Also known as the petroleum industry, Oil and Gas industry is one of the biggest sectors or portions of all industries in the world in terms of monetary value (as high as $2 trillion per annum in 2021 [1]). Due to its inherent nature of providing the most crucial economic framework – Oil to the world, Oil and Gas industry stands apart as one of the most significant, widespread and impactful industries around the globe, especially for countries including the United States, Russia, Canada, Saudi Arabia and China.

The total operating costs of each mine largely depend on the method of mining. Therefore, the appropriate choice of the method of mining excavation is very important and great attention is paid to this issue.

X-ray computed tomography (CT) is a non-destructive technique with wide applications in various geological disciplines. It reveals the internal structure of objects, determined by variations in density and atomic composition. Large numbers of parallel 2D sections can be obtained, which allows 3D imaging of selected features. Important applications are the study of porosity and fluid flow, applied to investigations in the fields of petroleum geology, rock mechanics and soil science. Expected future developments include the combined use of CT systems with different resolutions, the wider use of related X-ray techniques and the integration of CT data with results of compatible non-destructive techniques.

This book is a companion to our previous Atlas of Natural and Induced Fractures in Core, moving on from the basic recognition of fracture types described in that volume, which must be the foundation of any fracture study, to explanations of how those fractures form, how they are measured, how they can be assessed, and how they affect reservoirs.

This volume is the summary of decades of experience with industry doing applied fracture studies. It brings together numerous fracture-related topics that are not collected elsewhere. We hope that it will be useful to both academia and industry, and that it is not in the vein of the apocryphal third-grader doing a book report on penguins, who concluded that “This book tells me more than I want to know about penguins.” <...>