Shallow Biogenic Shales in Canada, Money and Brains Stealth Venture and Canyon Technical Services partner to answer unconventional fracturing challenges

Money and Brains Stealth Venture and Canyon Technical Services partner to answer unconventional fracturing challenges in Energy Evolution The Rise of Unconventional Gas in Canada by Darrell Stonehouse, Vol. 1, 2007, CSUG and June Warren Publishing Ltd.

Unconventional gas, by definition, is difficult-to-produce gas that requires some sort of artificial stimulation to flow at commercial rates. … In the Horseshoe Canyon, producers quickly discovered a high-pressure nitrogen fracture could make gas flow at commercial rates. With that technique well entrenched, efforts are now turning to the shallow, immature shales covering much of the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin and to the more challenging Mannville coals, where, unlike the Horseshoe Canyon, water is present in most potential producing zones. …

Krivak descries the company’s Saskatchewan effort as a shallow, biogenic tight-shale play. The depth of the play ranges from 300 to 700 m. Biogenic gas is methane produced by bacteria feeding on the organic matter contained in the shale.

The plus side of targeting shallow biogenic shale gas rather than the deeper shales that are often more prolific reservoirs, is the shallower resource has lower drilling costs. … But the shallow play also has its challenges, Krivak explains, “There are a pile of clays – and they are susceptible to water imbibition and swelling — that can cause serious reservoir problems.” …

“They have a piece of equipment unlike any other piece of pump equipment I know of – it’s called the Grand Canyon,” he explains. “It can propagate fractures using pure gas under high pressure while adding proppants.” … Using nitrogen, rather than a liquid produces a fracture with no gel damage, no fluid retention, and no cleanup issues. ….multiple productive zones can be fractured sequentially. [Emphasis added]

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