Advancing Field- and Lab-Based reservoir and hydraulic fracture characterization methods to support sustainable development of unconventional resources

低渗透性（“非常规”）储层容纳富含烃液体的气体和轻质油，是目前北美最重要的烃生产来源。在加拿大，Montney地层中的低渗透性粉砂岩/页岩和Duvernay地层中的页岩是重要工业活动的目标。这些非常规资源（“UR "）的商业生产依赖于长水平威尔斯井和多级水力压裂（多裂缝水平威尔斯井，”MFHW“）的组合。当前的工业范例是使威尔斯的数量和水力压裂（HF）阶段的数量最大化，以增加烃采收率，而不仔细考虑储层或产生的水力压裂的性质。虽然这种方法实现了经济的烃回收，但当前研究计划的目的是提高该过程的效率并确保其可持续性。这通过减少威尔斯的数量和每口井所需的HF阶段而成为可能，同时1）实现相等或更大的烃回收和2）减轻环境影响。 该研究计划的目标是通过提高开发效率，提高加拿大UR开发的环境和经济可持续性，为未来的低碳排放能源提供重要的过渡。加拿大碳氢化合物行业的生存将需要技术进步，使加拿大非常规资源的开发对能源公司更具经济吸引力，同时减少环境影响并提高非常规资源开发的可持续性。 该研究计划与多学科合作伙伴组织专家合作进行，将提供旨在提高非常规油藏开发效率和可持续性的前，合成和后HF油藏和水力压裂表征方法。申请的大部分资金将用于培训学生，他们将在这一重要的研究领域发展关键技能。

Low-permeability ("unconventional") reservoirs hosting hydrocarbon liquids-rich gas and light oil are currently the most important source of hydrocarbon production in North America. In Canada, low-permeability siltstone/shales within the Montney Formation, and shales within the Duvernay Formation, are the target of significant industry activity. Commercial production of these unconventional resources ('URs') has depended on the combination of long horizontal wells and multi-stage hydraulic fracturing (multi-fractured horizontal wells, 'MFHWs'). The current industry paradigm is to maximize both the number of wells and the number of hydraulic fracture (HF) stages to increase hydrocarbon recovery without carefully considering properties of the reservoir or created hydraulic fractures. While this approach achieves economic hydrocarbon recovery, it is the purpose of the current research program to increase the efficiency, and ensure the sustainability, of this process. This is made possible by reducing the number of wells, and HF stages required per well, while 1) achieving equal or greater hydrocarbon recovery and 2) mitigating environmental impact. The goal of this research program is to increase the environmental and economic sustainability of UR development in Canada through increased development efficiency, providing an important transition to lower carbon emission energy sources of the future. The survival of the hydrocarbon industry in Canada will require advancements in technology to make development of Canadian unconventional resources more economically attractive to energy companies while reducing environmental impact and increasing the sustainability of unconventional resource development. This research program, performed in collaboration with multi-disciplinary partner organization experts, will deliver Pre-, Syn- and Post-HF reservoir and hydraulic fracture characterization methods designed to improve the efficiency, and sustainability, of unconventional reservoir development. The majority of the requested funding will be spent on the training of students who will develop critical skills in this important field of study.