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
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
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)
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
Proppants are probably the most vital ingrediant in the drilling/completion process. The quality of the proppants will directly impact the production of a well. This ingrediant is like the icing on the cake and any cost cutting at this level is not a good idea. I'm hoping as time goes on, advanced technology in this area will prevail, thus making great wells, fantastic wells on the average.
ReplyDeleteIt would be easy for a college student / graduate student to study the trend in the use of proppants. It is difficult to compare one well with another well based on proppants alone (remember, some fields and some formations do not need fracking) but one could follow the trend in the use of proppants over time to see which way the bigger players are headed. The downside is the huge cost up front.
ReplyDeleteMost likely the black cat was being transferred in "superacks" (2200lb sacks) to a storage facility. It is then put into silos (grain type) then eventually put on a pneumatic trailer and delivered to location where it is blown into a piece of Halliburton, SLB, etc's equipment.
ReplyDeleteThank you for helping me connect the dots. Tomorrow I will post some photos of the 1500 kg sacks (tote bags) of "grey sand" stacked on a loading dock at the Williston depot. Those are 3300-lb sacks, so the Black Cat bags on the flatbeds today were probably the 2200 pound bags you referenced.
ReplyDeleteIt will be very, very interesting to follow the fracking/proppant story going forward; 167 wells/month being drilled and there's already a huge backlog.
Also being used in the bakken.
ReplyDeleteProduct info:
http://www.pioneeroil-co.com/PDF/PMX_Brochure.pdf
More info:
http://www.pioneeroil-co.com/proppant.aspx
I will update the stand-alone posts, since folks may not read these comments. I will update the posts later this evening.
ReplyDeleteI really appreciate you taking the time to educate me on the proppant issue; I understand some of the general stuff, but am way behind on the specifics: who makes what; what is most commonly used in the Bakken; will production of proppant closer to home more likely, or will Chinese/Russian source be the predominant proppant five years from now; etc, etc.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/12/12/shalegas-usa-china-idUSN1E7BB05I20111212
ReplyDeleteThank you. I don't write enough about ceramics; information is hard to come by; not many articles on the net. One of the Chinese companies mentioned was Guizhou, which I wrote about back in September.
ReplyDeletehttp://milliondollarway.blogspot.com/2011/09/black-sand-grey-sand-bakken-north.html
Thank you taking time to comment.
I have ceramic proppant from China for sale, good cost and quality
ReplyDeleteif interested contact Aveeta International Trade @ aveetatradetwo@yahoo.com.
Thank You
I have been looking at some Black Cat proppant. Don't think they are made in US. No sign of factor that I can find, hq in Fort Worth. Thoughts?
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately I don't have a link/source for your answer. But my hunch is that Black Cat is manufactured in either Russia or China. My first guess would be Russia based on CARBO Ceramics story.
Delete