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Over the past twenty years, organic-rich shales have emerged as valuable systems for potential oil and gas production. Shale reservoirs are usually low in porosity, ultralow in permeability, and contain hydrogen-rich organic materials, making traditional low-field 1H NMR relaxation methods difficult to apply. The mobilities of the different hydrocarbon components can differ dramatically, from producible methane to the solid kerogen (the biopolymer precursor to petroleum). These considerations imply a "paradigm shift" in petrophysical NMR, currently based on the knowledge that (i) NMR is lithology independent (responds only to the fluids, not the matrix) and (ii) the total signal amplitude is proportional to total "porosity". Both statements are not valid for organic shales. An additional challenge is the presence of solid and highly viscous organic materials, such as kerogen and bitumen, which are usually not detectable with the standard Carr-Purcell-Meiboom-Gill (CPMG) method on low-field equipment, with the rapid T_2 signal decay of these components limiting access to decay information. The work presented within this thesis focusses on the development of NMR methods for improving the characterization of the various organic components in heterogeneous organic shales with potentially producible hydrocarbons. A combination of high-resolution solid-state 1H and 13C NMR spectroscopy methods and 1H NMR relaxation measurements provided insights into the chemical and structural evolution of kerogen during thermal maturation. Part of the project is aimed at the optimization of pulse sequences which are appropriate for the investigation of shales under static (non-spinning) conditions and low magnetic fields. Various multiple-pulse sequences were explored and combined to develop new methods for identifying and quantifying both the immobile and mobile components in shales. A further study was focused on the application of double-quantum (DQ) 1H NMR to shales for robust separation between solid and liquid signals, and results show that this technique offers a potential method for obtaining improved description of hydrogen-bearing components with limited mobility in shale rocks.

The following is an abstract identifying the need, problem, and opportunity for the specific ministry context presented. Key insights emerged and guided the research leading up to the final developments of the project. The project description gives a snapshot of the research and conclusions. The project was developed in response to the NPO: Addressing the need for spiritual resilience to create a positive impact on nurse burnout for rural healthcare nurses providing home health and hospice services. Key insights were to, first, gain nuanced understanding of rural nurse context; second, define a rural nurse’s values; and, third, seed further visionary insight into the ideal rural nurse lifestyle. Research suggests generating a culture of gratitude and providing resiliency information via a podcast is a viable option for combating burnout. The ministry context is oriented around home health and hospice (HH&H) nurses. HH&H nurses are often over-worked, maintain a current understanding of medical standards, organizational standards, and transport necessities to provide quality healthcare services. The research provided is designed to address the needs of HH&H nurses to combat burnout. Burnout was an issue before 2019; it is now a real threat since the outbreak of Covid19. The primary objective of this research is to provide a tool via a podcast for HH&H nurses to find support, be seen, and to draw inspiration and gratitude. The Project is based on the recent prototype reports, which were conducted in the spring of 2021 within the ministry context. Generating a culture of gratitude suggests such an environment will give the nurses who work in traumatic situations the ability to thrive, thereby reducing the chances for nurse burnout. Designing and facilitating a podcast to foster a culture of gratitude is the chosen method to reduce nurse burnout.