The dependence of transport properties ofin situ rocks on pore fluid composition and temperature

Fluids saturating cracked rocks within the crust can vary widely in composition and physical properties, which depend greatly on pressure and temperature. External non-hydrostatic stress applied to a cracked medium may result in a significant change of crack volume (and hence, for the undrained regime, pore-fluid pressure) due to the processes of crack closure (opening), and thus lead to a drastic change of the overall physical parameters of a rock. The purpose of the study is to estimate theoretically, using the effective-medium theory, the macroscopic seismic and transport parameters (such as permeability) of cracked rocks (granites) saturated with hydrocarbon gases, oils, brines and water. Variations of crack geometry and fluid parameters in the closed system (at constant fluid mass) under uniaxial compression are considered as well. The results show that composition of a saturating fluid as well as fluid temperature greatly influence the effective permeability and shear velocities of a rock mass, while thermal conductivity is not so sensitive to variations of fluid parameters.