Frac Sand Weekly News Digest
Nick Cook, Editor
Issue #574 | July 22, 2026
There’s a lot to cover in the frac sand and oilfield world.
- There’s one new frac sand plant confirmed coming to NM as well as what looks like a second frac sand mine coming to Texas.
- Magnolia buys out WildFire Energy for a casual $4B+
- And there’s a lot more inside (including what is a wild experimentation in sand processing).
- Not to mention a few big updates out of Canada’s frac sand market
Shout out to our newest Sponsors for the 15th Frac Sand Conference (Sept 22-23, San Antonio):
- Wilson Trailers (Gold + Outdoor)
- SandMax (Gold + Outdoor)
- Alpine Silica (Silver + WiFi + Coffee)
And now, the news…
This Week's News
Into The Land Of Enchantment A New Frac Sand Plant Comes
Been a while since we've seen an update like this.
Province issues environmental assessment certificate for Angus silica sand mine
The Province of British Columbia has issued an environmental assessment certificate to Vitreo Minerals Ltd. for its Angus silica sand mine north of Prince George.
Diving Into The New Debate In Frac Sand
Lot’s to talk about in the Permian Sand business as a new debate enters the fray.
America’s Most Prolific Oil Field Has a Natural-Gas Problem
So much gas pools up in the Permian Basin of West Texas that producers often can’t give it away
Digging Deeper On The Permian Sand Story De Jour With Some Big Picture Themes From Our Topic Exploration
A follow up on the debate happening in the frac sand world right now.
Black Dragon Resource Company Signs Purchase Contract for Texas Frac Sand Property
Details are limited, but Black Dragon signed a purchase contract for a Texas frac sand property with an estimated $1.5 billion in frac sand resources.
Alberta's Basel Belly River Shale Draws New Oil Drilling Wave
Obsidian Energy and Yangarra Resources are fracing the long-dormant Basel Belly River formation for oil near Willesden Green, Alberta, with drilling licenses hitting a 14-year high, World Oil reports via Bloomberg.
Bankrupt Frac Sand Mine Analysis Shows Part Of The Reason South Texas Supply Chain Is So Tight
Analyzing court documents to assess market implications in the frac supply chain…
Magnolia acquires WildFire Energy for $4 billion
Purchase doubles Magnolia's stakes in Giddings field in Texas Eagle Ford shale
Halliburton Describes “Bumpy” North America Recovery, Focuses On Int’l Growth Opportunities
HAL’s CEO had a lot to say about the frac outlook this week and here’s what caught our ear…
U.S. Emergency Oil Reserve Hits Lowest Levels Since 1983: Why It Matters
In underground salt caverns in Texas and Louisiana, the U.S. government stores hundreds of millions of barrels worth of oil in case of energy shocks. Those reserves are now at their lowest levels in decades.
In Other News… In Like A Lion Out Like A Lamb, People On The Move, STX Premiums, Risky Business, New Plant Progress Pics, & More…
Some notes from earlier this month
Worth A Mention… War Drums Beat Again, Uninvestable Market? MGGA, Getting The Band Back Together Again, A New BTM Alliance, & more…
Other thoughts from Infill Thinking
Worth A Mention… A Canadian Frac First, Behind-The-Curtain Behind-The-Meter M&A, New Mine, Mine Adds, PJM Signals, & More…
More notes courtesy of our friends at Infill
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