SPE Legends of Hydraulic Fracturing

Rob Jeffrey worked in mineral exploration for four years after graduating with a BS in Mining Engineering from the University of Washington.

He then enrolled in graduate school at the University of Arizona and graduated with an MS and PhD in Geological Engineering. He joined Dowell-Schlumberger in 1982 to work in their Rock Mechanics Section in Tulsa, OK where he undertook work on hydraulic fracture interaction with natural fractures with a focus on coalbed methane stimulation. He left DS in 1989 and moved to Australia to join CSIRO where he led and built up the hydraulic fracturing group. Coal seam gas and gas drainage were both initial areas of high interest and Rob’s team undertook a series of projects to measure hydraulic fracture growth in coal and develop improved methods to stimulate coal seams by hydraulic fracturing. Mineback and mapping of the created fractures was completed at nine sites. Methods and equipment to place sand propped fractures in horizontal underground gas drainage boreholes were developed. These stimulations were found to produce significant increases in gas drainage rates. The hydraulic fracturing team carried out lab and field work and developed numerical models in parallel as an aid in analyzing and understanding the data. The team used hydraulic fracturing at Northparkes copper mine to induce caving in the block caving operation. This led to caving related projects at other metal and coal mines. The mix of numerical analysis, field and laboratory projects, and petroleum and mining industry involvement provided an environment to develop new ideas and innovation.

Rob Jeffrey retired from CSIRO in 2015 and he continues to work part time as a principal geotechnical engineer with SCT Operations, providing assistance to industry in implementing hydraulic fracturing for gas drainage and preconditioning of rock. His interests include hydraulic fracturing of naturally fractured rocks with applications in petroleum, geothermal, and mining. He has contributed to understanding fluid lag, and fracture growth in naturally fractured rock such as coal, sandstone, and igneous/metamorphic hard rocks.