Late breaking news tonight of the unfortunate variety. Updates are being posted as we learn more… There’s a lot more to this story… Login to see the full update… To read this update and receive our research newsletters, you must be a member. If you are new to Infill Thinking, …
Read More »Latest Thoughts
As Frac Sand’s Defining Moment Arrives, A Big Dose Of Uncertainty Enters NWS Shipping Lanes
Just when one thinks things cannot possibly get any more interesting in the frac sand supply transition story, things get more interesting. In this update, we think through what the big news from a critical logistics provider means. There’s a lot more to this story… Login to see the full …
Read More »The Wellsite Frac Sand Storage Replacement Cycle Ends In 2018
All new gen wellsite storage suppliers have enjoyed remarkable growth trajectories, but how long will this continue to be the case? We examine a potential inflection point incorporating takeaways from a proprietary study we conducted in this update. There’s a lot more to this story… Login to see the full …
Read More »Another Permian Mine Is About To Open [Exclusive]
We caught up with the management team of a private company gunning to open the next Permian mine. Read all about it here… There’s a lot more to this story… Login to see the full update… To read this update and receive our research newsletters, you must be a member. …
Read More »The Permian Drilling Market Is Doing Pretty Good If Flat Is The New Up
Today we’re checking in on a Permian prediction made here three months ago. There’s a lot more to this story… Login to see the full update… To read this update and receive our research newsletters, you must be a member. If you are new to Infill Thinking, or your membership …
Read More »Pressure Pumping, Last Mile Logistics, And Wellsite Storage Observations From The Road [MidCon Recon Part III]
More notes from the road from the time our team invested researching the MidCon on location. There’s a lot more to this story… Login to see the full update… To read this update and receive our research newsletters, you must be a member. If you are new to Infill Thinking, …
Read More »Musings On Logistics And Sand From Wisconsin, Texas, And Elsewhere – A Geologist’s Perspective [Friday Guest Post]
Our guest author today is knowledgeable on the properties of both Texas and Northern White sand and has a great deal of firsthand historical context to back up his perspectives on both. We were particularly intrigued by his thoughts towards the end of his guest post on frac sand deposit …
Read More »What Paal Kibsgaard Said About The Permian Should Make Everyone Who Plans To Be There For Awhile Stop And Think…
Schlumberger went to town on a long-term risk in the Permian that we have been calling an existential threat for several quarters now. There’s a lot more to this story… Login to see the full update… To read this update and receive our research newsletters, you must be a member. …
Read More »Is This The Biggest Frac Sand Contract Of All Time?
Quick thoughts on the breaking news Tuesday afternoon that a leading E&P has taken a stake in an in-basin frac sand plant. There’s a lot more to this story… Login to see the full update… To read this update and receive our research newsletters, you must be a member. If …
Read More »Vertically Integrated Eagle Ford Sand Will Be Loading Out Significantly Sooner Than Anticipated
Eagle Ford local sand update. There’s a lot more to this story… Login to see the full update… To read this update and receive our research newsletters, you must be a member. If you are new to Infill Thinking, or your membership has expired, please email us to discuss our …
Read More »Land Drillers Maintain Optimism Despite Completions Malaise
Several months ago, land drillers were very positive on the outlook. Since then, the completions industry has guided lower. How long will the land drillers stay positive? Here’s the latest thematic guidance. There’s a lot more to this story… Login to see the full update… To read this update and …
Read More »Oklahoma Greenfield Construction Progress Report [MidCon Recon, Photos]
In this update, we provide a firsthand update on the industry’s greenfield construction progress in Oklahoma. There’s a lot more to this story… Login to see the full update… To read this update and receive our research newsletters, you must be a member. If you are new to Infill Thinking, …
Read More »The First Truckloads Are Departing A Brand New Permian Mine’s Gates [Exclusive]
Infill Thinking members can log in to see another exclusive report. This time, we report on the newest Permian mine startup before the official announcement, which we expect to make headlines elsewhere later this week. There’s a lot more to this story… Login to see the full update… To read …
