Proppants -- Bakken, North Dakota, USA

Fores Ceramics transloading facility, ad, posted August 28, 2012 
Another source for fracking sand: posted February 2, 2012
Proppants for Sale: posted January 31, 2012
Fracking chemicals, March 12, 2013

Updates

December 13, 2011: Reuter's update on Chinese proppants; names, alternatives; costs

October 22, 2011: Perhaps the definitive post on proppants and field reports.

Original Post

Just after talking with someone about proppants for fracking, and specifically about grey ash" or "grey sand from China, two 18-wheeler flatbeds passed me with 14 bags each of "Black Cat" proppant, obviously on their way for a fracking job.

I had mentioned, off-handedly, in that conversation, that based on another short conversation in the Bakken, it sounded like "grey sand/grey ash" from China was "big man on campus" here in the Bakken. And then, just to prove me wrong, these two flatbeds passed me, as noted above, with 28 bags of "Black Cat" proppant.

Incidentally, companies are sending local North Dakota folks to China to be trained in sales of proppant in the Bakken. 

So, now I am aware of these  proppants in the Bakken:

• Econoprop, two sizes: 20/40 and 30/50; a product of Carbo Ceramics, six manufacturing plants in the U.S., China and Russia; Houston, TX; for investors: CRR, SeekingAlpha.com
• Black cat ceramic proppant; three standard sizes: 20/40, 30/50 and 40/70; Ft Worth, Texas
• China Ceramic Proppant: also, three sizes; 1500 kg tote bags (3,300 pounds)
• Thor's Ceramic Proppant: manufactured in northwest China; bauxite mines
• Hexion: informative website
• Pioneer Oil LLC: has its own supply source from Asia (note: warehouse at Dore, North Dakota)

See photos of Chinese proppant here.

By the way, I first blogged about CRR a year or so ago. See the tag / label "proppants" at the bottom of the blog to see the earlier posts.

Casual observations inside Williston city limits (most of the proppant trucks inside Williston load at the depot, and then take 2nd Street West out of town:

• September 16, 2011: one flatbed of proppant, possibly Chinese (not close enough to see)
• September 13, 2011: one flatbed of fly ash; one flatbed of proppant, possibly Chinese (not close enough to see)
• September 11, 2011: one flatbed, ~ 24 sacks, fly ash
• September 9, 2011: loading dock at depot with ~50 sacks of Chinese Mid Pacific proppant
• September 9, 2011: one flatbed, 14 sacks, Black Cat proppant; second flatbed, amount, type unknown
• September 8, 2011: two flatbeds; 14 sacks each; Black Cat proppant

Williston Train Depot, September 17, 2011