Tech Trends 3-D Data Aid Shale-Field Development Operators are recognizing that further optimization of exploitation strategies in unconventional resource plays must address well performance variability related to the heterogeneity of the targeted formations. For at least a decade, microseismic monitoring has been adapted by engineers to assess the interaction of frac treatments and local geology. Now the industry is witnessing a major uptake in applying 3-D seismic to understand subsurface variability in the context of developing shale resources. By Christopher T. Usher DENVER-It is hard to imagine the rapid pace of technological change occurring around the unconventional resources plays in North America and beyond. What began with a long cycle of experimentation involving drilling and hydraulic fracturing techniques in U.S. shale gas plays by a handful of innovative operators has accelerated in each successive shale play. The engineering learning curve that perhaps used to take half a decade to distill into a successful play-specific drilling and completions recipe, has been compressed to less than two years. With an increasing accumulation of industry experience and a diverse range of new companies taking acreage in each succession of hot plays, operators are moving quickly to an effective plateau with their exploitation strategies. In the current commodity price environment, this optimization also has involved shifting from natural gas to liquids-rich unconventional resources opportunities. JANUARY 2012 135