The past couple years of shockingly expedient frac sand disruption has taught us to expect the unexpected and never say never. Could a new concept proposed by an Infill Thinking reader be the next big game-changing step change in this unbelievably dynamic market niche? There’s a lot more to this …
Read More »Latest Thoughts
Direct Sourcing From An Operator’s Perspective [Guest Post]
Guest Contributor Introduction From Joseph Triepke: Kicking off our Fridays In December 2018 guest post series is Jessica Barton, an E&P sourcing specialist with nearly a decade of supply chain management experience for leading operators in US shale. Jessica is currently the category manager for proppant and last mile logistics …
Read More »Building A Better Mousetrap In The Last Mile Is Not Enough Anymore
In Infill Thinking’s big 2019 logistics preview last week, one of the topics we broached was whether late entrants in the frac sand wellsite solutions market will be able to displace the incumbent new gen solutions. We wanted to elaborate on that a bit today. Is it enough to simply build …
Read More »This Guarded 2019 Comment Carries More Weight Than The Confirmation Of Our 4Q18 Warning
When we attended the Petroleum Connection’s frac sand conference in San Antonio in late-October (the largest frac sand event in history by the way), one of our key takeaways from sideline conversations was… This prediction was confirmed this week, but more important than the confirmation was an indicator for 2019 …
Read More »Is This The Beginning Of The End For Land Drilling Rig Dayrates?
When (not if) will the leading land drilling contractors make a hard push to be paid under a different model than the entrenched dayrate pricing framework? It’s a question we’ve wondered about for years now as we’ve watched land drilling rigs drill more and more wells per month, benefiting their …
Read More »Proppant Inventories Swell
Prior to 3Q18 earnings season, we singled out inventory trends for the frac sand producers as an underappreciated financial metric worth keeping an eye on. While many analysts do a good job of keeping up with volumes, pricing, and contribution margins, we believe that inventory balances and turns can also be …
Read More »Before He Was President, He Was An Oilman. RIP Timberwolf
As the tributes roll in for the late great 41st President of the United States, Infill Thinking remembers George H.W. Bush not only for his legendary record of service to this country but also for his roots as an oilman. There’s a lot more to this story… Login to …
Read More »Permian Local Frac Sand’s Triple Double [Chart Of The Day]
Throughout 2018, Infill Thinking has regularly surveyed production at local frac sand mines across the Permian mine-by-mine. In this update we show how effective supply has grown this year and discuss the importance and meaning of the trajectory. There’s a lot more to this story… Login to see the …
Read More »Before Local Sand Started Trending, This Haynesville Producer Established A Beachhead [Site Visit Takeaways]
We recently had an opportunity to tour a local sand mine in Louisiana and learn from a management team who got their start in developing in-basin sand before it became a trend. Check out our takeaways and analysis of this mine and market here. There’s a lot more to this …
Read More »2019 Last Mile Preview: Compression, Judgement Day, Silica Valley, Replacement Fatigue, Pneumatics, and more… [4/4]
We are previewing key themes for 2019 that will help shape and influence last mile logistics for completions across the Lower 48. In this piece, we address how frac crew efficiency gains impact logistics, the first US last mile solution to go overseas, software, the biggest pain of direct sourcing, …
Read More »2019 Last Mile Preview: Wet Sand Fracs, Leapfrogging, Micro-Optimization, The “New New Gen” Solutions, Hauling Inflation, and more… [Part 3/4]
We are previewing key themes for 2019 that could influence last mile logistics for completions across the Lower 48. In this piece we share eight more themes with big implications There’s a lot more to this story… Login to see the full update… To read this update and receive our research …
Read More »2019 Last Mile Preview: The Year Of The Ninja, Unbundling Shockwaves, Max Payloads, Truck Ownership Questions, and more… [Part 2/4]
We are previewing key themes for 2019 that will help shape and influence last mile logistics for completions across the Lower 48. In this installment we share a half dozen key themes, including a list of up and comers to watch in this space, the importance of payload and what …
Read More »New MidCon Frac Sand Conversion Project Pushes The Oklahoma Greenfield Trend In A New Direction
While touring the MidCon to gather market intelligence back in September, we picked up on the potential for a frac sand mine to open near Oklahoma City. This morning, we can confirm that intelligence after connecting with the management team behind the project. Get the details in the full report… …
Read More »Is The Pre-Frac Logistics Fear Factor Poised To Make A Comeback? [Last Mile 2019 Theme Preview Series 1/4]
In a three-part series starting with this update today, we preview cutting edge completions logistics themes to watch in 2019. In this part one, we discuss how industry perception of last mile logistics risk has changed (and why) along with a warning against complacency. We also discuss the cornucopia of …
Read More »Happy Fracsgiving! As Operators Give Thanks For Massive Efficiency Gains, We Ponder The Impact On The Frac Spread Count
This Thanksgiving, E&P C-Suites should invite their operations teams and pressure pumpers over for dinner. E&Ps have a lot to be grateful for this season in terms of the efficiencies they’ve been able to squeeze out of their spreads in 2018. Stages per day are rising. Zipper frac definition is …
