An integrated assessment of UK Shale resource distribution based on fundamental analyses of shale mechanical & fluid properties.

143c2a0f-affd-4faf-832b-75c2a60f92ce

Closed

NERC
NERC
NERC
NERC
NERC

£1,035,080

Aug. 31, 2018

Aug. 31, 2022

The research carried out in the proposed project will address to fundamental questions related to UK Shale gas. Namely: How much gas and where is it located? Stakeholder interest in accessing new, scientifically calibrated estimates of resources and reserves will be of immense scientific, industry and public interest. Government will also use these outcomes to inform energy policy in the UK for potentially the next 20 years. Regular communication with the other Challenges in this call and industrial partners will take place at a minimum of 6 month intervals. There will also be formal reporting requirements to the funding bodies.

Beneficiaries

Industry
Depending on which current shale gas resource estimates we take (BGS: Andrews 2014) or Urgano (2017) and the recovery factor applied (nominally 10%) the UK would appear to have between 10 and 50 years of potential gas supply from the northern England Carboniferous basins. Assuming UK gas consumption continues at the current rate of approximately 2.7tcf/year. The value of narrowing the range on this estimate cannot be understated. Working with industry partners we can critically test current and evolving academic models of pore and fracture systems in shales against new data acquired by industry. The models will be re-calibrated with real well bore and test data to provide revised models of pore and fracture behaviour. The key to industry and the country is more efficient exploration and exploitation activities. Fewer wells, fewer pads equals less disruption, less emissions and consequently minimised environmental impact.

Government
Having a scientifically supported range of resource estimates for UK shale gas and its location is of immense value to government in terms of framing UK energy policy going forward. CO2 emission commitments require a cleaner energy policy based on gas rather than coal and oil and a resource that is indigenous from either the North and Irish seas and potentially onshore UK. This mitigates emissions related to transportation and the valid criticism that imported gas is just shifting the problem onto someone else.

General Public
One of the key roles we have to play as an informed group is in explaining to the general public from a scientific expert point of view the key pluses and minuses associated with shale gas and the impact of fracking and a potentially large resource might have on industrialisation and environment in the areas we identify that may contain the gas resources.

Potential Impact:
The impact of this work will be to:
. Provide a basin-wide model of UK shale gas resources and n estimate of likely recoverable volumes, associated environmental opportunities and risks (e.g. heavy metal release on hydraulic fracturing), This model will help other teams involved in the NERC Unconventional hydrocarbons project to evaluate social and environmental risks, and thereby help inform public debate and the decision making process.
. Provide scientific insights, and high quality data acquired through careful experimental design, that will facilitate the development of improved evaluation methods, thereby extending scientific knowledge.
. Facilitate the development of UK community of shale gas experts who work collaboratively, to support decision making processes and subsequent developmental activities in the event that these UK resources are developed further.
. Provide UK on-shore operating companies with a resource pool they can draw on to optimise their developmental activities.
. Assist a number of UK SME's develop their measurement and interpretation capabilities, thereby allowing them to be more successful in commercially deploying their technologies in support of UK shale gas resource development work, and to also commercial support related activities world-wide.
Please see main submission for further details.