Subventions et des contributions :

Subvention ou bourse octroyée s'appliquant à plus d'un exercice financier (2017-2018 à 2018-2019).

The Montney formation is the largest and most productive play in Alberta and British Columbia and one of thex000D
largest unconventional gas resources in the world. Technological advances in horizontal drilling and hydraulicx000D
fracturing (aka fracking) have made it possible to release hydrocarbon from the Montney play as well as manyx000D
other low-permeability (tight) reservoirs that were formerly inaccessible or uneconomical to exploit. Despitex000D
these technological advancements, many wells still underperform because of the current limitation in fullyx000D
understanding how reservoir rocks fracture under those complex processes, which are ultimately responsiblex000D
for creating the network of interconnected fractures used to channel and extract the targeted hydrocarbonx000D
resource. The objective of this work is to develop a procedure to create a rock mechanics model that could bex000D
used to predict the performance of Montney unconventional hydrocarbon source-rock during hydraulicx000D
fracturing operations. The expected rock mechanics model will inform a micro-mechanical modeling based onx000D
the finite discrete element model (FDEM) technology. FDEM combines the advantages of large strain finitex000D
elements with those of the discrete elements, allowing for explicitly modelling the propagation of cracks intox000D
an originally intact material, as well as the interaction between the different phases and materials. By modellingx000D
the physical interactions at the micro-scale, FDEM is able to reproduce the response of the tested material as anx000D
emergent property of the model. However, the reliability of any FDEM modeling exercise is highly dependentx000D
on the accuracy of the used input material properties. A micro-characterization of the hydrocarbon-richx000D
siltstone, together with advanced imaging performed inside a micro x-ray computed tomography machinex000D
(microCT), will help to inform and constrain the development of any future FDEM model.