With many environmental regulations in place today, it is common for most frac sand processing facilities to have some sort of tailings management system in place. Typical effluent or tailings from frac sand plants can include the minus 70-mesh composed of fine sand, silts and clays; water; and solids concentrations of 3 to 10% solids by weight. McLanahan tailings management equipment helps frac sand producers reclaim as much process water as possible for reuse, and get the solid fractions into a state that can be easily/safely handled, stored or sold. It also allows producers to reduce or eliminate settling ponds, as well as lower the energy costs associated with pumping the material to the settling ponds.
If you want to learn more, please visit our website.
Global Proppants Market was valued at USD 7.8 billion in and is projected to reach USD 12.1 billion by , growing at a cagr 9.1% from to . The improvements in fracturing technology and new drilling techniques, increasing proppants consumption per well, innovation in proppants technologies and the growing natural gas demand to ensure energy security is driving the proppants market during the forecast period. The improvement in the oil prices during the forecast period will also boost the demand of proppants between and .
To know about the assumptions considered for the study, download the pdf brochure
In , the proppants market declined by 27% in terms of volume, which was due to the oil price crash triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic. The unprecedented demand shock in the oil industry in led to a historic drop in the oil prices, as governments around the world closed down businesses, issued stay-at home mandates, and restricted travel. Oil prices at the start of started strong, and by April, the impact of reduced economic activities around the world created an oversupply of oil in the international market, and oil prices plunged dramatically. Another factor that majorly contributed to the freefall of oil prices was the oil price war between Saudi Arabia and Russia, which was initiated at the start of March with both the countries failing to agree on the oil production levels. The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries' (OPEC) failure to act swiftly to cut down oil production to mitigate the lower demand also made the oil prices reach their lowest levels in more than 20 years.
Frac sand is a widely used proppant. It is a naturally occurring proppant made from high purity sandstone. These proppants are mostly applicable under closure pressure of 6,000 psi. Frac sand holds a large share of the proppants market and is the preferred proppants at times when the oil prices declines and E&P operators have to reduce there production cost. The growing US shale gas and the development of new shale gas bains around the world are expected to drive the frac sand during the forecast period.
The domestic demand for natural gas will increase in major APAC economies due to the development of shale gas in the region. The extraction of shale gas is likely to enhance the region&#;s energy security by allowing the countries to become less dependent on external sources. However, the development of shale gas is at the initial stage. The increasing shale gas production in China with the country trying to replicate the US shale gas boom will majorly drive the proppants demand in APAC during the forecast period.
The combination of horizontal drilling and multistage fracturing technologies has completely changed the scenario for oil and gas production worldwide. Exploration and production companies are experimenting with more sand per stage into their horizontals that are drilled and completed, which is projected to accelerate with time. Since , the average sand consumption per horizontal well has tripled and is still projected to increase through longer laterals and greater loadings per lateral foot. Technologies are developed to increase the use of natural sand/frac sand instead of ceramic sand, resulting in the high demand for proppants for drilling. The use of frac sand reduces the raw material cost by more than 50%. Hence, major shale plays are open to experiment and install new equipment and technologies that are encouraging the consumption of natural sand for fracturing.
Ceramic proppants is an engineered product manufactured from sintered bauxite, kaolin, and magnesium silicate or mixtures of bauxite and kaolin using energy-intensive manufacturing process. This manufacturing process is complex as the proppants must have uniform size, shape, sphericity, and roundness to yield higher porosity and permeability of the proppants bed. Ceramic proppants has higher strength and crush resistance than frac sand, as it can withstand closure stresses up to 20,000 psi. Ceramic proppants is costlier than uncoated or resin-coated proppants as it is an engineered product wita more complex manufacturing process. The price of ceramic proppants is about 50% higher than that of frac sand.
Countries such as the US, Canada, China, India, and Russia have been witnessing high demand for oil and gas since the last decade. Limited availability of conventional oil and gas, along with their high level of carbon emission, has led to the growth in the production of unconventional oil and gas such as shale oil & gas, tight oil & gas, and coalbed methane. Countries such as Brazil, Algeria, South Africa, Argentina, Mexico, and Australia have large proven reserves of unconventional oil and gas, which will significantly increase the demand for proppants in the future. However, the increasing protest from local communities and environmental organizations in some of the countries are a concern. Some countries are even banning hydraulic fracking.
