For the third year, Saudi Aramco participated in the Unconventional Resources Technology Conference (URTeC). The goal was to participate in the technical program to listen, learn, and share industry technical insights and best practices in the exploration and production of unconventional oil and gas. Geologists, geophysicists, and engineers from a broad range of specialties gathered to discuss the unique challenges associated with unconventional oil and gas. Since signaling a long-term commitment to unconventionals just a few short years ago, the company’s unconventional gas program has shown the potential to complement future in-Kingdom gas supply. This is significant because unconventional gas is a key to meeting the Kingdom’s growing energy needs with cleaner burning natural gas for domestic power generation. Serving on the URTeC Technical Program Committee, Gretchen Gillis from Aramco’s Houston-based Upstream team co-chaired the session “Emerging Plays II: Which Ones Will Make the Cut?” A series of papers exploring fracture complexity, brittleness and stress was moderated by Gang Han, Petroleum Engineering consultant and resident geomechanics expert during the session “Geomechanics of Hydraulic Fracturing: A Place Where Geology Meets Engineering.”. Petroleum engineers are increasingly relying on geomechanics to optimize hydraulic fracturing to capture oil and gas from unconventional reservoirs. “Sweet spots” are identified as places where it is ideal to drill for maximum oil and gas recovery. During the session “Rock Physics and Multiphase Flow,” a paper from the Aramco Research Center-Houston was presented by Daniel Georgi, team lead, Reservoir Engineering Technology, proposing a microwaving technique for testing the tensile strength, or maximum stress, a rock can withstand before failing. The paper, “Measuring Tensile Strength of Unconventional Shales Using Microwaving” attracted interest for its simple and rapid measurement technique. Rock strength is a critical parameter in modeling hydraulic fracturing. The annual conference is endorsed by the world’s three leading oil and gas professional societies: The Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE); The American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG); and The Society of Exploration Geophysicists (SEG). Representatives from Aramco’s Houston office were on-site to talk with experienced professionals about career opportunities. The event supports the Unconventional Resources organization.