A critical review of water uptake by shales

This paper provides a critical review of the observations (laboratory and field), the mechanisms behind those observations, and the models to mimic the imbibition behavior of shales. In this regard, following contents are critically reviewed: 1) history of imbibition in shales, 2) laboratory observations, 3) field observations, 4) mechanisms of water imbibition in shales, and 5) simulation models. We also discuss evaporation of water in shale as an additional mechanism that has not been proposed before, but may be contributing to the loss of water in shale formations.