Wisconsin winter puts a chill on Texas oil drilling. Why? Shortage of sand.
Frigid temperatures in Wisconsin may be holding up oil and gas drilling in Colorado, Texas, and Pennsylvania.
The problem? A sand shortage.
Fracking for oil and natural gas relies heavily on sand. In the hydraulic fracturing process, sand, water and chemicals are pumped into the ground to break up dense rock and coax out more fuel.
The sand acts like a stent, propping open tiny fissures that allow oil and gas to flow more freely to the surface.
Sand mines have been popping up all over Wisconsin because the state is home to a special variety of white silica that has strong, perfectly rounded grains well suited to holding open those underground cracks created by fracking.
But as any Green Bay Packers fan can attest, weather conditions in Wisconsin aren't exactly beach-like.
Sand mining in ice-covered northern states was disrupted by winter weather, according to Nabors Industries Ltd., one of the biggest drillers in the U.S.
Sand shortage? EOG has it's own sand "mines" and a 20-year supply.
