Applied Geoscience

Our Applied Geoscience research and development (R&D) focuses on oil and gas resource development and its potential environmental impacts on land, water, and ecosystems.

Our areas of focus

Resource development R&D at CanmetENERGY Devon focuses on:

hydraulic fracturing (HF): Assessing the chemical composition of HF and flowback fluids to:
- improve the recycling of water used in HF operations
- assess any damage to geological formations
- inform remediation at HF sites

Research related to environmental impacts of oil and gas development at CanmetENERGY Devon focuses on:

impacts on water resources: Identifying potential impacts of oil and gas development on surface water and groundwater resources by investigating the environmental fate and behaviour of:
- hydraulic fracturing fluids and drilling waste
- trace contaminants associated with fracking in aquatic ecosystems
carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS):
- quantifying gas migration associated with CO₂ injection
abandoned and orphaned well sumps:
- characterizing the impacts of sump leachates on groundwater
tailings management:
- assessing the seepage of leachates from oil sands tailings

Applied Geoscience projects at CanmetENERGY Devon

Our current suite of R&D projects aims to improve understanding of oil and gas extraction performance and mitigate its potential environmental impacts.