A large portion of the world’s remaining oil resources are trapped inside shale rock formations located 6,000-14,000 feet underground. Within this rock, oil and other hydrocarbon molecules are found in extremely small pores, or voids, ranging from 1 to 100 nanometers in diameter, comparable in size to the width of a DNA strand or a virus particle and roughly 1000x smaller than a human hair. These rocks have extremely low permeability, meaning the pores are isolated and do not connect to each other, and the oil cannot flow through the rock.
These formations are under enormous stress from the weight of the rocks and fluids above and around them, altering the rock behavior and providing support to the rock, making it harder to break. Hydraulic fracturing, combined with horizontal drilling, creates a hydraulic fracture network open to flow. The fractures can be tens to hundreds of feet long and connect the pores to allow oil to flow. Small particles, often sand grains, are pumped into these fractures to ensure they stay open. Current methods enable recovery of 5–10% of the oil in the rock. The vast majority remains trapped because the fractures only touch a small percentage of the pores.
The core challenge is to significantly increase the amount of hydrocarbon (oil, gas, and condensate) recoverable from these same existing shale formations through new approaches that can better access and connect the oil trapped in these pores.
Chevron seeks fresh ideas to deliver a step-change improvement in recovery factor (ideally, moving toward 30% or higher) while being practical to deploy at field scale. Solutions may come from any field of science or engineering and are not required to rely on existing oil field designs or workflows.
The current challenge presents a well-defined, physics-driven problem at the intersection of fluid flow, materials, mechanics, and energy transport in nanoporous media under extreme confinement. No prior oil and gas experience is required; we particularly encourage creative approaches inspired by other disciplines.
“Chevron is committed to discovering and advancing truly novel technologies. This Rapid Engagement Challenge is deliberately casting a wide net—beyond traditional oilfield solutions—to engage universities, labs, startups, and technology providers who bring fresh perspectives to the complex challenge of unconventional tight rock development. This presents a unique opportunity to shape the future of subsurface innovation.” – Ryder Booth, Chief Technology Officer, Chevron
We strongly encourage interested organizations to submit high-quality responses as soon as possible. Submissions are evaluated ongoing throughout the submission period.