Hydraulic fracturing: Geomechanics of naturally fractured shale and risk assessment

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Hydraulic Fracturing (HF) is a critical enabling technology for unconventional tight gas and shale gas development (SGD) in the Oil and Gas Industry. The potential economic value to Canada of even modest developments in HF design and optimization is immense. Known SGD reservoirs across Canada will require about $3.2 trillion to fully develop. Public concern for the potential environmental and health risks (e.g., drinking water contamination) of HF operations has been growing, in part, because the risks of HF have not been evaluated in a systematic or transparent way. Canada does not have a formal risk framework in place for HF, leading some provinces such as Quebec and Ontario to introduce moratoriums on HF. The proposed project brings together researchers from the Universities and Terralog Technologies Inc. (TTI) to a) develop innovative HF practices that are more economically and environmentally sustainable by creating new knowledge about geomechanics in naturally fractured shale through computer simulations; and b) develop the foundations for a comprehensive risk assessment and management framework to inform Canadian public policy. As a key stakeholder in this space, TTI is well positioned to mobilize and commercialize the knowledge and technology developed during the project within the next three to ten years. Knowledge will be mobilized for academics through publications, to the stakeholders through risk workshops, and to the general public through the project website and risk database. This project will train three Doctoral, four Master's, and twelve undergraduates in both the natural and social sciences. This is a key transformative feature of the project as HF activities will substantially increase in Canada over the next five years (as it has in the U.S.) and a qualified workforce will be needed by non-profit organizations, regulators, and industry with expertise from the social sciences and engineering. Over the next three years this project will inject, at a critical time in SGD in Canada, technology, knowledge, and experts needed to realize the economic potential of SGD while ensuring environmental sustainability and public heath.