X-ray microtomography of hydrochloric acid propagation in carbonate rocks.

Acid treatments are used in the oil and gas industry, to increase the permeability of the carbonate reservoirs by creating preferential channels, called wormholes. Channels formation is strongly influenced by acid type and injection rate. The aim of this study is to evaluate some characteristics of the microporous system of carbonate rocks, before and after acidizing. For that purpose X-ray high-resolution microtomography was used. The results show that this technique can be used as a reliable method to analyze microstructural characteristics of the wormholes.