Roger - that would the gas if the medium - in this case gas - was free to flow.
The problem here is it isn't.
Its trapped within the geology - hence the fracturing required to free the gas.
If ALL the rock layer could be fractured from a single point - then you'd be right - but also I'm assuming by your knowledge of pressure and force is that the further an object is from a force, the less force that will receive given the fact that other rock between itself and the point of fracture is absorbing that energy - hence you need multiple points of fracture.
Hope that helps.
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