Smart Sand announces whitepaper demonstrating impact of proppant choice

Smart Sand announces a conceptual whitepaper demonstrating the actual impact of proppant choice in wellsite profitability. This paper suggests that Permian operators may address their productivity concerns by revisiting In-Basin Sand usage and switching back to Northern White Sand. Hydraulic Fracturing is a process utilized in oil & gas operations to hydraulically induce a fracture in an oil or gas-bearing geologic formation and subsequently place proppant in the newly created fracture to keep it open, thus allowing a conductive path for hydrocarbons to flow into the drilled wellbore. Proppant sand is a technical product historically mined and processed in Wisconsin and other states in the Upper Midwest, widely known as “Northern White Sand.” “In-Basin” or “Regional” sands are alternatives typically mined and processed much closer to the wells. While Permian Basin well operators have moved to using In-Basin Sand over the last five years, primarily due to the lower cost to deliver the sand to the wellsite, a series of research studies demonstrate that Northern White Sand performs better throughout the well life and is almost always the better economic choice. This whitepaper analyzes three studies from Rystad Energy comparing well results in the Permian Basin from using Northern White Sand and In-Basin Sand, extrapolates results to a 10-year model, and provides an engineering simulation showing how Northern White Sand attributes and specifications drive superior performance. The importance of higher sustained “conductivity,” and the economic analysis of proppant choice are highlighted. The authors suggest that utilizing In-Basin Sand vs. Northern White Sand results in suboptimal cashflow and reduced long-term profitability.