This is exactly the kind of partnership we should be encouraging between our national labs, small businesses and research institutions to address a broad range of problems facing the country. Bingaman, the ranking Democrat on the Senate Energy Committee, has long fought to maintain support for research in promising technologies that could lower the cost of gas and oil production for marginal producers. Last year he thwarted a proposal to dramatically cut back funding for DOE-sponsored oil and gas research. Once created, the ribbon-thin fractures are usually propped open with tiny sand or other particles to keep pathways available for gas to flow to producing wells. Fracturing, however, can be difficult to control.
Fractures can fail to crack in the correct direction and never reach the target gas.
In some cases, they can break through a gas-bearing formation, diverting gas flow into other zones and away from production wells. The problem with current technology is that operators must often wait until the fracturing has been completed before learning the results. In worst cases, the errant fracture may have permanently damaged the gas-producing potential of the formation by creating a way for natural gas to escape and disperse into adjacent rock structures. RealTimeZone's innovation would give operators a way to make changes in the fracturing process as problems occur, or to stop the job before a fracture penetrates outside the formation. Gamma ray emitters are commonly used today in the gas industry.