Frac Sand Weekly News Digest
Nick Cook, Editor
Issue #278 | July 1, 2020
Don’t just skim the newsletter this week. It is a must read. Every article is worth your time. I apologize that most of these are on websites with paid subscriptions, but it would be remiss of me not to include these articles. Major news on bankruptcies, a big report on Northern White Sand, and even an interesting article on some opportunities for our industry to contribute to the COVID-19 vaccine.
We plan to announce in the next week a very timely webinar, focused on “Asset Acquisition or Disposition” (a primer on preparing assets for sale, and what to do when looking to acquire used frac sand equipment and assets).
We had a nice outline for the agenda for the 9th Annual Frac Sand Supply & Logistics Conference, but in the past ten days there has been so many changes in the industry that we’re headed back to the drawing board. If you have any suggestions for big topics you think should be included in the agenda, please respond to this email with those suggestions. Have a great rest of the week!
This Week's News
Frac Sand to the Rescue in the Race for COVID-19 Vaccine?
Several recent articles regarding the work being done to find a vaccine for COVID-19 have references a potential bottleneck being a shortage in silica sand, which is used to make medical vials. Um, I think...
Covia Bankrupcy: Covia Announces Plan to Create Sustainable Capital Structure and Reduce Long-Term Obligations by More than $1 Billion
Covia today announced that it has taken a major step toward creating a sustainable capital structure by reducing debt and eliminating excess fixed costs by more than $1 billion. The Company has entered...
Covia Files For Bankruptcy Protection
Covia Holdings Corp. said that the company and certain of its U.S. subsidiaries have voluntarily filed petitions for reorganization under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code in the U.S...
Frac Sand’s Biggest Name From The Northern White Era Files Chapter 11 And Abandons Thousands Of Rail Cars
This is a firm we’ve flagged as a potential restructuring candidate in several recent posts (most prominently in a newsletter last week when we wrote “all eyes turn to Covia to see if they announce…
Frac-Sand Supplier Hi-Crush Negotiating Chapter 11 Bankruptcy
Hi-Crush Inc., which supplies oil and gas companies with sand used in fracking, is negotiating the terms of a chapter 11 bankruptcy with lenders following a sudden decline in business...
Bankruptcy Claims A 14th Major Casualty In Frac Sand… The Biggest Name So Far (before Covia’s Announcement)
Several weeks ago and again on Tuesday, we highlighted a group of oilfield firms that had yet to report 1Q20 earnings. We warned towards the end of the post that some might announce restructuring along...
Only Minus 1 Rig! The US Land Drilling Trajectory Continues To Flatten
Are we there yet? To the bottom...
Northern White Sand Consortium: 'Rystad Energy Study Links Sand Proppant Type To Decreased Oil & Gas Production And Profitability'
The Northern White Sand Consortium, a subgroup of industry participants, formed under the Wisconsin Industrial Sand Association, announced today that a report by Rystad Energy examining 800 Shale Oil...
Read the Report: A RETURN TO QUALITY
Rystad Energy study links proppant type to decreased production and profitability. 85% of operators studied are on track to realize a negative impact in first year of operation...
Belting It Out
I don’t know how we missed this article a month ago, but this is a Permian Basin Oil & Gas Magazine article on the 16.6-mile long covered conveyor belt project Atlas Sand is pursuing in the Permian...
Navigating A Tough Market With Advice From An NFL Legend
Our guest post this week comes from the Fort Worth desk of Paul Shearer. His post is our second guest contribution this month that comes from a frac sand specialist on the open market who also majored...
IAC YouTube Video: IAC Keys to Surviving the Frac Sand Downturn
Industrial Accessories Company has designed & built over 45 frac sand plants, and continues to assist plants with optimization, troubleshooting, inspections, maintenance work, and spare parts...
As The Dominoes Fall… Some Stand To Lose Millions, Some Stand To Lose It All
Our Friday newsletter began with these words, which bear repeating in the wake of Sunday’s news: “Rather than a long, dragged-out process, the erasure of financial obligations in the US oilfield this cycle...
Fracking Trailblazer Chesapeake Energy Files for Bankruptcy
Chesapeake Energy Corp. filed for bankruptcy protection Sunday as an oil- and gas-price rout stoked by the coronavirus pandemic proved to be the final blow for a shale-drilling pioneer long...
Chesapeake’s collapse is latest in long line of shale disasters
The shale bust has reached a grim milestone by claiming the pioneer of America’s drilling renaissance. But Chesapeake Energy Corp., which filed for bankruptcy protection on Sunday, is just the latest...
Shell warns of multibillion writedown as virus curbs oil demand
Royal Dutch Shell Plc said it will write down between $15 billion and $22 billion in the second quarter, as the company gave investors a wider glimpse of just how severely the coronavirus crisis has hit Big Oil...
This Oil Price Drop Has Triggered A Nearly Simultaneous Restructuring Response
With oilfield bankruptcy and restructuring news heating up into 2H20, the industry has fallen into low-cycle restructuring mode much more expediently than in prior cycles. We take a look at some interesting...
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