- [Mayank] So my current assignment at Chevron, I've been involved in designing and supporting microfracturing operations across the world, and being fascinated by the result we have obtained, and what I have learned is that microfracturing is being undersold, underutilized, not only at Chevron, but across the industry and there's a story to be told that's not being told, and that's the reason why SPWLA invited me to give this seminar today. Here are some common fractures in the world. In my past life, in my other vocation, I used to be a mechanical engineer, and mechanical fractures are undesirable. If the tool or the cap shaft is broken, and if you continue using it, it can cause a catastrophic failure. There are also fractures associated with the human body that cause a lot of pain and takes a long time to heal, and then the hydraulic fractures in the oil industry, I really like hydraulic fractures. Why? Because we can increase the effect of the reservoir, produce these hydrocarbons economically, and make money doing so, that's something you and I feel the entire downtown has been caused by how effective you become at hydraulic fracturing. So why microfracture? Because currently, the industry seems to rely too much on sonic or seismic devices. There are too many knobs associated with these. If you don't turn the right knob the right way you can get any answer you want. I truly believe that all of these morals are incorrect unless proven otherwise. So with microfracturing, the advantages that we get are... We have direct measurement of rock stresses, we can use the information to optimize injection pressures for EOR projects, and we can also use it to improve our product design. Here's an outline of my talk. I start with why rock stress is pertinent, what is the microfracturing technique, how it compares with Diagnostic Fracturing Injection Testing or D first which are more popular and commonly used in [mumbles] We talk about three field examples from unconventional shale, offshore deepwater, and the waterflood in Brownfield, we'll discuss three tips for job planning and a data quality, and finally a summary.