地下千米以深，油气在仅有发丝万分之一的页岩孔隙里如何流动？高压注水造缝后，裂缝又将往何处延伸？这些“地下迷宫”，被中国石油大学（北京）克拉玛依校区科研团队成功破解，相关研究于近日获得2025年度新疆科学技术奖自然科学奖一等奖。

At a depth of several kilometers underground, how do oil and gas flow in the shale pores that are only one ten-thousandth the size of a human hair? After injecting high-pressure water to create fractures, where will these fractures extend? These "underground mazes" have been successfully solved by the research team of the Karamay campus of China University of Petroleum (Beijing). The related research has recently won the first prize of the Natural Science Award of Xinjiang Science and Technology Award for the year 2025.

科研团队经过数年攻关，完成了“非常规油气储层水力压裂多尺度多场耦合智能表征及其应用”项目，从流动机理到裂缝扩展再到智能决策，形成了自主可控的完整技术链。

After years of research and development, the scientific research team successfully completed the project "Intelligent Characterization of Multi-scale and Multi-field Coupling in Hydraulic Fracturing of Unconventional Oil and Gas Reservoirs and Its Application", forming a complete and controllable technical chain from the flow mechanism to crack expansion to intelligent decision-making.

该团队成员戴佳成告诉记者，长期以来，关键机理难以直接观测验证、模型精度不足、现场适用性不强，成为摆在非常规油气开发面前的“三座大山”。他们扎根油田一线寻找突破口。

Dai Jicheng, a member of the team, told reporters that for a long time, the key mechanisms were difficult to directly observe and verify, the model accuracy was insufficient, and the on-site applicability was not strong, which became the "three major obstacles" facing unconventional oil and gas development. They delved into the oilfield frontline to seek breakthroughs.

在肉眼无法察觉的纳米级孔隙里，油气流动呈复杂非线性特征。团队揭示了微纳限域效应，攻克了页岩吸附量精确测量难题，建立覆盖纳米级基质孔、微米级天然裂缝直至米级人工裂缝的多尺度流动模型，将地下油气的流动情况精细刻画了出来。

In the nanoscale pores that are invisible to the naked eye, the flow of oil and gas exhibits complex nonlinear characteristics. The team revealed the micro-nano confinement effect, solved the problem of accurately measuring the adsorption capacity of shale, and established a multi-scale flow model covering the nano-scale matrix pores, micrometer-scale natural fractures, and millimeter-scale artificial fractures, thereby finely depicting the flow situation of underground oil and gas.

页岩内部不同位置的力学性质千差万别，裂缝既可能张开也可能发生剪切错动。为了探索裂缝向何处发育，团队创建了百微米级分辨率的细观力学表征方法，揭示了拉张—剪切复合扩缝机理，高度还原了复杂裂缝在地下三维空间中的延伸过程。“这好比给地层做了一次高精度‘CT’，裂缝如何延展、能织出多大缝网，变得可计算、可预测。”戴佳成说。

The mechanical properties of different locations within shale vary greatly. Cracks may either expand or undergo shear deformation. To explore where the cracks develop, the team developed a mesoscopic mechanical characterization method with a resolution of hundreds of micrometers, revealing the tensile-shear composite fracture propagation mechanism and highly reconstructing the extension process of complex fractures in the three-dimensional underground space. "This is like performing a high-precision 'CT' scan on the strata, showing how the cracks extend and what kind of fracture network they can form, making it possible to calculate and predict," said Dai Jicheng.

基于理论和数据基础，团队将地质、力学与人工智能技术深度交叉，建立机理与数据联合驱动的智能优化方法，研发出智能压裂软件平台。压裂前，平台系统能自动优化段簇布置、液量、砂量等关键参数，为每口井量身定制方案；施工中，平台系统能够实时分析压力、排量等数据，动态辅助工程人员调整策略，让压裂拥有了“智慧大脑”。

Based on theoretical and data foundations, the team deeply integrated geology, mechanics and artificial intelligence technologies, established an intelligent optimization method driven by both mechanism and data, and developed an intelligent fracturing software platform. Before fracturing, the platform system can automatically optimize key parameters such as cluster layout, fluid volume, and sand volume, and tailor a solution for each well; during the fracturing process, the platform system can analyze real-time data such as pressure and flow rate, and dynamically assist the engineering personnel in adjusting strategies, giving fracturing a "smart brain".

如今，该团队相关成果有力支撑了国内多个油田智能压裂平台建设，并在国家级页岩油气示范区现场应用，平均单井日油气产量较同层位邻井显著提升。该项目第一完成人田守嶒表示，下一步，团队将继续面向国家能源安全重大需求，推动成果在更多复杂储层和重点区块落地应用，为油气高效、绿色、智能开发贡献科技力量。

Currently, the research achievements of this team have provided strong support for the construction of intelligent fracturing platforms in multiple domestic oil fields, and have been applied on-site in the national shale oil and gas demonstration area. The average daily oil and gas production per well has significantly increased compared to neighboring wells in the same layer. Tian Shouceng, the first person to complete the project, stated that in the future, the team will continue to meet the major demands for national energy security, promote the application of the results in more complex reservoirs and key blocks, and contribute technological strength to the efficient, green and intelligent development of oil and gas.