Read More »Northern White Sand Contracted For The Permian Is Being Rerouted To The Bakken At Customer Request
In this update, check out what’s new in the narrative of frac sand’s transition to a local supply base. There’s a lot more to this story… Login to see the full update… To read this update and receive our research newsletters, you must be a member. If you are new …
Read More »When It Rains, It Pours
While we were getting drenched in the MidCon this week, the sky was falling in New York too. There’s a lot more to this story… Login to see the full update… To read this update and receive our research newsletters, you must be a member. If you are new to …
Read More »The Rig Hands Guide To Sales Success [Friday Guest Post]
In the world of consumer products the buying experience is often influenced by emotion. For example, if my mother always bought a particular brand of mayonnaise then it’s likely I will buy the same brand as I have an emotional attachment. It’s not likely that anyone ever bought barite or …
Read More »MidCon Recon: The First Batch Of Boots On The Ground Observations
The good old midwestern drenching we got in Oklahoma this week did not deter our mission of gathering firsthand intelligence on the Lower 48’s second largest drilling and completions market. There’s a lot more to this story… Login to see the full update… To read this update and receive our …
Read More »MidCon Member Meet-Up Today
After hosting around 40 members in Fort Worth for informal networking and conversation in August, we are looking forward to another great members-only event in Oklahoma City in September. Get the details and RSVP here. There’s a lot more to this story… To read this update and receive our research newsletters, …
Read More »2 New Permian Frac Sand Plants Are About To Materialize Out Of Thin Air [Exclusive]
Infill Thinking has exclusively learned that a sand producer is planning to announce two new Permian Basin mines later today. Log in to see who, when and where. There’s a lot more to this story… Login to see the full update… To read this update and receive our research newsletters, …
Read More »Local Feedback On The Recent Townhall Meeting In Fay Oklahoma [Presentation Slides]
In this update, we share feedback from local sources on the latest townhall meeting hosted by a mining company working on building a new frac sand plant in northwestern Oklahoma. There’s a lot more to this story… Login to see the full update… To read this update and receive our …
Read More »This Permian Supply Chain Trend Has “Emerging Market” Potential And Is Worth Watching Into 2019
A couple weeks ago in Fort Worth, we noticed that a particular topic related to the logistics of Permian dune sand seemed to be coming up more frequently in the industry discourse. It’s an idea we’ve all heard talked about since the first local sand mine popped up in Kermit …
Read More »In Other News… MidCon Ground Breaking, Another Town Hall, NWS Flooding, And Eagle Ford Expansion…
In addition to the deeper Infill Thinking research updates published this week, a few other quick hits crossed our desk that are worthy of comment… There’s a lot more to this story… Login to see the full update… To read this update and receive our research newsletters, you must be …
Read More »Private Companies Have Leveraged In-Basin Exposure To Take Frac Sand Market Share [Chart Of The Day]
Cross currents could buffet market share positions in the months ahead as NWS cedes share to local sand. In this update, we take a look at year-over-year changes in market share for the public frac sand producers. There’s a lot more to this story… Login to see the full update… …
Read More »A Big Pumper Has Spoken For More Frac Sand Than Needed Next Year
The rapidly shifting sand in the proppant markets will put consumer term contract exposure under the microscope in the months ahead. For pressure pumpers and E&Ps this contract exposure could become a big deal over the next 3-6 months. We discuss… There’s a lot more to this story… Login to …
Read More »Upcycle Context As Baker Hughes Reports The Biggest Weekly Rig Count Drop In About 10 Months
In our weekly rig count update this week we put some context around the drop. There’s a lot more to this story… Login to see the full update… To read this update and receive our research newsletters, you must be a member. If you are new to Infill Thinking, or …
Read More »Zombie Plants, Dual Dials Turning, NWS Concessions, And More Industry Reaction To Our “Shifting Sands” Questions
