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

全球对石油和天然气的需求不断增长，需要寻找新的供应来取代不断下降的传统产量。传统上，页岩一直被视为“非储集层”岩石，因此经济价值不大。然而，在过去的十年中，页岩在其油气资源潜力方面经历了戏剧性的重新评估。其中一个方面是由水平钻井技术的发展驱动的，该技术与多级水力压裂处理相结合，以促进来自极低渗透性页岩地层的经济流速。此外，人们对控制泥浆沉积的各种地质过程的兴趣激增，对它们的了解也在稳步扩大。其中包括使泥浆颗粒聚集在一起的物理、化学和生物过程，将泥浆运入和运过沉积盆地的物理过程，控制埋深几厘米至几米的泥浆和有机颗粒胶结作用的生物化学过程，以及控制埋深几公里的有机物质压实和成熟的物理和化学过程。这一系列过程决定了控制岩石储存和传输流体能力的微组构，并可能在浸染型有机质转化为石油的过程中发挥重要作用。拟议的项目将使人们更好地了解影响阿尔伯塔和不列颠哥伦比亚省特定页岩层的沉积和埋藏过程。由此产生的知识可能有助于指导这些“非常规油气田”的勘探工作，可能导致更大的石油和天然气储量的划定，从而对就业，特许权使用费和整体加拿大经济的利益产生影响。

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.