More On Fracking: Sand Vs Ceramics -- Filloon

Another great essay from Mike Filloon on proppants.

The poll on ceramics vs sand remains "open."

Mike on sand:

I have seen most operators increasing usage of frac sand per well, and decreasing ceramic proppant. Now CARBO Ceramics will focus on cheap Chinese ceramics hitting the U.S. market and dragging down its sales. I could be wrong, but this is only part of the issue. I believe new completion techniques are not only making it possible to use up to a million pounds of sand per 1000 feet of lateral, but are also to use all sand fracs. My hypothesis may be incorrect (but I would like to hear differing opinions) as deeper source rock is exposed to higher pressures that crush frac sand. This is why many operators use a mix of resin coated sand, or in the Bakken (very deep) ceramic proppant. The idea is simple.