Molecular fracing: A rock-focused, field-ready stimulation chemistry

ERIC HERRERA, Maverick X 

Over the years, producers have been stymied by the fact that while wells undergo hydraulic fracturing, production often fails to achieve desired results, due to extremely low shale matrix permeability. To address the problem, molecular fracing, a rock-focused stimulation chemistry, complements hydraulic fracturing by improving pore connectivity at the mineral framework level. Molecular fracing enables more hydrocarbons to reach existing fractures, boosting recovery without changing fracture geometry or completion design. 

FRACING IN THE LAST DECADE 

Hydraulic fracturing in North America has reached a level of technical maturity that would have been difficult to imagine a decade ago. Long horizontal laterals, dense stage spacing, and high-intensity slickwater designs allow operators to contact vast volumes of reservoir rock. In many basins, completions are no longer limited by pumping capability or proppant logistics, but by the reservoir’s fundamental ability to deliver hydrocarbons to the wellbore once the fractures are in place. 

This distinction matters. In most unconventional wells, fracture networks are created successfully during completion, yet only a fraction of the contacted rock ultimately contributes to production. Decline curves reflect this reality: early-time rates may be strong, but production falls rapidly, as flow becomes limited by the rate at which hydrocarbons can migrate out of the matrix and into fractures. In silicate- and clay-rich shales, this migration is often the dominant bottleneck. 

At the pore scale, many shale reservoirs are not limited by a lack of pore space, but by how poorly that pore space is connected. Aluminosilicates and clays form plate-like structures that are stabilized by iron and aluminum coordination sites. These coordination sites act as load-bearing nodes that bind mineral surfaces together, constricting pore throats. The result is a pore system characterized by isolated clusters, dead-end porosity, and extremely low effective permeability, even when fractures intersect the rock. 

Fig. 1. Molecular fracing targets the shale matrix to unlock micro-scale flow pathways, enabling hydrocarbons to migrate more efficiently toward existing fracture networks. Source: Maverick X

Conventional fracturing chemistry is not designed to solve this problem. Friction reducers lower pumping pressure, surfactants aid clean-up, and clay stabilizers prevent swelling and fines migration. These functions are essential to execute the frac and preserve fracture conductivity, but they largely operate in the fracture and near-fracture environment. They do not meaningfully alter the mineral framework that governs matrix permeability. As operators continue to increase completion intensity, the industry is seeing diminishing returns, because the limiting factor has shifted from fracture creation to matrix contribution. 

INTRODUCTION TO MOLECULAR FRACING 

Molecular fracing was developed in direct response to this limitation. Instead of treating chemistry as a support function for hydraulic fracturing, molecular fracing uses chemistry as a stimulation tool that directly modifies the rock at the pore scale. The goal is not to create new macro-fractures, but to unlock flow pathways within the matrix that allow hydrocarbons to move more freely toward existing fractures, Fig. 1.  

The mechanism is rooted in mineral chemistry. In many tight shales, iron and aluminum serve as coordination centers within aluminosilicate frameworks and at grain contacts. These metals stabilize clay lattices and cement silicate grains together, providing mechanical strength but also severely restricting pore connectivity. Molecular fracing targets these coordination sites selectively. 

By selectively complexing ferric and aluminum species, the chemistry weakens the mineral framework without dissolving it. This distinction is critical. The rock does not lose mass or collapse into fines. Instead, it disaggregates along existing micro-scale weaknesses. Mineral platelets debond, grain contacts relax, and micro-scale fractures and voids form within the matrix. These changes occur at a scale, small enough to preserve structural integrity, yet large enough to dramatically improve connectivity between pore clusters. 

From a reservoir engineering perspective, this process increases effective permeability by converting isolated pore volumes into a connected network. From a completions perspective, it increases the amount of rock that can contribute to production without altering fracture geometry, pump schedules, or proppant design. In effect, molecular fracing increases the efficiency of the fracture network that is already in place.

Fig. 2. Core plug test data illustrate that acid-treated samples exhibit only modest permeability gains and minimal porosity increase, with little improvement under confining stress, in contrast to treatments that create new matrix-level connectivity. Source: Special Core Analysis Laboratories (SCAL, Inc.).

