An integrated assessment of UK Shale resource distribution based on fundamental analyses of shale mechanical & fluid properties.

页岩气有可能改变英国未来的能源安全。目前，进口天然气占国内天然气需求的50%，预计到2035年将上升到约80%，因此最大的问题是，是否有足够的页岩气资源来有效地取代不断下降的北海和爱尔兰海天然气产量，以及持续多久？最大的未知数是在英国生产的潜在天然气储量（即可采资源）。对于英格兰北方石炭纪的Upper Bowland页岩，有许多不同的就地估计值，范围从Andrews（2013）建议的164-447 tcf到Uguna等人引用的8-19 tcf。在缺乏流动测试数据的情况下，无法公布可靠的可采储量估计。Cuadrilla在兰开夏郡进行了一次单井测试，测试结果尚未公布。工业界、科学界、政府和环境科学家一直缺乏现代钻孔电测井、岩心和试井数据，以评估资源潜力和相关的环境影响。这种情况即将改变，钻探计划在拟议的研究过程中在柴郡、兰开夏郡、北约克郡和北诺丁汉郡进行。本研究项目将集中在东米德兰兹、兰开夏、柴郡和约克郡的石炭纪（鲍兰德页岩）盆地。该愿景是一个多学科的方法来解决在NERC呼吁的挑战2中提出的主要研究重点领域的问题。我们将汇集来自英国几个机构的主要研究人员，致力于英国页岩科学，从微孔（<10 nm）到盆地规模。页岩矿物学、岩石学、地球化学、地层学、岩石力学、天然气生成和吸附以及低孔隙度岩石中的流体流动的关键方面将被结合到一个整体盆地规模模型中，以生成一套更好的科学依据的估计。将测试与输入参数相关的关键敏感性，更重要的是，将其与计划威尔斯的可用生产数据进行比较/对比。这个为期4年的项目的结果将是对英国页岩资源的位置和规模进行更科学的评估，在水力压裂之前，期间和之后，以更好地了解页岩特性和通过页岩的流体流动为指导，以确定页岩气是否有可能在未来几十年内对英国的能源安全产生显着影响。该项目将向关键利益相关者（政府，工业，学术界和公众）提供英国页岩潜力的重要信息，并将为英国未来能源战略的讨论提供投入。与该计划中其他挑战项目资助的项目合作，将使我们能够评估是否可以以商业上可行和对环境负责的方式获得这种资源。石炭纪鲍兰德页岩：地质和资源估计。英国能源和气候变化部英国地质调查局，英国伦敦。斯内普，C。Vane，C.，V. Moss-Hayes，V.，Whitelaw，P.，史蒂文斯湖，Meredith，W.和卡尔，A. 2017.从高压水热解过程和气体吸附测量得到的页岩气储量估算的收敛性。第28届有机地球化学国际会议，2017年9月17日至22日，佛罗伦萨，意大利。

Shale gas has the potential to transform the UK's future energy security. With imports currently accounting for 50% of its domestic gas requirements, projected to rise to roughly 80% by 2035, the big question is 'Are there enough shale gas resources to effectively replace the declining North Sea and Irish Sea gas production, and for how long?' The largest unknown is the potential gas reserves (i.e. recoverable resources) that would be commercially viable to be produced in the UK. There have been a number of differing in-place estimates for the Upper Bowland Shale in the northern England Carboniferous, ranging from 164-447 tcf suggested by Andrews (2013), to 8-19 tcf quoted by Uguna et al. (2017). In the absence of flow test data, reliable recoverable reserves estimates could not have been published. There has been a single well test carried out by Cuadrilla in Lancashire, the results of which have not yet been made public. The industry, the scientific community, the government, and environmental scientists, have been starved of modern borehole electric log, core and well test data with which to assess both resource potential and the associated environmental impact. This is about to change, with drilling planned to take place during the course of the proposed study in Cheshire, Lancashire, North Yorkshire, and North Nottinghamshire. This research project will focus on the Carboniferous (Bowland Shale) basins of the East Midlands, Lancashire, Cheshire, and Yorkshire. The vision is of a multidisciplinary approach to solving problems in the main research focus areas set out in Challenge 2 of the NERC call. We will bring together key researchers from several institutions around the UK, working on UK shale science from the micro-pore (<10 nm) to the basin scale. Key aspects of shale mineralogy, petrology, geochemistry, stratigraphy, rock mechanics, gas generation and adsorption and fluid flow in low porosity rocks will be combined into a holistic basin-scale model to generate a better scientifically-grounded set of estimates. Key sensitivities related to input parameters will be tested, and more importantly, compared/contrasted with available production data from the planned wells . The outcome of this 4-year project will be a more scientifically defendable assessment of the location and magnitude of UK shale resources, guided by an improved understanding of the shale properties and fluid flow through the shale, before, during and following hydraulic fracturing to ascertain whether shale gas has the potential to have a marked impact on energy security in the UK for several decades into the future. This project will critically inform the key stakeholders (Government, Industry, Academia, and the general public) of UK shale potential, and will provide input to discussions on future UK energy strategy. Collaboration with those projects funded within the other Challenges in this programme will allow us to assess whether or not this resource can be accessed in a commercially viable and environmentally responsible way.ReferencesAndrews, I.J. 2013. The Carboniferous Bowland Shale: Geology and resource estimate. British Geological Survey for the Department of Energy and Climate Change, London, UK.Uguna, C., Snape, C., Vane, C., V. Moss-Hayes, V., Whitelaw, P., Stevens, L., Meredith, W. and Carr, A. 2017. Convergence of shale gas reserve estimates from a high pressure water pyrolysis procedure and gas adsorption measurements. 28th International Meeting on Organic Geochemistry, 17-22 September 2017, Florence, Italy.