EP 82: John Ely, The Godfather of Frac

When you have 80 patents and a lifetime achievement award in hydraulic fracturing, you have seen some things. John William Ely, Founder of Ely and Associates Corp, and Jon Harper, Vice President of Sales and Marketing, talk frac history, pre-job diagnostics, the slick water revolution, geothermal, and why the industry keeps pumping the same thing and expecting different results.Click here to watch a video of this episode.Join the conversation shaping the future of energy.Collide is the community where oil & gas professionals connect, share insights, and solve real-world problems together. No noise. No fluff. Just the discussions that move our industry forward.Apply today at collide.ioClick here to view the episode transcript. 0:00 - Intro and guest backgrounds3:25 - John William Ely's origin story7:45 - Offshore blowout and well control in the Middle East11:25 - How fracturing has evolved over 50 years19:30 - The slick water revolution and where we went wrong27:40 - Pre-job diagnostics and what operators overlook36:55 - Geothermal applications and completions challenges43:50 - Parent-child well interaction and offset communication47:00 - Refracing and diversion54:15 - Increasing recovery factor1:06:35 - Longer laterals, U-turn wells, and land-driven decisions1:12:35 - Knowledge gaps in the next generation of engineers1:25:20 - The untapped tight conventional opportunity1:30:02 - Advice for young engineers entering the industryhttps://twitter.com/collide_aihttps://www.tiktok.com/@collide.iohttps://www.facebook.com/collide.iohttps://www.instagram.com/collide.iohttps://www.youtube.com/@collide_iohttps://bsky.app/profile/collide-ai.bsky.socialhttps://www.linkedin.com/company/collideai