过去 20 年来，水力压裂技术的几乎所有显著进步都源于致密油气行业的兴起。

在此期间，完井设备从过去的模拟主力机演变为日益复杂、数字化和高效的机器，可与油田技术组合中的任何产品相媲美。这一转变还包括大量的科学研究，使工程师和专家能够更自信、更准确地模拟和刺激致密储层。

然而，在取得所有这些成功的同时，一个问题多年来一直在酝酿：现代压裂技术能否有效应用于最致密、质量最低的岩石之外？

Martin Rylance 和来自独立石油生产商 Liberty Resources 和建模公司 ResFrac Corp. 的完井专家团队认为，该行业在低渗透性（但不是超低渗透性）常规油藏方面已经形成了一个“盲点”。他们认为，这些地层可以通过现代压裂技术得到有效开发，但它们在很大程度上被忽视了。

业内资深人士、IXL油田咨询公司董事总经理Rylance认为，之所以存在这一盲点，是因为20世纪70年代和80年代，北美陆上作业者开始注重利用垂直压裂井对坚硬致密的岩石进行压裂。

“我们跳过了一个步骤，”赖兰斯解释道。

Almost all notable advancements in hydraulic fracturing technology over the past 2 decades have stemmed from the rise of the tight-oil and -gas industry.

During this time, completions equipment evolved from the analog workhorses of yesteryear into increasingly sophisticated, digitized, and efficient machines that rival anything found in the oilfield technology portfolio. The transformation also includes mountains of scientific research that have enabled engineers and specialists to model and stimulate tight reservoirs with greater confidence and accuracy.

But amid all this success, a question has been brewing for years: Can modern fracturing technology be effectively applied beyond the tightest, lowest-quality rocks?

Martin Rylance and a team of completions experts from independent oil producer Liberty Resources and modeling firm ResFrac Corp. argue that the industry has developed a “blind spot” when it comes to low—but not ultralow—permeability conventional reservoirs. They believe these formations could be effectively developed using modern fracturing techniques, but they have largely been overlooked.

According to Rylance, industry veteran and managing director of IXL Oilfield Consulting, this blind spot exists because North American onshore operators became focused on fracturing hard, tight rock in the 1970s and 1980s with fractured vertical wells.

“We skipped a step,” Rylance explained.