Since releasing this list of new questions to ponder in the current frac sand environment a couple days ago, we have had a constructive dialog with many industry contacts regarding the spectrum of possible answers and additional considerations. That important feedback is shared below, but first a word on real-time market conditions. …
Read More »CIG Fires The First Shots In A Brand New Last Mile Logistics Dispute… And Gets A Volley Back
We obtained and review new pleadings in the public record with implications for frac sand’s last mile logistics market this morning. We also exclusively received a statement in response from the named defendant. Login to read more. There’s a lot more to this story… Login to see the full update… …
Read More »8 New Questions To Ponder While Standing In The Shifting Sands
The questions being asked around the frac sand market water cooler are changing in tone from “what if oversupply happens” to “what happens after oversupply.” This is not a subtle change and it has implications for many more market participants than simply the sellers. And the tone shift is happening startlingly fast. …
Read More »Will Electrified Frac Spreads Stay On The Fringe Or Go Mainstream? Here’s How This Story Begins…
In this update, we provide a deep dive on a new topic that is emerging from the fringes in fracing: Electric Frac Spreads. Fad or a game changer? We discuss, introduce the players, talk pros and cons, and provide an overview of this new niche… There’s a lot more to …
Read More »Marcellus New Well Permit Check Up As Pumping Slows
Pro Tip: our weekly rig count updates are divided into two sections: i) we always include a weekly thought piece analyzing a hot topic (like Marcellus well permits this week), and ii) we process regular weekly rig count data through our custom filters to deliver a unique way of looking …
Read More »2020 Vision: Over 1/2 The US Frac Sand Supply Base Will Be Local When The Decade Turns [Chart]
Even after covering this story daily for more than 1.5 years here at Infill Thinking, this chart is still mind-blowing to us because of both its velocity and its scale. In a New York minute, everything can change. There’s a lot more to this story… Login to see the full …
Read More »Going Local Part 2: US Independents Are “Backing Up The Truck” On In-Basin Sand
Several weeks ago in this update, we documented an inflection on local sand adoption. Recent proppant customer commentary has remained on trend – here’s what’s new. There’s a lot more to this story… Login to see the full update… To read this update and receive our research newsletters, you must …
Read More »Candid Covia CEO: “Oversupply Is Upon Us”
Candid is probably the best word to describe Covia’s conference call yesterday. Management owned up to the oversupply in the frac sand market – a reckoning our reporting has foreshadowed for more than 12 months now. Here’s what you need to know from the call. There’s a lot more to …
Read More »Notes From Fort Worth Part Two: Market Intel From Meetings With Industry Leaders
We had a full schedule of meetings with industry leaders during our recent trip to Fort Worth, including a well attended reader meetup. There’s a lot more to this story… Login to see the full update… To read this update and receive our research newsletters, you must be a member. …
Read More »Notes From Fort Worth Part One: Member Meet-up, Event Photos, Our Team Expands, And On To The MidCon
We welcomed about 40 Infill Thinking subscribers for coffee, knowledge sharing, and networking on Monday in Fort Worth. There’s a lot more to this story… Login to see the full update… To read this update and receive our research newsletters, you must be a member. If you are new to …
Read More »So Far, Permian Drilling Permits Are Passing The Takeaway Stress Test
In this weekly rig count update, we take a closer look at Permian Drilling Permits. There’s a lot more to this story… Login to see the full update… To read this update and receive our research newsletters, you must be a member. If you are new to Infill Thinking, or …
Read More »Smart Sand Asks The Railroads To Not Give Up On Frac Sand; Makes The EUR Case For NWS
Smart Sand yesterday launched a new quality defense in the Northern White Sand vs. In-Basin debate. Management cited customer requests for conductivity testing, specifically for 100-mesh sand. They also appealed directly to railroads not to give up on the frac supply chain. We discuss… There’s a lot more to this …
Read More »Changes That Matter In The Texas Conservation Plan Re-Write
