The Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum NB Branch (CIM-NB) hosted a presentation by Dr. Peter Myles Duncan, President and CEO of Microseismic, Inc., titled "Unconventional Resource Development, Fracking and Microseismic Monitoring" on March 15, 2013 at Tilley Hall on the University of New Brunswick, Fredericton Campus.
Over 175 students and faculty, government regulators, industry representatives, consultants, practitioners and interested members of the public attended this presentation on the fundamentals of micro seismic monitoring and its application to unconventional resource, or shale gas development. Most New Brunswickers have either been following or been involved with the debate about shale gas, and hydro racking. Most people have an opinion on the topic and the potential for a shale gas industry in the province. This presentation was organized to provide additional information about the hydrofracking processes and how they are monitored so that we can be better informed about our options for shale gas development.
Dr. Duncan spoke about how the current upswing in unconventional reservoir production, what some are calling “shale gale”, is now not a geology issue. The tight rocks, or rocks with very low porosity, have petroleum resources encased in them that are millions of years old and geologists have known for decades that some of these units are petroliferous. Fracturing to improve the production of the resource has been occurring since the 1940’s. Development of this resource has now become a technological issue as three recent technologies have enabled the development of these tight rocks. These new technologies are horizontal drilling, hydraulic fracturing, and microseismic monitoring. Horizontal drilling allows the previously only vertical well into the economic zone to now be bent into a horizontal direction along the producing zone and thus extends the “pay” intersection to allow for economic levels of production. The benefit of this technology is that fewer wells are required to extract the resource. Since multiple wells can now be placed on one well pad, fewer well pads are constructed, and hence less surface area is disturbed. Fracking or hydraulic fracturing creates the connections with the hydrocarbon molecules that give them free pathways to the wellbore and thence to the surface. This improves production rates and the economics of the well. Microseismic monitoring is the newest technology and it provides information as to how the fractures propagated and just what part of the reservoir has been contacted by the fracturing in a way that predictive models cannot. Analyzing the data can determine the location and extent of the fracture, the amount of energy expended during the hydrofracking process, amongst other information, which can be used to design future fracking programs at adjacent wells. This process can reduce impact on the surface and improve production.
Dr. Duncan illustrated how questions of well spacing, ultimate recovery and re-frac scheduling can be addressed with reservoir knowledge derived from the microseismic data. He also highlighted how community concerns about the risk of fracking into the water table or inducing seismic events can be addressed with the kind of insight into the process that microseismic data provides.
Peter Myles Duncan was a graduate of UNB physics and went on to get a PhD in geophysics from U of T. After his initial employment with Shell Canada, Dr. Duncan founded and co-founded several exploration and production companies and has been involved in many geophysical associations both in Canada and the US. His reputation has granted him both Distinguished Lecturer and Honorary Member recognition from several of these associations. He is currently President and CEO of MicroSeismics, Inc., a Houston, TX based geophysical service company, and has in depth knowledge and experience on shale oil/gas exploration, hydrofracking and seismic monitoring in the development of this resource.
Dr. Tom Al, Professor of Geochemistry and Hydrogeology in the UNB Department of Earth Sciences volunteered his Earth Processes, Resources and the Environment class venue as the presentation venue. He incorporated the topic into the learning curriculum which allowed the mostly science and engineering students enrolled in the course to participate in this event.
This presentation was part of the Technical Talks and Student Industry Meet and Greet series hosted by the NB Branch of CIM. Event organizer was Michele Coleman, P. Geo., P.Eng.
CIM-NB hosts these events with UNB to introduce students to industry and government leaders involved with mineral development and highlight current mining activities. CIM is an organization promoting innovation, the exchange of technical knowledge and networking in the mineral and petroleum industry in Canada.
