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 Houston, 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 Walton, Houston 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.
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.