4. Exploitation of bedrock hydrocarbons

4.1 Horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing

The exploitation of bedrock hydrocarbons is fraught with technical and economic problems.

The common feature of all bedrock hydrocarbons is that they are contained in rock with very low permeability. Their extraction must therefore be stimulated compared to conventional deposits, in order to effectively drain the rock that holds them by artificially increasing their permeability.

When these hydrocarbons are exploited, they cannot be expected to migrate naturally towards the well. The quantity of hydrocarbons produced will be so small that the cost of drilling will not even be amortized. To make the production of this type of resource economic, we therefore need to stimulate production...