A 16.6-mile-long covered conveyor belt system would bring sand for hydraulic fracturing from West Texas into Southeast New Mexico, according to a development plan written by OLC Kermit, LLC, a subsidiary of Atlas Sand Company, LLC. The plan was submitted in January to the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Carlsbad Field Office as part of […]
Line in the Sand
Basin frac sand mines may face a shakeout in the last quarter of 2019. By Paul Wiseman The oil and gas economy is always compared to a roller coaster ride, but nowhere in the sector has the ride been crazier over the last decade than in frac sand. Until the early 2000s, frac sand mining […]
Sand Nation
In a sweeping and disruptive move that in some ways pre-empts the huge sand suppliers of Wisconsin and other points north, the Basin storms into the sand mining business, bringing home what could be the lion’s share of this vital and ever-growing segment within the well completion industry. by Jesse Mullins “The West Texas […]
The Nitty Gritty of Sand
It’s famine to feast. With the return to activity, sandmen are no longer asleep at the wheel. Frac sand companies are hiring people, buying equipment, and gaining market share. Meanwhile, sand itself—as used by E&P companies—has changed. By Paul Wiseman Most of 2016 was a crisis in much of the oil industry, and the […]
Sand’s Hidden Danger
Heightened regulations are in the pipeline to reduce silicosis deaths By Paul Wiseman Of the major inhaled pollutant issues, frac sand is not on the list for most people. After all, it spends most of its existence in the ground—in the mine or in the oil well. Seems harmless enough. But on its way […]
Sand is BIG
And getting more complex, along with the ceramics that have joined the proppant ranks. Meanwhile, growing demand, shrinking mesh sizes typify changes for the proppant industry. “Be a tiny grain of sand Words of wisdom, ‘Yes, I can.’” So sang Earth Wind and Fire more than a few years ago, and today, tinier and tinier […]