Hydraulic fracturing is the major application of proppants, and 98% to 99.5% of the fracturing fluid used for hydraulic fracturing is water. Companies usually use a variety of water sources such as rivers, lakes, groundwater, discharge water from industrial or city wastewater treatment plants, and re-used fracturing water. Temporary pipelines or trucks are used to carry the water to drilling locations. Companies attempt to use a mix of water sources depending on the region and the proximity of water sources. On average, 3 million gallons of water is required per well for hydraulic fracturing. However, this quantity varies widely across regions. It also depends on how many stages of fracturing are conducted at a well. There are two distinct problems with regard to water use in hydraulic fracturing. First, the limited availability of water for hydraulic fracturing, and second, concerns related to water contamination due to fracturing chemicals.
The domestic demand for natural gas will increase in major APAC economies due to the development of shale gas in the region. The extraction of shale gas is likely to enhance the region&#;s energy security by allowing the countries to become less dependent on external sources. However, the development of shale gas is at the initial stage. Countries are extracting shale gas using advanced technology from their shale gas reserves, majorly driven by China.
The extraction of shale gas is risky and entails a higher cost than the production of conventional gas. The extraction process is supposed to carry out in a sustainable, cost-effective, and socially responsive way. The APAC is the largest coalbed methane producing region in the world. China, India, Australia, Japan, and Indonesia, among other countries in the region, have high coalbed methane reserves. Coalbed methane production in the region is driven by the limited conventional natural gas reserves and high natural gas prices in the international market. Australia is the leading country in the region in terms of high commercial production of coalbed methane, as it has the world's largest coalbed methane reserves. These countries also have significant shale gas reserves. China is expected to have the largest shale gas reserves worldwide. The country has a large availability of raw materials, such as bauxite, alumina, and kaolin, from which ceramic proppants are manufactured. Hence, these proppants will hold a major share in the overall proppants market. The APAC proppants market is expected to be driven by China.
The leading players in the proppants market are Carbo Ceramics Inc. (US), COVIA (US, JSC Borovichi Refractories Plant (Russia), U.S. Silica Holdings Inc. (US), Hi-Crush Inc. (US), Mineração Curimbaba (Brazil), Xinmi Wanli Industry Development Co., Ltd. (China), Atlas Sand Company, Llc (US), and HEXION (US).
Report Metric
Details
Years Considered
&#;
Base year
Forecast period
&#;
Unit considered
If you want to learn more, please visit our website AnYiCheng.
Value (USD Million), Volume (Million Tons)
Segments
Type, Application, Ceramic Proppants, and Region
Regions
APAC, North America, Europe, Middle East & North Africa and Rest of the World
Companies
The major players are, Carbo Ceramics Inc. (US), COVIA (US), JSC Borovichi Refractories Plant (Russia), U.S. Silica Holdings Inc. (US), Hi-Crush Inc. (US), Mineração Curimbaba (Brazil), Emerge Energy Services LP (US), Xinmi Wanli Industry Development Co., Ltd. (China), Atlas Sand Company, Llc (US), HEXION (US) and 15 other players.
This research report categorizes the global proppants market on the basis of type, application, ceramic proppants and region.
The market has been further analyzed for the key countries in each of these regions.
What are the major drivers influencing the growth of the proppants market?
The major drivers influencing the growth of proppants are the improvement in fracturing technology, increasing proppants consumption per well, innovation in proppants technologies and the growing natural gas demand. .
How is the proppnats market segmented in terms of type?
The proppants market is segmented into frac sand, resin-coated proppant and ceramic proppant.
How is proppants segmented in terms of ceramic proppant?
The proppants market in terms of ceramic proppant are segmented into high strength ceramic proppants, intermediate strength ceramic proppant, lightweight ceramic proppant and others.
How is the proppants market segmented in terms of applications?
The proppants market in terms of applications are segmented into shale gas, tight gas, coalbed methane and others.
What are the biggest restraints for proppants market?
The biggest restraints in the proppants market are the high cost of ceramic proppant and the price fluctuations in oil & gas sector impacting the demand for proppants.
What are the new opportunities in the proppants market?
The new opportunities in the proppants market are the exploration of unconventional oil & gas reserves are increasing and the incorporation of disruptive technologies such as IoT, microchips, sensors,and artificial intelligence in proppants.
Who are the major manufacturers of proppants?
The major manufacturers of proppants are Carbo Ceramics Inc. (US), COVIA (US, JSC Borovichi Refractories Plant (Russia), U.S. Silica Holdings Inc. (US), Hi-Crush Inc. (US), Mineração Curimbaba (Brazil), Xinmi Wanli Industry Development Co., Ltd. (China), Atlas Sand Company, Llc (US), and HEXION (US). .
To speak to our analyst for a discussion on the above findings, click Speak to Analyst
For more custom proppant sand factoryinformation, please contact us. We will provide professional answers.