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The development and production of oil and gas resources supported by more-available continuous real-time data sources entail incessant learning and knowledge search over a relatively long period of time.

The development of an economically efficient drilling program in shale-gas plays is a challenging task, requiring a large number of wells; even with many wells, the average well production and the variation of well performance (economics) remain highly uncertain.

Standalone-sand-screen (SAS) completion, especially in horizontal gas wells with high potential for sand production, typically suffers from premature failure caused by sand erosion resulting from high velocity in the annulus near the heel section.

Large amounts of clay minerals are present in shale; shale’s resulting instability is a major problem while drilling.

Production of low-viscosity liquids, including condensates, from tight reservoirs such as shales is severely restricted by the ultralow permeability of such formations, limiting production to a very small fraction, usually less than 5%, of the liquids in place.

Matrix acidizing is commonly used as a preflush to the hydraulic-fracturing stimulation of shale formations. The process dissolves sediments and mud solids that inhibit the permeability of the rock, enlarging the natural pores of the reservoir and stimulating flow of hydrocarbons.

With the industry moving forward with exploration and development in the broader categories of unconventional resources globally, it is of paramount importance to assess and improve the different methods and tools for estimating reserves, to establish their accuracy and credibility.

There are no reliable estimates of technically recoverable resources (TRRs) for unconventional reservoirs outside North Amercia, and many countries lack the advanced technology such as horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing necessary to develop unconventional resources.

Nathan Meehan is the nominee for 2016 SPE president. He and nine others make up the slate of nominees recommended for positions open on the SPE Board of Directors.

While shale unproved technically recoverable resources have been identified around the world, development has been limited to North America.