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May Technical Happy Hour
May 8 @ 4:00 PM - 6:00 PM
Free
Host: Society of Petroleum Engineers, Denver Section
Event: May 2025 Technical Happy Hour
Time: May 8th, 4-6 (HH begins at 4, Talk at 430, Social until 6)
Location: Liberty Energy, 950 17th St, Suite 2400, Denver, CO 80202
Sponsor: Liberty
Study Group Category: Reservoir
Speaker: Garrett Fowler, COO, ResFrac
Title: What I Think I’ve Learned About Unconventionals: Perspective of a
Reservoir Engineer
Abstract:
In the last five plus years, the quality and quantity of subsurface diagnostics has driven a
rapid increase in the industry’s understanding of hydraulic fracture geometry, proppant
placement, and pressure depletion. Subsurface insights can largely be summarized into
three themes: fractures are large planar features at the macro scale, and complex at the
micro scale; fractures predominantly produce from unaltered rock permeability; and
proppant and fluid take the path of least resistance (sometimes not where we want them
to go!).
Armed with deeper understanding of hydraulic fracturing processes, completions teams
are empowered to deviate from “manufacturing mode” development and instead employ
prescriptive designs for specific geologic, geomechanical, and depletion environments.
This talk integrates the latest learnings of hydraulic fracture characterization from case
studies to present a cohesive summary of what fractures look like, where the proppant is
placed, how fluids are produced through fractures, and why this knowledge informs
better frac designs and better wells.
If a particular topic is of interest to the section, emphasis may be given to one or more of:
parent/child and depletion effects, refracturing, conductivity loss (proppant embedment,
crushing), geomechanical property characterization, fracturing in geothermal,
geomechanical considerations and fracturing for CO2 sequestration, or diagnostic
technologies for unconventionals.
Bio:
Garrett Fowler is Chief Operating Officer at ResFrac, responsible for overseeing
business strategy, client engagement, professional services, and software licensing
for shale, geothermal, and CCS projects across the world. Prior to ResFrac, Garrett
focused on EOR and waterflooding as a reservoir engineer at Oxy and Tachyus.
Garrett holds bachelors and masters degrees in engineering from Stanford
University, was awarded a 2022 SPE Regional Completions Optimization and
Event: May 2025 Technical Happy Hour
Time: May 8th, 4-6 (HH begins at 4, Talk at 430, Social until 6)
Location: Liberty Energy, 950 17th St, Suite 2400, Denver, CO 80202
Sponsor: Liberty
Study Group Category: Reservoir
Speaker: Garrett Fowler, COO, ResFrac
Title: What I Think I’ve Learned About Unconventionals: Perspective of a
Reservoir Engineer
Abstract:
In the last five plus years, the quality and quantity of subsurface diagnostics has driven a
rapid increase in the industry’s understanding of hydraulic fracture geometry, proppant
placement, and pressure depletion. Subsurface insights can largely be summarized into
three themes: fractures are large planar features at the macro scale, and complex at the
micro scale; fractures predominantly produce from unaltered rock permeability; and
proppant and fluid take the path of least resistance (sometimes not where we want them
to go!).
Armed with deeper understanding of hydraulic fracturing processes, completions teams
are empowered to deviate from “manufacturing mode” development and instead employ
prescriptive designs for specific geologic, geomechanical, and depletion environments.
This talk integrates the latest learnings of hydraulic fracture characterization from case
studies to present a cohesive summary of what fractures look like, where the proppant is
placed, how fluids are produced through fractures, and why this knowledge informs
better frac designs and better wells.
If a particular topic is of interest to the section, emphasis may be given to one or more of:
parent/child and depletion effects, refracturing, conductivity loss (proppant embedment,
crushing), geomechanical property characterization, fracturing in geothermal,
geomechanical considerations and fracturing for CO2 sequestration, or diagnostic
technologies for unconventionals.
Bio:
Garrett Fowler is Chief Operating Officer at ResFrac, responsible for overseeing
business strategy, client engagement, professional services, and software licensing
for shale, geothermal, and CCS projects across the world. Prior to ResFrac, Garrett
focused on EOR and waterflooding as a reservoir engineer at Oxy and Tachyus.
Garrett holds bachelors and masters degrees in engineering from Stanford
University, was awarded a 2022 SPE Regional Completions Optimization and
Technology Award, is currently a 2023-2024 SPE Distinguished Lecturer, and
authored or co-authored 24 technical papers. In his free time, Garrett competes in
triathlons and mountain bike races, and volunteers as a search and rescue diver.
triathlons and mountain bike races, and volunteers as a search and rescue diver.