A key advantage of this approach is how the rock responds under stress. Acid-based stimulation relies on mineral dissolution, particularly in carbonate systems. In silicate-rich formations, acids can solubilize silica and aluminosilicates, but this process often creates downstream problems. As pH and temperature change, dissolved silica can reprecipitate as amorphous gel or secondary scale, reducing permeability and damaging near-wellbore conductivity. In many shale applications, acid treatments deliver short-term improvements, followed by rapid decline.

Molecular fracing does not follow this pathway. Because the mechanism is based on framework weakening and micro-fracturing rather than dissolution, it does not generate dissolved silica that can reprecipitate. The resulting pore connectivity is structural rather than chemical. This difference shows up clearly in laboratory testing under confining pressure.

INDEPENDENT THIRD-PARTY CORE PLUG TEST RESULTS 

Independent third-party core plug tests provide a quantitative window into this behavior. In tight shale plugs treated with molecular fracing chemistry, air permeability increased by approximately 30–40 x, relative to untreated samples when measured at 1,000-psi confining pressure. When confining pressure was increased to approximately 3,200 psi, permeability remained elevated at roughly 25–35 x baseline values. This persistence under stress is a critical indicator that the permeability gains are not dominated by weak features that close under load.

Klinkenberg-corrected permeability measurements showed even stronger relative improvements. At lower confining pressures, Klinkenberg permeability increased by approximately 70–90 x, relative to baseline. Even at higher confining stress, gains remained well above an order of magnitude. These results indicate that the treatment creates connected flow pathways that remain conductive under reservoir-relevant stress conditions. 

Porosity measurements further clarify the mechanism. Treated plugs exhibited absolute porosity increases of approximately 2–3% points, corresponding to roughly a 20–25% increase in connected pore volume for these tight rocks. Importantly, grain density remained essentially unchanged, near 2.7 g/cc, within experimental uncertainty. For reservoir engineers, this combination is decisive. If permeability gains were driven by mineral dissolution, grain density would decrease. The observed stability confirms that the chemistry reorganizes existing pore space, rather than removing load-bearing mineral mass. 

Acid-treated plugs tested under the same conditions behaved very differently. Permeability increased by roughly two-fold, with only minor porosity changes and little improvement in stress tolerance. This contrast highlights the fundamental difference between improving existing conductive pathways and creating new connectivity in the matrix, Fig. 2. 

MOLECULAR FRACING AND SURFACE CHEMISTRY  

Beyond permeability, molecular fracing also alters surface chemistry in a way that benefits hydrocarbon recovery. As micro-fracturing and disaggregation occur, fresh silicate surfaces are exposed within the pore system. These surfaces are terminated with hydroxyl groups and are intrinsically water-wet. The resulting wettability shift reduces oil adhesion to mineral surfaces and lowers residual oil saturation in the matrix. Unlike surfactant-driven wettability changes, this effect arises from permanent changes to the rock surface itself. 

FTIR analysis of treated cores supports this interpretation. Comparisons between interior and exterior regions of treated samples show clear differences in silicate bonding signatures and surface chemistry, consistent with progressive alteration rather than superficial cleaning. The reaction front advances inward from exposed surfaces, indicating controlled penetration rather than uncontrolled mineral attack. 

FIELD APPLICATIONS  

Early field-relevant results are consistent with laboratory observations. In a Permian basin application, treatment with molecular fracing chemistry resulted in approximately a two-fold increase in inferred permeability relative to baseline conditions. While field data naturally include operational variability, the magnitude and direction of the response align with laboratory-scale improvements and with increased matrix contribution, rather than changes limited to fracture conductivity. 

In the Bakken, third-party core testing and FTIR analysis provided additional validation under conditions representative of a mature shale play. Treated cores showed inward alteration of silicate frameworks without evidence of silica gel formation. Surrounding quartz proppant remained structurally intact, addressing a key operational concern regarding unintended damage to fracture conductivity or proppant stability. 

