A New Cell for Electrical Conductivity Measurement on Saturated Samples at Upper Crust Conditions

Electrical resistivity soundings are used by geophysicists to determine the structure and composition of the Earth’s crust and mantle and to explore natural resources (ore, oil, gas, water). Their interpretations in terms of composition and in-situ physical conditions depend mainly on laboratory measurements of electrical conductivity of rocks at simulated crustal conditions of temperature, pressure, saturation and pore pressures. These measurements present a numbers of limitations, in particular, in the case where conductive pore fluids are present, as in the case of deep reservoir conditions, where temperature exceeds 250 °C. Here, we present a new cell capable of measuring electrical conductivity of large saturated samples at confining pressure up to 200 MPa, pore pressure up to 50 MPa, and temperature up to 500 °C. The measurement cell has been developed in a commercial, internally heated, gas pressure apparatus (Paterson press). It is based on the concept of “guard ring” electrode, which is adapted to samples that are jacketed by a very conductive, metallic material. Numerical modeling of the current flow in the electrical cell allowed defining the optimal cell geometry. Calibration tests have been performed on Fontainebleau sandstones saturated with electrolytes of different conductivities, up to 350 °C. The resulting electrical formation factor and temperature dependence of electrical conductivity are in very good agreement with previous studies. This new cell will improve the exploration and exploitation of deep fluid reservoirs, as in unconventional, high enthalpy geothermal fields. In particular, the investigations address possible effects of fluid-rock interactions on electrical resistivity of a reservoir host rock.