Quantification of the gas and liquids in place and flow characteristics of shale and other fine grained rocks in Western Canada

在加拿大西部，通常被称为页岩的细粒岩石中存在着大量的非常规天然气和碳氢化合物液体资源。然而，预测页岩中液态碳氢化合物的分布和液体的产量仍然是难以捉摸的。对当前有机成熟度水平的简单分析并不能令人满意，特别是在成熟度、干酪根类型、储层条件（压力和温度）和岩石特征横向变化的地区（如Eagle Ford和Duvernay地层）。总的来说，我们在页岩油藏开发方面取得的成功，并没有与我们对确定天然气和液体的地质过程、定量碳氢化合物的方法或岩石流动特征的不断了解相匹敌，所有这些都对经济发展至关重要。事实证明，由于生产过程中相对渗透率的变化，以及在一些生产过程中压力和温度下降的油藏中不可避免的逆行冷凝和潜在的相堵塞，烃类液体尤其具有挑战性。该建议有两个相互关联的组成部分：1)开发更好的方法来量化页岩气和页岩油储层中的气体和液体，并测量基质流动特性（如相对渗透率和扩散率）；2)使用现有的和新颖的方法对加拿大西部重要页岩的现有天然气和液体以及流动能力进行量化。研究将集中在几个关键的层位，这些层位拥有大量的数据：Exshaw、Doig、Montney、Nordegg和Wilrich地层和等效地层，这些地层是潜在的储层，首席研究员对这些地层有丰富的经验。

Tremendous resources of unconventional gas and hydrocarbon liquids exist in Western Canada in fine grained rocks generally referred to as shales. Predicting the distribution of liquid hydrocarbons in shales and the production rates of the liquids has however remained elusive. Simple analyses of the current level of organic maturity has not proved to be satisfactory particularly in areas where maturity, kerogen type, reservoir conditions (pressure and temperature) and rock character changes laterally (i.e. Eagle Ford and Duvernay formations). Overall our success in developing shales as petroleum reservoirs has not been paralleled with increased understanding of either the geological processes that determine gas and liquids in place, methods for quantifying hydrocarbons in place or the flow characteristics of the rocks, all of which are critical to economic development. Hydrocarbon liquids have proved particularly challenging with problems anticipated due to changing relatively permeability during production and inevitable retrograde condensation and potential phase blocking in some reservoirs with declining pressures and temperatures during production. This proposal has two interrelated components: 1) development of better methodologies for quantifying gas and liquid in place in gas shale and shale oil reservoirs and measuring matrix flow characteristics (such as relatively permeability and diffusivity); and 2) quantification of the gas and liquids in place and flow capacity of important shales in Western Canada using established and novel methodologies. The research will focus on several key horizons for which considerable data is in hand: the Exshaw, Doig, Montney, Nordegg and Wilrich formations and equivalent strata which are prospective reservoirs and for which the principal investigator has considerable experience.