Executive Summary

The purpose of this roadmap is to provide knowledge for industry, government and academia to address current and anticipated challenges and opportunities related to the development of unconventional tight oil and shale gas resources by hydraulic fracturing. The outcome will be to deepen the understanding of the potential for scientific research and technology development to provide solutions, and to propose a blueprint for future technology investments.

The primary value will be to aggregate and structure information about needs and opportunities. It will be aimed at the overall sector. It will not be focused at any specific company or play, and will fully recognize that individual producers have a deep understanding of technology challenges and opportunities related to their business. It also will not enter the realm of government policy objectives and regulatory frameworks, and will fully acknowledge that several government organizations have already studied technology gaps and possible futures.

The unique contribution of the roadmap will be to provide an overall and aggregated perspective. It will note research needs and technology opportunities that may not be fully addressed elsewhere, and will identify directions for collaboration in areas where research is already active. Importantly, it will deliver a blueprint for consideration by government, oil and gas operating companies, technology developers, and learning institutions for leveraging their expertise, infrastructure capabilities and financial resources to jointly deliver technology solutions that would benefit the sector as a whole.