Seismic and geomechanical physical properties of bitumen saturated carbonates: application in the development of the Grosmont formation of Alberta

阿尔伯塔省东北部的Grosmont碳酸盐岩地层拥有加拿大25%以上的沥青资源。迄今为止，这一资源基本上尚未得到开发。从一种与传统油砂截然不同的岩石中开采如此高粘度的流体，会带来未知的风险，从而阻碍了生产。减少这种风险的一种方法是在相关地区进行“时间推移”地震调查。这样的调查可以帮助绘制出地下条件的扰动图。然而，如果没有地球岩石的原位物理性质的相应信息，这些昂贵的地震调查的全部价值就无法实现。为了正确地解释这些地震数据，人们还必须了解岩石的密度和地震波速度如何随着压力、温度和流体含量的变化而变化。本研究旨在通过与Laricina能源有限公司（合资企业Saleski油田试点项目的运营商）及其合作伙伴OSUM油砂有限公司的三年合作来解决这一问题。我们将测量沥青饱和岩心材料的物理性质，因为它们受刺激过程中地球中遇到的压力和温度条件的影响。来自ENGAGE的种子基金使我们能够构建一个新的压力-温度控制系统；该提案现在将与该设备一起测量各种岩心样品的物理性质。最初的工作将使用1兆赫的高频超声波换能器进行。然而，这项研究计划的一个重要组成部分是建立一个新的系统，使我们能够在低频下测量相同的特性，这与实际的地震场测量结果更具可比性。这对于这种材料是非常重要的，因为超声波和地震频段之间的波速和衰减可能有很大的不同。这项工作还将包括第三个补充部分，该部分将利用我们的工业合作伙伴获得的独特的世界级岩心和测井数据集。这使我们能够观察原位裂缝并解释应力，从而增加了我们对影响地震反应因素的了解。

The carbonate Grosmont formation in NE Alberta holds upwards of 25% of Canada's bitumen resources. To date this resource remains essentially untapped. Production is held back by the unknown risks associated with producing such high viscosity fluids from a rock that is quite different from the more conventional oil sands. One way to reduce this risk is to carry out 'time lapse' seismic surveys over the area in question. Such surveys can help to map out disturbances of the underground c conditions. However, the full value of these expensive seismic surveys cannot be realized without corresponding information on the in situ physical properties of the rocks in the earth. In order to properly interpret this seismic data, one must also have knowledge of how the density and the seismic wave speeds of the rock will change with variations in pressure, temperature, and fluid content. This study seeks to address this problem through a three year collaboration with Laricina Energy Ltd., operator of the joint venture Saleski field pilot project, and its partner OSUM Oil Sands Ltd. We will measure the physical properties of bitumen saturated core materials as they are subject to the conditions of pressure and temperature that are encountered in the earth during stimulation. Seed funding from an ENGAGE grant has allowed us to construct a new pressure-temperature control system; this proposal will now work with this equipment to measure the physical properties of a wide variety of core samples. The initial work will be carried out using ultrasonic transducers at very high frequencies of 1 MHz. However, an important component to this research program is the construction of a novel system that allows us to measure the same properties at low frequencies that are more comparable to the actual seismic field measurements. This is very important for such materials as the wave speeds and attenuations can be quite different between the ultrasonic and the seismic frequency bands. The work will also include a third complementary component that takes advantage of the unique and world class core and log data set obtained by our industrial partner. This allows us to look at in situ fractures and interpret stress adding to our knowledge of the factors influencing seismic responses.