tainly the industry can continue to explore how much of the in-place hydrocarbons can be viably extracted. At what are recognized as "fully optimized" levels today, the recovery factor percentiles range from the high teens to low twenties. We also know that fully optimized is still some 15-20 percent below what can be achieved with what the industry already knows. No operator gets it completely right. The best are still sub-optimized, either spending money on procedures that provide no return, or failing to pay for procedures that may yield a much greater return. From our observations, the very best operators get about 80 percent of it right in resource plays. Another potential breakthrough in optimization strategy is to design each simulation and completion job on a location-by-location basis according to each well's exact geological criteria. Another challenge is extracting more valuable crudes. In other words, can operators use new stimulation and production technologies to target and produce lower-API gravity crude oils? Today, very high-gravity crude oils are produced at the expense of the lower-gravity crude oils needed to maximize U.S. refinery spreads. Consequently, light sweet crudes will begin to sell at a discount to WTI similar to the heaviest crudes, while midgrades will be valued at a premium. ❒ ALLEN GILMER Allen Gilmer is co-founder and chairman of Drillinginfo, and he is the chairman of the Texas Independent Producers & Royalty Owners Association. Gilmer is active in all aspects of Drillinginfo's new product development and is widely recognized for his industry leadership and vision. Gilmer holds several patents in multicomponent seismology. He received a B.A. in geology from Rice University and an M.S. in geology from The University of Texas at El Paso.http://www.bakerhughes.com/AutoTrak