• The Energy Information Administration reported a 4.6-million draw in crude oil inventories for the week to March 30, largely in line with analysts polled by IG, who had expected a draw of 4.1 million barrels. For the previous week, the EIA had reported a 1.6-million-barrel build in crude oil inventories. WTI traded at $62.38 a barrel and Brent crude was at $67.11.
• Smart Sand Inc. announced that in anticipation of its recent acquisition of the rights to a unit train capable transloading terminal in Van Hook, N.D., it entered into a multi-year Master Product Purchase Agreement with a large exploration and production company. The products will be sold through the newly acquired transloading terminal, and the obligations under the agreement will commence after such facility is operational, which is expected to be in April. The agreement is structured as a take-or-pay agreement. “We are excited to have an anchor contracted customer for our new Van Hook transloading terminal located in the Bakken,” stated Charles Young, Smart Sand’s CEO. “We continue to believe that, over the long term, many customers want a sand service company that can not only provide high quality sand, but also offer efficient and cost-effective solutions for delivering that sand to the wellhead. The addition of our unit-train capable Van Hook terminal, along with our new customer relationship, is Smart Sand’s first step in executing its initiative to expand its geographic and product delivery footprint.”
• Two influential Wisconsin state senators said a proposal that would allow a frac sand producer to mine wetlands in western Wisconsin is dead. Republican Sens. Alberta Darling and Rob Cowles both told The Associated Press the votes aren’t there to pass the bill. The measure would have exempted Meteor Timber from environmental regulations for its $70 million frac sand processing plan in Grant, Wis.