Frac Sand: Does Size Really Matter?

Today, we introduce you to a new advertiser on Marcellus Drilling News: MS Industries. Below is a sponsored post from MS Industries. Such posts on MDN are extremely rare. We only accept sponsored posts if we believe the content is (a) very high quality and (b) directly relevant to MDN readers. This post on frac sand hits the bullseye. Among MDN’s audience are many who work for drillers (i.e., producers) and those who work for the oilfield services companies that work for those drillers. Believe it or not, frac sand is one of the keys, one of the closely-guarded secrets of drillers, that determines the success of their drilling programs. MS Industries, serving the Marcellus/Utica (and other plays), offers a range of high-grade frac sand, including whole grain silica microproppant. Matt Henry, one of the principals of MS Industries, writes about the role of microproppants in fracking. Click to learn more about the critical role of frac sand and why size *does* matter…

The first time I heard the word ‘frac sand’ I thought of my childhood sandbox, a favorite among the neighborhood cats, and envisioned this sand being used to frac a well. Naively, I reasoned that it probably doesn’t matter what kind of sand is used when fracking. However, after diving into scientific literature, it turns out the frac sand debate is fairly gritty.

Last month I found myself in Austin, Texas sitting across the table from a veteran in the frac sand business. Aside from convincing me that it is not boring to sell one of the most abundant resources on the planet, he answered a question that has come up repeatedly in my research. How important is sand size when it comes to fracking? As it turns out, pretty important. He confirmed that, over the years, the demand for frac sand in the oil and gas industry has continuously trended smaller and smaller.

Before we start talking sand, let us take a moment and get on the same page. Frac sand is measured by ‘mesh’ with size being affiliated to the number of holes per square inch of the mesh (ex: 50 holes per square inch is called 50 mesh). A particular mesh size catches larger particles than its mesh size and allows smaller particles to pass through.

Initially, a 20/40 or 30/50 mesh frac sand was relatively normal until the industry turned to 40/70 mesh frac sand as its mainstay. Now, 100 mesh frac sand products (often made of a mix of bigger sand with a percentage of the it being in the 100 mesh category) are in high demand. Will the smaller and smaller trend continue? Based on the research, it looks that way.

Petroleum engineering professor Dr. Mukul Sharma at the University of Texas has estimated that as much as **90%** of the volume of a well’s fracture network remains unpropped. When a fracture in the rock formation is created during fracking, it closes when the pressure is drawn down unless proppant has reached it and keeps it open. Unpropped fractures become untapped potential. In other words, Dr. Sharma is estimating that wells are producing from 10% of the fracture network they initially created. With that in mind, it makes sense that more and more attention is being focused on ways to expand the productive fracture footprint, and the type of frac sand utilized is at the forefront of this discussion.

Research is showing that smaller proppant, or microproppant, can more easily penetrate into this unreached fracture network. Compared to larger sizes, microproppant (140 mesh or smaller) has better suspension characteristics in frac fluid giving it a travel advantage and a size advantage. Not only can it fit in smaller fissures created during the fracking, it has a much easier time getting there (ex: turning corners). In theory, more of this currently untapped network is propped open with smaller sand creating a larger tapped network.

For many years, Halliburton has been leading the way in testing out microproppant in the SCOOP and Permian with documented gains between 15% to 30% in comparative wells. Still, some microproppant wells showed the gains widening over time, indicating that utilizing smaller proppant can decrease well production declines over time.

So why aren’t more people utilizing Microproppant?

First, as with any industry, change takes time. Secondly, it turns out that whole grain microproppant is not around every corner. Some companies are manufacturing microproppant by crushing existing silica into smaller particles (ex: Silica Flour). According to Hart Energy, this is the case for US Silica’s microproppant product called Micro Stim Plus. But crushed silica can create a very jagged sand product (ex: imagine shards of glass) that can potentially compromise the crush strength needed to keep open fractures. Then there is the potential issue of decreased permeability when getting away from a whole grain sand (ex: imagine spherical shapes). While the industry will continue to study the various versions of microproppant to see what is most effective, it seems logical that strength and permeability favor a whole grain sand approach as opposed to crushing silica down to size.

While it may take some digging to find them, there are companies providing unique microproppant. Consider MS Industries Super 150 Silica Microproppant. It is a highly pure (>99% SiO2), whole grain proppant where almost 50% of the proppant is 140 Mesh or SMALLER. Located in NW Alabama, their mine can produce 2M tons a year, and they have rail, truck, or barge shipping options that enable them to ship material worldwide.

Still, some companies, like Carbo Ceramics, are bypassing sand and creating microproppant utilizing ceramic technology. While sand has the upper hand on cost, their ceramic proppant product, Nanomite, promises better proppant characteristics than naturally occurring microproppant.

What about cost?

Is microproppant more expensive than your normal 40/70 mesh sand? Yes…but the answer is not quite that simple. Take MS Industries Super 150 for example. It is more expensive than typical frac sand, but the price won’t make your heart skip a beat. While I have yet to see an absolute dollar figure on ceramic alternatives, from what I gather, the price will give the heart a workout. However, do you need to replace all of your frac sand to see the benefit?

Data suggests that the answer is no.

The studies suggest that you can see the benefits of microproppant without a complete abandonment of your current frac sand provider. The research shows that using microproppant as the tip of the spear is the most critical. In other words, it is first down the hole. As you are calculating the cost, consider that the current research suggests that you may get the microproppant benefit by only replacing part of the frac sand in your project. Only replacing 1/3 of your sand supply with microproppant does help mitigate some of the increased cost.

For now, enough data is in play to make the case for a microproppant strategy. With real options available in the market, time and data will help us better understand the full benefits and best practices. While the market slowly adjusts its strategies, early adopters may find themselves with an edge on their competition. It looks like size really does matter.

Matt Henry – Vertical Endeavors

Contact Matt at MHenry@verticalendeavors.co or MHenry79@gmail.com

Sources:

Aslannezhad, Masoud; Kalantariasl, Azim; You, Zhenjiang; Iglauer, Stefan; Kesavarz, Alireza. “Micro-proppant placement in hydraulic and natural fracture stimulation in unconventional reservoirs: A review.” ScienceDirect. November 2021, Volume 7.

“Frac Sand: Demand, Regulations and Innovations.” SCS Engineers. December 12, 2023.

Montgomery, Carl T.; Siebrits, Eduard; Strobel, William E.; “Microproppant Offers Lsting Benefits.” The American Oil & Gas Reporter. August 2024.

Rassenfoss, Stephen; “Seeking Big Oil Production Gains By Fracturing With Microproppant.” Journal of Petroleum Technology. February 28, 2017.

“Halliburton’s MicroScout Plus Service to improve well productivity.” Oil Review Middle East. July 25, 2018.

Tanguay, Chris; Smith, Michael; “Microproppants Unlock Potential Of Secondary Fractures.” Hart Energy. January 2nd, 2018.