Natural fractures do not represent the boost to productivity in shale gas reservoirs they were previously believed to , and could even inhibit drilling , according to robin ##son , a senior research scientist in the Energy and Geoscience department at the university of Utah . In a speech to the SPE gas Coast Section Westside Group in Houston , Walton explained how he had predicted that productive fracture surface areas for wells were between 1 million sq ft and 5 million sq ft , and called for changes to the industry , including making the fracturing fluid more viscous .
Natural fractures do not represent the boost to productivity in shale gas reservoirs they were previously believed to, and could even inhibit production, according to Ian Walton, a senior research scientist in the Energy and Geoscience Institute at the University of Utah. In a speech to the SPE Gulf Coast Section Westside Group in Houston, Walton explained how he had calculated that productive fracture surface areas for wells were between 1 million sq ft and 5 million sq ft, and called for changes to the industry, including making the fracturing fluid more viscous.