Fracture Conductivity Reconsidered—A New Chapter for Shale Productivity
The past 10 years of unconventional development in North America have driven unprecedented gains in lateral length, stage count, and total proppant mass per well. One of the most significant shifts in this evolution was the broad industry transition away from high-conductivity proppants—such as ceramics and resin-coated sand, and even more recently northern white sand—toward untreated natural in-basin sand. The dominant view held that increasing fracture surface area through high-volume slickwater treatments and tighter cluster spacing could outweigh the impact of reduced conductivity in individual fracture planes.
This “contact area over conductivity” paradigm delivered strong early-time production in many basins and enabled large-scale development under increasingly constrained economics. But a growing body of evidence suggests that conductivity still plays a critical—if sometimes underappreciated—role in ultimate recovery, particularly in deeper formations and in wells with longer-term production targets.
A 2025 report from ExxonMobil highlighting a 15–20% increase in recovery using an advanced petroleum coke-based proppant along with recent work presented by Hess, suggests that conductivity may not be as dispensable as previously assumed. In fact, it may hold the key to unlocking the next leap in shale productivity. New Exxon Proppant Tech Enhances Permian Basin Well Recovery | Hart Energy
Understanding Fracture Conductivity
Fracture conductivity is defined as the product of fracture width and proppant pack permeability and serves as a key indicator of a fracture’s ability to transmit fluids from the reservoir to the wellbore. In low-permeability rock, even moderate reductions in conductivity, whether from proppant crushing, embedment, or fines migration, can introduce localized flow restrictions, particularly under elevated closure stress.
While early modeling suggested that conductivity requirements in shale could be minimal due to relatively high dimensionless fracture conductivity values under transient flow regimes, that simplification may not hold over the full life of a well as proppant permeability degrades. Field observations and multi-year production analyses increasingly show that conductivity degradation can lead to steeper decline curves and lower EUR, especially in high-pressure or high-temperature environments.
Recent Field Data: Conductivity Revisited
At the recent Unconventional Resources Technology Conference (URTeC) in Houston, Hess Corporation authors presented their ongoing work to better understand reservoir drainage in the Bakken (URTeC 4244595). While created fracture lengths may reach well in excess of 1000’, significant drainage only occurs in first 300-400’, with only minimal input beyond 600’. All indications point to the lack of proppant in these far reaches of the fracture system. When coupled with declining conductivity over time, this leaves significant upside potential to improve recovery.
Another example (also documented at URTeC 4264319) comes from ExxonMobil, which reported a 15–20% uplift in EUR from Permian wells completed with a new petroleum coke-based proppant engineered for improved transport leading to deeper placement. The material, which combines reduced density with moderate mechanical durability, allowed greater propped fracture area, corroborating many of the Hess findings. Importantly, the gain in recovery was achieved with only a modest increase in completion cost – challenging the assumption that conductivity-focused designs are always uneconomical.
These results echo earlier findings in plays such as the Bakken and deeper zones of the Eagle Ford, where ceramic or hybrid proppant blends yielded superior long-term performance versus all-sand completions. It also validates the recent successes in deploying ceramic based microproppant such as NANOMITE, which can transport further and prop microfractures for the long term. In all of these studies, the conductivity benefits of ceramics did not always manifest as higher IPs but consistently produced flatter declines and higher 12–24 month cumulative production.
Conductivity vs. Volume: A False Trade-off
At CARBO, we believe it is a mischaracterization to frame conductivity and fracture volume as mutually exclusive. In fact, the most effective completions often optimize both. While the trend toward higher proppant mass per well has clearly improved surface area contacted, this approach can be undermined if a large portion of the fracture network becomes conductivity-limited after closure and over time.
Ceramic proppants, with their higher crush resistance and stable permeability under stress, offer a means to preserve conductive pathways—particularly in zones where closure stress exceeds 6,000–8,000 psi, or in well designs with long laterals and high drawdown. In these scenarios, increasing fracture count alone is not always sufficient. Ensuring that those fractures remain conductive throughout the productive life of the well becomes critical to EUR and maximizing return on invested capital.
Strategic Deployment of High-Conductivity Proppant
In wells targeting deeper intervals, high-temperature conditions, or infill locations subject to stress shadowing and parent depletion, conductivity losses can quickly compound. A tailored approach—such as microproppant deployment, ceramic tail-ins, conductivity staging, or full ceramic designs in high-risk intervals—can help mitigate these risks and extend productive well life.
The goal is to balance proppant economics with production efficiency. Emerging data shows that conductivity-driven uplift can translate into fewer wells drilled, higher recovery per section, and reduced surface infrastructure—delivering measurable improvements in full-cycle economics.
The Bottom Line
Fracture conductivity never stopped mattering—it was simply de-emphasized in favor of larger-scale fracturing techniques and lower costs. But as development moves into more complex geology and operators seek to maximize recovery from tighter spacing and maturing assets, conductivity is once again a relevant—and measurable—lever for performance improvement. In fact, it likely holds the key for the industry to take the next step in improving overall recovery in these prolific, yet largely undrained resources.
At CARBO, we offer a portfolio of engineered ceramic proppants designed to maintain conductivity under extreme conditions, while optimizing transport, placement, and fracture effectiveness. If you are looking to extend the productive life of your assets and recover more hydrocarbons per well, let’s talk about how conductivity can become part of your competitive edge.
References
URTeC 4264319: Development of a Novel, Patented Fracturing Technology Based on Low-Cost Petroleum Coke Light Weight Proppant from Lab-Scale Evaluation to Field-Scale Pilots: Case Studies in the Midland and Delaware Basins (R. Shirley et al) https://onepetro.org/search-results?page=1&q=4264319
URTeC 4244384: Fracture Conductivity, Proppant Loading, and Well Performance in the Bakken (C. Cipolla et al) https://onepetro.org/search-results?page=1&q=4244384
