Nick Cook, Editor
Issue #332 | July 21, 2021
The dust never seems to settle on the frac sand industry! While there is not a ton of frac sand specific news this week (Infill Thinking does have some great coverage, of course), there are several articles which will be of interest to those in the industry. While I have not seen any recent data on the size of the industry, clearly the total size of the frac sand industry (in terms of revenue) has gone down. Even so, it is still a large industry and there is good money to be made if you can find the right solutions and the right partners. While everyone else is struggling to keep the doors open, you should be making calls and building relationships. Trying to build those relationships after the market bounces is too late. Do it now when your clients are looking for cost savings and the right suppliers.
We recognize that some of our competitors’ frac sand events recently have fallen short of expectations. That should not turn you off from all frac sand conferences. Instead, it should motivate you to find the very best conference and to spend your marketing dollars there. The 10th Annual Frac Sand Supply & Logistics Conference is not only the longest running frac sand event, but it is also the best. We’ve been very fortunate to be able to attract industry leaders to participate year-in and year-out. This year will be no different. And, as an added bonus, the event will be held in Grapevine, Texas (at the Gaylord Texan) on the same dates that Grapevine hosts GrapeFest! It is the largest wine festival held in Texas and promises to be a lot of fun. On the first evening of the Frac Sand Supply & Logistics Conference we plan on having an optional outing to GrapeFest. If there is enough interest, we’ll also have some shuttles available during the day, for attendees’ spouses to be able to enjoy the festival. Mark your calendars (September 16 & 17) and register today!
And now, the news…
Oil billionaires Dan and Farris Wilks have taken around a 10% stake in hydraulic fracking firm U.S. Well Services, according to a regulatory filing, bringing their total investment to $47.5 million in the past month, reports Reuters.
Last week, Infill Thinking had an opportunity to visit Hi Crush’s two mobile-mini frac sand mines just north of Big Spring. Both of these in-field frac sand production sites are shipping damp sand only (no dryer, immaterial emissions at plant, emissions cut from getting trucks off road).
As an addendum to this week’s deep dive mobile-mini report from Infill Thinking’s site visit to see several in-field frac sand plants in person last week, they break out and highlight the limiting factors they see to this sand mining approach.
The Houston oil-field services giant on Tuesday said it made a $227 million profit in the three months ended June 30, compared with a $1.7 billion loss a year earlier. Revenue grew nearly 16 percent to $3.7 billion from $3.2 billion a year earlier.
Halliburton’s 2Q21 conference call Tuesday morning updated the largest pressure pumper’s market perspective, which has implications for all frac and frac supply chain participants.
As of July 9, U.S. oil exports have averaged 3 million barrels per day. The most recent four-week rolling average of exports reached 3.51 million barrels per day.
Seven quick, but important, notes from Infill Thinking.
North Dakota Department of Environmental Quality has begun an enforcement action on the Sea Pacific International Trading Company's proppant warehouse on the east side of Williston.
Infill Thinking shares some visuals from their time on the ground. Sometimes a picture is worth a thousand words, and some of these photos from the road are just as insightful as the written research.
U.S. Silica announced that its Industrial and Specialty Products business will increase prices for most of its non-contracted silica sand, diatomaceous earth and clay products used primarily in glass, foundry, paints, coatings, elastomers, roofing, chemicals, recreation, building products, agricultural, pet litter and other applications.
Nearly half of the increase in global electricity demand will have to be met by burning fossil fuels, notably coal, says the IEA adding it expects particularly strong demand in the Asia Pacific region, primarily China and India.
Ohio Department of Natural Resources has issued a draft of proposed rules that would regulate how the state's oil and gas waste facilities manage radioactive fracking waste.
Turning from frac sand, the company has initiated a Front End Engineering and Design (“FEED”) study for its proposed flat glass manufacturing facility and plans to conduct a non-brokered private placement based on receiving unsolicited interest from a U.S. institution.
The Petroleum Connection is pleased to announce that PropX has signed on as a Golf Sponsor for the 10th Annual Frac Sand Supply & Logistics Conference. A leading last mile frac sand equipment provider, PropX joins existing Golf Sponsors High Roller, Timpte, and Meridian Manufacturing.
Tenaris is now performing hydraulic fracturing operations, a first for the company, in the Vaca Muerta formation, the world's second largest shale basin.
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Phone: 214-984-1615 | 33800 Tyler Road, Walkerton, IN 46574
• Nick Cook, Petroleum Connection
• Tim McMahon, UT Bureau of Economic Geology
• Ryan Hassler, Rystad Energy
• Joseph Triepke, Infill Thinking
• Hayden Gillespie, Black Mountain Sand
• Marcus Morton, Cyber Square
• Adam Katz, Badger Mining Corp.
• Brian McConn, Atlas Energy
• Pete Cook, Petroleum Connection [M]
• Kevin Fisher, PropX
• Bob Carter, IAC
• Chris Cloud, Saber Asset Group
• Ryan Zorn, Liberty Energy
• Sam Reynolds, Marathon Oil [M]
• Aric Christman, Encino Energy
• Charlie Crisp, Crisp Supply Chain Solutions
• Jose Sagaseta, Vorto [M]
• Matt Martinez, Texas Chrome Transport
• Sergio Sabatini, OmniTRAX
• Isaiah Martinez, WTS Energy Group
• Rick Pattillo, Lobo Logistics
• Nick Cook, Petroleum Connection
• Kirby Wilkerson, KBW Partners [M]
• Dane Walker, Wall Street Sand Company
• Dr. Anthony Konya, Konya Mining Company
• Jim Otteman, Imperium Enterprises
• William Hitters, CEO, Luxmath Consulting
• Alex Meleshko, LIUM Research [M]
• Matt Oehler, PropX
• Anna Omsberg, SandPile
• Steve Brock, Nomad Proppants
• Nick Cook, Petroleum Connection [M]
• Chris Samanns, Signal Peak Silica
• Dave Frattaroli, High Roller Sand
Event Registration – $25