Last week, the Texas Comptroller’s office submitted a new Dunes Sagebrush Lizard (DSL) conservation plan to US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS). If approved, the new plan will replace the existing Texas Conservation Plan (TCP). Via open records request, we obtained copies of the new plan and supporting documentation. Although …
Read More »Black Mountain Does It Again & Enters A Fourth Local Sand Market [Infill Thinking Exclusive]
Infill Thinking subscribers are always first to know… please log in to read another one of our scoops! There’s a lot more to this story… Login to see the full update… To read this update and receive our research newsletters, you must be a member. If you are new to …
Read More »DJ Basin Local Frac Sand Is Complicated With Much Still To Be Determined…
An update on frac sand mining’s newest frontier: the Rockies. There’s a lot more to this story… Login to see the full update… To read this update and receive our research newsletters, you must be a member. If you are new to Infill Thinking, or your membership has expired, please …
Read More »ProPetro Talks Frac Efficiency, Contracting Strategy, And Newbuilds For Next Year [Live Blog Complete]
We are live-blogging the most important comments with oilfield marketplace implications from the ProPetro call this morning. There’s a lot more to this story… Login to see the full update… To read this update and receive our research newsletters, you must be a member. If you are new to Infill …
Read More »Real-Time Takeaways With Oilfield Market Implications From The Mammoth Call [Live Blog Complete]
We live-blogged the most important comments with oilfield marketplace implications from the Mammoth Energy Services call this morning. There’s a lot more to this story… Login to see the full update… To read this update and receive our research newsletters, you must be a member. If you are new to …
Read More »Greg Lanham Joins The Sand Revolution
We spoke directly with ex-Solaris CEO Greg Lanham on Monday evening to learn more about his next move. There’s a lot more to this story… Login to see the full update… To read this update and receive our research newsletters, you must be a member. If you are new to …
Read More »All The Contractors Expect The Lower 48 Rig Count To Keep On Keepin’ On…
The US land contract drillers are currently unanimous Lower 48 rig count outlook… There’s a lot more to this story… Login to see the full update… To read this update and receive our research newsletters, you must be a member. If you are new to Infill Thinking, or your membership …
Read More »The Path To 450+ Truckloads Per Day For Atlas Sand [Chart Of The Day]
About one week ago, the first truckload of finished frac sand left Atlas Sand’s gate in Kermit. Check out the latest on their ramp in this update. There’s a lot more to this story… Login to see the full update… To read this update and receive our research newsletters, you …
Read More »Going Local: We Picked Up On A Big Tone Shift From Sand Buyers On In-Basin Proppant This Week
This is a pretty interesting read. Are you subscribed yet? Our research service is available for less than a buck per report! Our goal is to democratize high-quality oilfield market analysis, making it available and affordable to a broad audience. There’s a lot more to this story… Login to see …
Read More »A Fracing Game Of Chicken Is Afoot As Market Visibility Fades [Chart Of The Day]
The frac market is in flux. Who’s still planning to grow? Who’s not? Will plans be realized? We quantify and discuss… There’s a lot more to this story… Login to see the full update… To read this update and receive our research newsletters, you must be a member. If you are …
Read More »Permian Nameplate Expansions Are Starting To Add Up. US Silica Is The Latest To Grow
US Silica’s Lamesa sand plant more than doubled in announced capacity this week, becoming the Xth Permian in-basin plant we track with an announced expansion vs. original nameplate capacity. There’s a lot more to this story… Login to see the full update… To read this update and receive our research …
Read More »Big And Unexpected Management Changes At Solaris
More details to follow… There’s a lot more to this story… Login to see the full update… To read this update and receive our research newsletters, you must be a member. If you are new to Infill Thinking, or your membership has expired, please email us to discuss our current …
Read More »Is A Supermajor On The Verge Of Vertical Integration In The Permian?
Supermajor capital has washed ashore to hunt short cycle returns in the Lower 48, having abandoned longer-cycle deepwater and international in the era of austerity following the 2014 oil price crash. These large companies have historically been thought of as less nimble than their smaller peers – the Independents who …
Read More »