Read More »The TCP Is History – Last Week’s Permit Surrender Is De Facto Nullification
The latest developments around the Texas Conservation Plan and interaction between the Texas Comptroller’s Office and US Fish and Wildlife Service could have big implications for legal protections in Permian O&G. There’s a lot more to this story… Login to see the full update… To read this update and receive …
Read More »The Evolution Of Last Mile Logistics [Chart Of The Day]
Today, we thought it’d be interesting to take a look at a timeline of the last mile S-Curve shift. The result was interesting. 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 »The Brady Brown Mothballing Epidemic Spreads
Over the weekend, we wrote about the closures at Covia’s Voca plants, which were subsequently announced by the company. But that’s not all… the Brady mothballing trend has escalated further this week… There’s a lot more to this story… Login to see the full update… To read this update and …
Read More »Live Takeaways From The Covia Call Wednesday: Last Mile, Demand Forecast, In-Basin Ramp, and NWS Pricing Comments Were Notable
Covia management is hosting their 3Q18 earnings conference on Wednesday 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 Thinking, or your membership has expired, …
Read More »New Details On An Eagle Ford Local Sand Project After Catching Up With Management…
We recently caught up with the management team behind a permit we found back in August to learn about this new Eagle Ford project. Login to learn exclusive details about this one in the full update… There’s a lot more to this story… Login to see the full update… To …
Read More »Vertical Disintegration At Pioneer Natural Resources
Analysis of the breaking Pioneer news to divest their frac horsepower into the hands of a third-party with a long-term agreement to use the equipment here. This is a big one folks. There’s a lot more to this story… Login to see the full update… To read this update and …
Read More »Analysis And Context On The Newest Unbundled Operator’s Supply Agreement
We break down the breaking news as it happens. In this piece, you’ll find analysis posted minutes after the latest frac supply chain press release. No regurgitation of the release, just insights to help put it in context. There’s a lot more to this story… Login to see the full …
Read More »Here’s One Permian Activity Metric That ISN’T Tanking…
We shine the spotlight on a leading indicator that gives us reason for cautious optimism about Permian activity in week’s rig count 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. …
Read More »A Brady Brown Plant Owner Reacts To Market Pressure By Breaking Out The Mothballs
Who’s closing down, how much sand has been mothballed, and why. We discuss for our members 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. If you are new to Infill …
Read More »Buyer “Quick Hits” That Matter In The Frac Supply Chain
In no particular order, here’s some stuff that matters about the frac supply chain… 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 …
Read More »Frac Spread Blaze In Colorado. No Injuries But Tough Timing.
There were no injuries reported and the crew was fully accounted for as of this writing. Thankfully. We want to lead with that detail as it is the most important one in this story. There’s a lot more to this story… Login to see the full update… To read this …
Read More »Ouch! Last Mile Silo Strikes A Major Midland Bridge, Shutting Down Permian Traffic For Hours
Reporting on Permian traffic incidents is a full time job these days, one that is best left in the capable hands of local news pros. So we don’t typically share everything that crosses our monitor on this front. But this is a big, disruptive incident involving new gen well site …
Read More »Frac Sand Take-Or-Pay Contract Settlement Negotiations Intensify Amid Market Turmoil
Something Emerge Energy Services said about negotiations with contracted customers on their volumes this week stood out to us. 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 »Prop 112 Is Dead And The DJ Basin Discount Is Evaporating
The anti-frac measure on the Colorado ballot was soundly defeated on November 6, 2018. 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 …
Read More »Is The Local Sand Rush Finally Ready To Pause In 2019? [Chart Of The Day]
As we prepare for a major Think Sheets release in the next week or so, we thought it’d be interesting to chart the appearance timeline of all the new mines that comprise the great frac sand rush of 2017/2018. There’s a lot more to this story… Login to see the …
Read More »It’s Voting Day: Last Minute Thoughts On Colorado O&G’s Defining Moment
In this week’s rig count update, some last minute thoughts on Prop 112 as it’s voting day. When the polls close this evening, Prop 112 will either fade from the discussion for a couple years, or it will be the only thing anyone in O&G is talking about. There’s a …
Read More »Notes From The Road In The Humming Haynesville Shale
Following the big frac sand conference in San Antonio a couple weeks ago, a contingent of the Infill Thinking team invested some time doing boots on the ground research in the Louisiana Haynesville Shale. Here are some of the things we saw, heard, and learned There’s a lot more to …
Read More »Solaris’s Next Mile: Seeking Growth Beyond The Mobile Proppant Storage Replacement Cycle
The last mile replacement cycle may be ending, but Solaris has some revenue diversification initiatives up their sleeve that fit nicely with overarching themes in shale. In this update, we review four potential new growth opportunities for the company after spending a half day with the team recently to learn …
Read More »Quick Thoughts On Surging E&P M&A
