Preferred Proppants, LLC announced that it has commenced commercial operations at its resin-coating facility in Monahans, Texas. Preferred said it is the first company to open an in-basin resin coating facility to serve the Permian Basin.
Preferred noted that its new facility is well-positioned to capitalize on the proppant industry’s localization strategy and will enable customers to realize new savings for resin coated sand by reducing cost and associated logistics for customers in the region.
“At Preferred, we are firmly committed to driving down the costs associated with proppant flowback for our customers,” said Marc McQuesten, senior vice president of sales and technology, Preferred Proppants. “The opening of our Monahans, Texas, resin plant further solidifies Preferred’s leading position in the market, as we are able to offer our polyurethane resin coated proppants more efficiently and cost-effectively than ever before.”
Proppant flowback continues to be a major operational challenge for exploration and production companies in the Permian basin, causing millions of dollars of lost revenue each year. Proppant flowback reduces the fracture volume causing a detrimental effect on a well’s production.
Presence of proppant in produced fluid can cause damage to the surface equipment requiring additional separation equipment to handle flowback, which elevates the operating cost of a well. Proppant flowback is considered one of the major factors directly correlated with reduction of effective lifespan of downhole ESP pumps.
In 2012, Preferred Proppants disrupted the resin-coated proppant market by introducing RCS Garnet coating technology, the industry’s first non-phenolic resin coated proppant. Preferred’s RCS Garnet product offered a much-needed alternative to the industry’s antiquated conventional phenolic resin coatings that required an additional activator in certain conditions.
In just seven years, Preferred said it has established itself as a industry leading resin coated sand (RCS) supplier and RCS Garnet has become the industry’s most trusted RCS brand for effective proppant flowback control.
The new resin coating facility is situated between the Midland and Delaware Basins and is located off Interstate 20. The coating facility will produce 40/70 and 100 mesh resin coated products utilizing the high quality local in-basin supply. This announcement comes on the heels of recent openings of Preferred’s other in-basin sand mines in South Texas, West Texas and Oklahoma.