Advanced reservoir and hydraulic fracture characterization of unconventional light oil reservoirs

预计非常规轻质油（ULO）油藏的成功开发将使加拿大西部的石油产量大幅增长，扭转近年来常规石油产量下降的趋势。 多裂缝水平威尔斯（MFHW）等新技术已使加拿大西部一些ULO区块实现了商业化生产。然而，这些区块的最佳开发仍然存在重大挑战，这与对流体储存和运输机制及其控制的认识不足有关。 拟议的综合研究计划将致力于改进加拿大西部ULO区块的储层和水力压裂表征方法。 储层样品分析将用于获得控制流体流动的关键特性，并确定有机物和无机物对这些特性的控制。 该信息将与测井数据一起沿着使用，以通过岩石物理模型的总体“按比例放大”到油井规模。 这些岩石物理模型将依次用于填充1）用于获得储层性质的原位估计的新的试井分析工具; 2）新的水力压裂模型，其随后将用于预测生产和注入井水力压裂特性3）用于水力压裂和储层表征的新的速率瞬态分析（RTA）模型4）三维地质模型将用于ULO中初次开采和强化开采过程的油藏模拟，以及5）分析油藏连通性研究，以评估大规模流体流动并简化初次开采和EOR项目的分析。 这项研究将孔隙尺度分析与岩心尺度和井/田尺度过程沿着进行，将由主要研究人员及其地球科学和石油工程专业的学生进行。 本研究的新方面包括：1）应用新方法表征ULO孔隙结构和流动特性、水力压裂特性和储层连通性; 2）整合这些多尺度和多学科技术，以改善储层表征。

It is expected that successful development of unconventional light oil (ULO) reservoirs will allow for significant growth in oil production in Western Canada, reversing a trend in recent history of declining conventional oil production. New technology, such as multi-fractured horizontal wells (MFHWs), has enabled commercial production from some of Western Canada's ULO plays. There remain, however, significant challenges to the optimal development of these plays related to the poor understanding of fluid storage and transport mechanisms and their controls. The proposed integrated research program will be directed at improving reservoir and hydraulic fracture characterization methods for Western Canadian ULO plays. Reservoir sample analysis will be used to obtain key properties controlling fluid flow and establish both organic and inorganic matter controls on these properties. This information will be used along with well-log data to "scale-up" to the well-scale through population of petrophysical models. These petrophysical models will in turn be used to populate 1) new well-test analysis tools used to obtain in-situ estimates of reservoir properties; 2) new hydraulic fracture models that will then be used in predicting production and injection-well hydraulic fracture properties 3) new rate-transient analysis (RTA) models for hydraulic fracture and reservoir characterization 4) 3D geologic models to be used in reservoir simulation of primary- and enhanced-recovery processes in ULO and 5) analytical reservoir connectivity studies to assess large-scale fluid flow and simplify analysis of primary recovery and EOR projects. The study integrates analyses of pore-scale along with core-scale and well/field scale processes and will be carried out by the principal investigators and their geoscience and petroleum engineering students. The novel aspects of this study include 1) application of new methods for characterizing ULO pore-structure and flow characteristics, hydraulic fracture properties and reservoir connectivity and 2) integration of these multiscale and multidisciplinary techniques to improve reservoir characterization.