system due to the increasing effective stress aids to improve recovery in tight reservoirs. Specifically, the impacts on permeability loss caused by different fracture parameters are not yet clearly understood. The principal aim of this paper is to develop a reasonable and meaningful quantitative model that manifests the controls on the permeability of fracture systems with different extents of fracture penetration. The stress-dependent permeability of a fracture system was studied through physical tests and numerical simulation with the finite element method (FEM). In addition, to extend capability beyond the existing model, a theoretical stress-dependent permeability model is proposed with fracture penetration extent as an influencing factor. The results presented include (1) a friendly agreement between the predicted permeability reduction under different stress conditions and the practical experimental data; (2) rock permeability of cores with fractures first reduces dramatically due to the closure of the fractures, then the permeability decreases gradually with the increase in effective stress; and (3) fracture penetration extent is one of the main factors in permeability stress sensitivity. The sensitivity is more influenced by fracture systems with a larger fracture penetration extent, whereas matrix compaction is the leading influencing factor in permeability stress sensitivity for fracture systems with smaller fracture penetration extents.

The micro-scale effect occurs because of the gas flows in shale reservoirs containing small organic pores. In this study, based on a lattice Boltzmann model incorporating the bounce-back and specular-reflection boundary conditions, the gas flow through two parallel plates driven by differential pressures is simulated, which in turn verifies the model. Considering the effects of the slippage, surface diffusion, and adsorption, the gas flow in the organic channels is simulated based on the proposed lattice Boltzmann model. It is shown that the micro-scale effect is significant in the gas flows in the micro-scale channels. The compression effect leads to a nonlinear distribution of pressures along the centreline of the flow channels, and the nonlinearity increases with an increase in the pressure difference between the two sides of the flow channel. In case of gas flows in organic pores, the adsorption effect decreases the free-gas velocities, and with a decrease in pore sizes, the average free-gas velocity is reduced owing to the increased adsorption effect. The slippage effect and surface diffusion have a significant impact on the free-gas velocity of the mass flow. Compared to the slippage effect, surface diffusion contributes more to the mass flow of gas in organic pores. An increase in the Knudsen number intensifies the slippage effect and surface diffusion and enhances the mass flow.