Frac Sand Weekly News Digest

Nick Cook, Editor

Issue #290 | September 23, 2020

I feel like we’re back in 2015.  You may recall, the shale sector was all doom & gloom back then too.   There was never a positive news story, but plenty of articles about the demise of North American onshore.  And yet, at the Frac Sand Supply & Logistics Conference that year, there was a quiet buzz.  Nearly every single business owner I talked to was saying “Don’t tell anyone, but we’re as busy as we’ve ever been!” or “We’re sold out of sand!”  We’re starting to hear rumor of a similar, under-the-radar uptick in work:  quiet optimism in the Eagle Ford, deals in Argentina, sponsors signing up for our conference, mergers & acquisitions, etc.  The industry is consolidating and undergoing a needed correction, but that doesn’t mean work isn’t getting done and new relationships aren’t being formed.  Don’t miss out.  Join us at the 9th Annual Frac Sand Supply & Logistics Conference in November!

And now, the news.

This Week's News

Brent oil rises with equity markets but demand clouds linger

Oil edged higher, recovering from its biggest loss in almost two weeks even as a resurgent coronavirus looms over the demand outlook...

Interesting Trend Budding In Eagle Ford Data

We are keeping a close eye on permits demanded in the Eagle Ford, and we’ve noticed an interesting trend budding in the data this month. Specifically, permits are bottoming and ticking up nicely...

Energy transition could spur $111 billion in oil divestments, report says

The article states “A societal shift from fossil fuels to renewable energy could force the largest oil companies to sell $111 billion worth of oil and gas assets in the coming years, according to a new report...

Big Oil Looking for a Career Change?

The supermajors might just be pandering to investors, aiming to improve public relations, or trying to increase their ESG rating. Or, they might be seriously looking to exit fossil fuels. I just wish they...

PropX

Ranking The Basins By 2021 Sentiment On The Completions Outlook

Our thinking on Basin sentiment ranking will probably come as no surprise to plugged-in readers as consensus is strong on this and we agree with consensus here. It’s a bit hard to...

AMI Silica Advances a Strategic Joint Venture Green Silica Sand Facility

AMI Silica signed an agreement with an international industrial partner to pursue the Duvernay Silica Sand Project as a joint venture initiative. This JV initiative aims to co-develop and operate one of the greenest silica sand facilities in North America...

Smart Sand Completes Acquisition of Eagle Materials Oil and Gas Proppants Segment

The Segment’s primary assets include frac sand mines and related processing facilities in Utica, Illinois and New Auburn, Wisconsin, with approximately 3.5 million tons of annual processing capacity...

A Penny On The Dollar For NWS Investments Gone Bad

A long-marketed Northern White Sand asset package finally found a buyer last week…. for what we estimate is a penny on the dollar relative to invested capital...

Two Years Post-Commercialization, A New Last Mile Solution Rolls Out… But Where To? Here’s A Hunch…

Infill Thinking breaks the news of a last mile solution rolling out some new equipment, after a bit of a wait...

NOV Sandbank Mobile Silos Headed to Argentina

NRG Argentina has signed an exclusive contract with National Oilwell Varco for the use of Sandbank mobile silo systems in the country. Each system consists of 6 silos and gravity hopper truck unloading devices...

Solaris Oilfield Infrastructure Issues More Positive Operational Update

Solaris Oilfield Infrastructure announced it believes US frac and Solaris’ activity, as measured by fully utilized frac crews and proppant silo systems, respectively, will be up 60-70% in the third quarter of 2020 on average from...

Attend or Not Attend the Frac Sand Supply & Logistics Conference?

Should you register for the largest frac sand conference of the year? Will anyone be there? Will my company allow me to go? Will it be safe?  These are all legitimate questions being faced by the frac sand industry right now...

Advertiser Space Available

Judge won't reinstate frac sand permit in Monroe County, Wisconsin

A judge refused Monday to reinstate a wetlands permit for a $75 million frac sand operation in Monroe County...

US rail headcount rises on monthly basis

U.S. Class I rail employment levels rose between July and August on higher rail volumes. However, headcount totals are still significantly below year-ago levels...

Can The Federal Government Help Lessen Oil & Gas Volatility? Do We Want Them To?

An election is upon us, one which will be critical to the future of domestic oil and gas. The two parties vying for power have radically different agendas relating to the role of government in regulating oil and gas...

Select Sands Releases New Video on their Eagle Ford Transload Facility

Normally we do not include many commercials in the newsletter, but this one is well done and got a lot of attention on LinkedIn, so we thought we’d share...

A Half Dozen Frac People On The Move

Individuals are often overlooked in this asset-intensive sector, but talent shifts can have big implications for value creation, oilfield trends, sales and competitive dynamics...

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