Seismic and geomechanical physical properties of bitumen saturated carbonates: application in the development of the Grosmont formation of Alberta

阿尔伯塔东北部的碳酸盐格拉斯蒙地层拥有加拿大25%以上的沥青资源。 迄今为止，这一资源基本上仍未得到利用。 从与更常规的油砂完全不同的岩石中生产这种高粘度流体所带来的未知风险阻碍了生产。 降低这种风险的一种方法是在所讨论的地区进行“延时”地震调查。 这样的测量有助于查明地下环境的扰动情况。 然而，如果没有关于地球中岩石的现场物理性质的相应信息，就无法实现这些昂贵的地震勘测的全部价值。 为了正确地解释这些地震数据，还必须了解岩石的密度和地震波速度将如何随着压力、温度和流体含量的变化而变化。 本研究旨在通过与Laricina Energy Ltd.进行为期三年的合作来解决这一问题，合资企业Saleski油田试点项目的运营商及其合作伙伴OSUM油砂有限公司。我们将测量沥青饱和岩心材料的物理特性，因为它们会受到增产过程中在地层中遇到的压力和温度条件的影响。 来自ENGAGE赠款的种子资金使我们能够构建一个新的压力-温度控制系统;该提案现在将与该设备一起工作，以测量各种岩心样品的物理特性。 最初的工作将使用超声波换能器在1 MHz的极高频率下进行。 然而，这项研究计划的一个重要组成部分是构建一个新的系统，使我们能够在低频下测量与实际地震场测量更具可比性的相同属性。 这对于这样的材料是非常重要的，因为超声波和地震频带之间的波速和衰减可以是完全不同的。 这项工作还将包括第三个补充组成部分，利用我们的工业合作伙伴获得的独特的世界级岩心和测井数据集。 这使我们能够查看原地裂缝并解释应力，从而增加了我们对影响地震响应的因素的了解。

The carbonate Grosmont formation in NE Alberta holds upwards of 25% of Canada's bitumen resources. To date this resource remains essentially untapped. Production is held back by the unknown risks associated with producing such high viscosity fluids from a rock that is quite different from the more conventional oil sands. One way to reduce this risk is to carry out 'time lapse' seismic surveys over the area in question. Such surveys can help to map out disturbances of the underground c conditions. However, the full value of these expensive seismic surveys cannot be realized without corresponding information on the in situ physical properties of the rocks in the earth. In order to properly interpret this seismic data, one must also have knowledge of how the density and the seismic wave speeds of the rock will change with variations in pressure, temperature, and fluid content. This study seeks to address this problem through a three year collaboration with Laricina Energy Ltd., operator of the joint venture Saleski field pilot project, and its partner OSUM Oil Sands Ltd. We will measure the physical properties of bitumen saturated core materials as they are subject to the conditions of pressure and temperature that are encountered in the earth during stimulation. Seed funding from an ENGAGE grant has allowed us to construct a new pressure-temperature control system; this proposal will now work with this equipment to measure the physical properties of a wide variety of core samples. The initial work will be carried out using ultrasonic transducers at very high frequencies of 1 MHz. However, an important component to this research program is the construction of a novel system that allows us to measure the same properties at low frequencies that are more comparable to the actual seismic field measurements. This is very important for such materials as the wave speeds and attenuations can be quite different between the ultrasonic and the seismic frequency bands. The work will also include a third complementary component that takes advantage of the unique and world class core and log data set obtained by our industrial partner. This allows us to look at in situ fractures and interpret stress adding to our knowledge of the factors influencing seismic responses.