From an operational standpoint, molecular fracing chemistry is designed to integrate cleanly into existing completion workflows. It is water-based, non-acidic and non-solvent. It is non-corrosive, compatible with recycled produced water, and does not generate secondary gels or scale that impair near-wellbore flow. These characteristics reduce handling complexity, simplify logistics and lower HSE burden compared to aggressive acid or solvent systems. 

THE FUTURE OF MOLECULAR FRACING 

Molecular fracing is not a replacement for hydraulic fracturing. Fractures remain the primary conduits for production. Instead, molecular fracing addresses the limiting step that follows fracture creation: the ability of the matrix to feed those fractures efficiently over time. By increasing effective permeability, improving pore connectivity and reducing residual oil saturation, it expands the volume of rock that can contribute to production. 

As shale development continues to mature, future gains will increasingly come from extracting more value from rock that has already been contacted, rather than from simply contacting more rock. Completion designs are approaching practical limits in terms of pump rates, proppant loading, and operational complexity. In this environment, chemistry that can safely and effectively modify the rock itself represents a new lever for operators.

Fig. 3. Molecular fracing mobilizes trace elements into produced water, enabling potential mineral recovery and reuse pathways while maintaining standard completion and production practices.

Molecular fracing provides that lever. By targeting the mineral framework that constrains pore connectivity, it offers a field-ready approach to unlocking incremental recovery while maintaining operational simplicity and chemical safety. For operators facing diminishing returns from conventional completion intensification, molecular fracing represents a practical next step in the evolution of stimulation chemistry.

An additional outcome of this rock-focused approach is the mobilization of trace metals structurally bound within the same mineral frameworks that limit permeability. Iron, aluminum and other coordination metals targeted during molecular fracing are often associated with a broader suite of elements present in shale matrices, including lithium, manganese, zinc, vanadium and rare earth elements at low but measurable concentrations. As the mineral framework relaxes and micro-scale disaggregation occurs, a portion of these elements is released into the aqueous phase and produces fluids as a secondary effect of stimulation, not as a primary objective. 

From an operational standpoint, this mobilization does not change how the treatment is deployed, nor does it introduce additional risk to well integrity or production. The chemistry remains focused on improving flow, but the resulting produced water chemistry reflects increased metal availability, relative to baseline conditions. In plays where produced water handling, recycling or treatment infrastructure is already in place, this creates optionality rather than obligation. Operators gain the ability to characterize, monitor and potentially recover value from elements that were previously locked in the rock and discarded as part of the waste stream, without modifying completion design or production strategy, Fig. 3.  

Importantly, this by-product effect aligns with the direction of produced water management in mature basins. As regulatory frameworks and economics increasingly favor reuse, treatment and offtake, rather than disposal, stimulation chemistries that enhance both hydrocarbon recovery and the informational or economic value of produced fluids offer a compounding return. Molecular fracing does not require operators to become miners; it simply unlocks additional value from rock that is already being stimulated, produced and managed—reinforcing its role as a next-generation stimulation chemistry, rather than a niche additive. 

ERIC HERRERA is CEO and co-founder of Maverick X, a biotechnology company developing advanced chemistry solutions for resource recovery across oil and gas, mining and industrial sectors. Founded in 2022, Maverick X applies bio-inspired chemistry to improve hydrocarbon recovery and unlock critical elements from challenging environments. Trained as a neuroscientist, Mr. Herrera holds a B.S. degree from Washington and Lee University and has research experience with the U.S. Department of Defense, where he worked on applied chemistry and biochemical systems, prior to founding Maverick X. He is currently exploring Antarctica for more solutions to tackle the growing need for critical national resources. 

ABOUT MAVERICK X 

Founded in 2022 by Eric Herrera and Jesse Evans, Maverick X develops advanced extraction solutions for critical elements and rare earths across oil and gas, mining, agriculture and industrial sectors. By combining biotechnology and chemistry, Maverick X delivers solutions that improve resource recovery, reduce environmental impact, and support global supply chain resilience. Learn more at www.maverickx.com.  

Source: Maverick X.