At its most basic, a chemical tracer allows operators to see the flow-back from each stage of a well.

In an unconventional well, which may have four dozen or more stages, operators can find this quantitative measurement useful.

“Putting tracers in the well is neat, but I want a better well. I want to make money from it. I don’t want to do it just because I like science,” says Dave Bucior, Tracerco’s Reservoir business development manager.