By Harold Brannon, Nicole Hoffman and Mark McGill HOUSTON-The combination of extended-length horizontal laterals and highvolume hydraulic fracturing has led to daily production rates that not long ago would have been unimaginable for onshore wells. Yet, the recovery potential of unconventional oil and gas resources is yet to be fully realized. Recovery factors for unconventional wells typically are reported at less than 20% in gas shale reservoirs and less than 10% in tight oil plays. Boosting average recovery rates is one of the grand challenges in horizontal resource plays. Increasing recovery by even a few percentage points over a well's lifetime can be economically significant, given the large volume of reserves accessible along the lateral section. Operators are adopting a number of strategies in the quest to achieve this elusive goal. One of the most straightforward strategies is to incorporate neutrally buoyant ultralightweight proppants (ULWPs) with sand in a slickwater frac design. JANUARY 2023 85