Integrated Numerical Simulation for Shale Gas Reservoirs

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The Canadian energy industry has seen a reduction in the past two years in the number of Canadian companies that have the capacity to finance and execute unconventional oil and gas (tight and shale oil and gas, heavy oil and bitumen) projects. Canadian headquartered companies like Brion Energy, Canadian Natural Resources, Cenovus, Devon Energy, Imperial Oil, MEG Energy, Nexen and Suncor Energy are entrenching into core unconventional operations. To do this successfully, they need fundamental knowledge to better understand transient gas flow, stress sensitivity, geomechanical effects and transport mechanisms on unconventional oil and gas production. Conventional oil and gas resources are dwindling globally and unconventional oil and gas resources have been recognized as the alternative energy resources. The development of these unconventional resources can have a huge negative environmental impact. Society and governments are demanding cleaner resources development technologies that meet societal energy needs while reducing greenhouse gas emissions and other environmental footprints. Hydraulic fracturing and directional well drilling techniques are commercially viable methods used to extract unconventional oil and gas resources. But despite their economic success, there are many unknowns about their full reservoir lifecycle and how to continue to reduce their environmental impacts.The objectives of the proposed research program will be to develop a comprehensive model coupling matrix, natural and hydraulic fractures, and geomechanics to accurately simulate fluid flow in shale gas reservoirs with multiple scales and perform the corresponding reservoir simulations to accurately predict the production performance of these reservoirs. The PI's ongoing research program has carried out systematic studies using novel reservoir simulation models to understand and evaluate the recovery processes that the oil and gas industry has identified as potential recovery processes. The long-term work of this research program is to develop innovative concepts and approaches in these recovery processes. The approach is two-pronged: to identify and validate innovation that contributes to reservoir simulation models that support new recovery projects that are economically and environmentally palatable. Canadians will play a big role in the global transition to lower carbon energy resources while fulfilling a desire to maximize the recovery of our abundant fossil fuels. This research program is critical to the long-term viable and successful production from unconventional oil and gas reservoirs.