Mudstone microstructure in a macro-stratigraphic context: Relationship to reservoir storage and flow capacity

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Growing global demand for petroleum and natural gas has necessitated finding new supplies to replace declining conventional production. Traditionally, shales have been viewed as 'non-reservoir' rocks and hence of little economic importance. However, in the last decade, shales have undergone a dramatic re-appraisal in terms of their hydrocarbon resource potential. One aspect of this is driven by the development of horizontal drilling technology combined with multistage hydraulic fracture treatments to facilitate economic flow rates from very low permeability shale formations. In addition, there has been an explosion of interest in, and a steadily expanding understanding of, the various geological processes that govern mud sedimentation. Included are the physical, chemical and biological processes that cause mud particles to aggregate together, the physical processes that transport mud into and across sedimentary basins, the biochemical processes that control the cementation of mud and organic particles at burial depths of centimetres to a few metres, and the physical and chemical processes that control compaction and maturation of organic matter to burial depths of several km. This sequence of processes determines the microfabric governing the rock's capacity to store and transmit fluids, and may play an important role in the conversion of disseminated organic matter to petroleum. The proposed project will provide improved understanding of the depositional and burial processes that have affected specific shale formations in Alberta and British Columbia. The resulting knowledge may help to guide exploration efforts in these 'unconventional reservoirs', potentially leading to delineation of greater oil and gas reserves, with consequent implications for employment, royalties, and benefit to the overall Canadian economy.