• Wayfinder Corp. has partnered with TR Transport Inc. to provide last-mile frac sand delivery and logistics solutions. The added service strengthens the company’s commitment to “Total Proppant Management,” which includes Wayfinder’s ability to provide Northern White, Regional and Resin Coated Sand through several strategic locations across the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin. Wayfinder’s commitment to Total Proppant Management results in low risk, convenient, cost effective solutions for oil and gas companies operating in western Canada, the company stated.
• Erik Nystrom, vice president of strategic marketing at Covia, speaking at the DUG Sand Conference, made a quality argument for Northern White sand versus West Texas product, saying, West Texas crush strength is more dependent on particle-size distribution than Northern White; West Texas has about two to three times more impurities than Northern White pure crystalline silica; West Texas material degrades fairly significantly due to the lesser strength of each individual grain of sand; and Northern White crushes more evenly and each grain is able to withstand more closure stress.
• According to Joel Schneyer of Capstone Headwaters, the increased use of (lower conductivity) in-basin sand may not be the only culprit that results in lower EURs (lower recoveries and higher proportion of gas/oil), but is certainly a factor that deserves very strong consideration. “Possible other causes of production shortfalls include down-spacing and parent-child interference, as well as step out from core acreage. Better transparency by operators and OFS to detangle the contribution of well interference, premium vs. non-premium drill locations, and sand quality will have wide-reaching ripples to EUR, and in turn shareholder returns,” he stated.