Quantifying tight-gas sandstone permeability via critical path analysis

Rock permeability has been actively investigated over the past several decades by the geosciences community. However, its accurate estimation still presents significant technical challenges, particularly in spatially complex rocks. In this short communication, we apply critical path analysis (CPA) to estimate permeability in porous rocks from measured mercury intrusion porosimetry and electrical conductivity data. Theoretical estimations of various CPA-based models are then compared to experimental measurements using eighteen tight-gas sandstones. Except for two of the samples, we find permeability estimations performed with the Skaggs model (assuming pore diameter independent of its length) more accurate than other models, within a factor of two of the measured permeabilities. We discuss some plausible sources of the uncertainties.