About this time last year, Infill Thinking member Paul Sparks penned a guest post this website titled Independent E&P Consolidation Is The Future, Is 2018 The Year? His case for consolidation turned out to be prophetic. We discuss the implications of three E&P M&A deals this week alone… There’s a lot more to this …
Read More »Is Anyone Else Exhausted With All The Talk Of “Budget Exhaustion”? [Chart Of The Day]
The term “Budget Exhaustion” has caught on like wildfire on OFS and E&P calls alike over the past few weeks. We provide context around the concept (and conversation) in this update. There’s a lot more to this story… Login to see the full update… To read this update and receive …
Read More »An Eagle Ford Sand Miner Just Threw Their Hat Into The Oklahoma Ring [Infill Thinking Exclusive]
With stories like this that can’t be found anywhere else, why would you go anywhere else for your completions supply chain news and analysis? 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 …
Read More »The Manifest Shift Just Got Real With “Some Lumps” In Implementation. Meanwhile, Sand Cars Decline. [5 Train Takeaways]
It’s earnings season and if your office looks anything like ours, you’re probably up to your eyeballs in reading material. So we’ll cut to the chase 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 »Boxes Vs. Silos, Sleepers Vs. Day Cabs, Rail Vs. Trucks & Other Key Last Mile Debates And Dilemmas From San Antonio
Last week’s frac sand conference in San Antonio, hosted by the Petroleum Connection, featured some of the most thoughtful logistics panels that we’ve seen at any oilfield industry event. With three panels on focused squarely on logistics, frac sand hauling and handling issues featured prominently into the discussion. The challenges …
Read More »M&A Converts A Traditional Bundled E&P Into A Vertically Integrated Self-Sourcer
We are able to offer some timely context for the supply chain and procurement implications of this morning’s big M&A news in E&P. 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 »Clear And Present Danger: The Future Of 32 Rigs Hangs In The Balance On November 6 [Charts]
The old Keystone pipeline debate from the past several years doesn’t hold a candle to this one. In fact, the most recent analog we can think of is the 2010 Gulf of Mexico drilling moratorium imposed by the Obama administration in the wake of the Macondo tragedy. Yet even that …
Read More »3 More Last Mile Solutions Join The Fray, Competing To Handle Frac Sand At Lower 48 Wellsites
The Lower 48 market share battle in frac sand’s last mile has escalated again. Last week, we learned about three new gen solutions that are now targeting customer wellsites in the Lower 48 for the first time. There’s a lot more to this story… Login to see the full update… To …
Read More »Initial Thoughts From San Antonio: 10 Key Points On The Big Picture
This week, the Infill Thinking team attended and participated in the largest annual conference in the frac sand industry, which was hosted by the Petroleum Connection in San Antonio. Between serving as Master of Ceremonies for the conference and moderating an in-basin sand panel, our busy team met with many …
Read More »Halliburton Calls The Bottom, Sticks To Their Guns On Sand, & Peers Beneath The Surface To Unlock Pumping Value
Halliburton reported earnings Monday morning and hosted their quarterly conference call with investors. Here are four things to know from their remarks. 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 »Defining Consensus On Important 2019 Completions Debates [Survey Results Part 3 Of 3]
In part three of our industry survey results presentation, we share what a whole bunch of smart Infill Thinking members think about key issues in the hydraulic fracturing market. There’s a lot more to this story… Login to see the full update… To read this update and receive our research …
Read More »Setting A Baseline For Frac Sand In 2019 [Survey Results Part 2 Of 3]
In part two of our industry survey results presentation, we share how a whole bunch of smart Infill Thinking members shake out on key 2019 frac sand market debates. There’s a lot more to this story… Login to see the full update… To read this update and receive our research …
Read More »The Results Are In! Here’s How Your Peers See The 2019 US Onshore Outlook [Part 1 / 3]
This month, we asked Infill Thinking members a series of questions about the outlook for 2019. Our survey honed in on key debates in the turbulent US onshore oilfield service business. A whole bunch of smart people weighed in; here’s what they had to say… just as year-ahead planning starts …
Read More »As Infill Thinking Turns Two, We Just Want To Say Thank You!
Today marks an important milestone for the team here at Infill Thinking. This is the two-year anniversary of our very first oilfield research newsletter. As we paused to take a walk back down memory lane by revisiting Issue Number 1 this morning, we were overwhelmed by feelings of gratitude and …
Read More »Railing Local Permian Sand Outside The Basin Might Be History. Is Railing It Inside The Future?
By this time next year, you may be hearing a whole lot more about a new way to move local sand. In this Thinking Ahead update, we “do the numbers” on a cutting edge idea in sand logistics. There’s a lot more to this story… Login to see the full update… …
Read More »A Resounding Chorus Of “We Recycle Water” Is Echoing In Shale [3 Charts]
We take a look behind the curtain at some key trends in frac water. 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 …
Read More »How’d They Do? Indexed 3Q18 US Basin Drilling Activity Trends [Chart Of The Day]
In this week’s weekly rig count, we check out some key unconventional drilling trends during 3Q18 across the major US shale plays. 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 …
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