Frac Sand '17: : Raw sand dominates proppant market

• Autores: William Clarke
• Localización: Industrial Minerals, ISSN 0019-8544, Nº. 597, 2017 (Ejemplar dedicado a: Octubre-Noviembre)
• Idioma: inglés
• Texto completo no disponible (Saber más ...)
• Resumen

  • Demand for ceramic proppants has plummeted as the fracking industry favours raw sand. More positive outlook for resin-coated sand.

    The once buoyant ceramic proppant industry is dead in the water, as raw sand wins out, delegates at the 5th annual Frac Sand Conference in Denver heard.

    "It's clear, the data is in: today raw sand is the choice," Joel Schneyer, managing director at banking services provider Headwater MB, told attendees.

    Before oil prices tumbled in 2014, many expected ceramic proppants to be the future of the industry, due to their high crush strength and roundness, which allows hydrocarbons to flow out of the formation at a higher rate.

    But with the trend in fracking now firmly focused on increasing proppant volumes, while keeping costs down, the cost of ceramics is just too high.

    "With ceramics (...) you get better well flow, but raw sand has won out," Schneyer said.

    One attendee told IM that ceramics were still being used in fracking, but only as a way of clearing stocks accumulated by the industry when demand was expected to be higher.