Second only to fracturing fluid, proppants play a major role in the hydraulic fracturing process. In 2013 alone roughly 76 billion pounds of raw sand proppant was pumped in the United States. Currently proppant production has seen a 40% increase, roughly 30 billion pounds more, from last year. The trend shows that proppant production and usage is on the rise and will continue to play an important role in future fracturing processes.

So can any type of sand be called a proppant?

Some engineers have the perception that all proppants are created equal and can produce the same results. The truth is, no two proppants are alike. Each formation that the proppant is produced from has different properties that can either aid or impair a wells production.

A majority of E&P’s and Service Companies choose a proppant based on its conductivity data. What a majority of E&P’s and Service Companies do not know is that there have been changes to conductivity instruments that has lowered the overall conductivity results.

So is the data you are reviewing current and up to date?

If no two proppants are alike, how do you compare them to one another? There are specific questions you should ask your proppant supplier to help you establish a baseline comparison of products to one another. We will discuss what these questions are and what the answers can mean for your proppant choices.

Where does raw sand proppant come from?

I will explain everything from mining to transferring proppant to your well. This presentation will also cover API standards for proppant including but not limited to: Acid Solubility, Turbidity, Sieve Distribution, Roundness & Sphericity, Crush and more.