Development of a hybrid quantum-classical reservoir simulator and evaluation of quantum computing hardware

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This project will investigate the near-term viability and application of quantum computing to challenges in numerical simulation. The Principal Investigator, Dr. Zhangxing (John) Chen's extensive expertise in applying numerical techniques, and more recently machine learning, to reservoir simulation has greatly benefitted the energy industry, enabling economic and environmentally responsible utilization of resources, and enhancing the understanding of mathematical modelling in a variety of areas, such as geomechanics, computational fluid dynamics, and nanoparticles. Working with an expert in quantum computation, Dr. Barry Sanders, Dr. Chen will investigate the near-term application of quantum computing to reservoir simulation by decomposing non-quantum algorithms into modules, then assessing which quantum algorithms show potential starting points for development of practical implementations to accelerate these modules. This will determine the viability of different techniques, the required capacity of the quantum computing infrastructure and how long the quantum computation must run to solve a reservoir problem. Several quantum algorithms have been identified that may be suitable for integration into reservoir simulation software and the reservoir simulation workflow to provide performance improvements. This project will advance this preliminary research to proof-of-concept implementations that verify the viability of quantum computing for reservoir simulation. This will result in the design and validation of a hybrid quantum-classical accelerated reservoir simulator, that leverages both quantum and classical computing in an effective manner. Not only will this create a foundation for a system that can provide many benefits to the Canadian energy industry, it will also provide a template for integrating quantum computing into many other scientific disciplines, while providing direction and important reference work for the field of applied quantum computing.