Infill Thinking Lifting the O&G knowledge curve

In this week’s regular rig count update, we analyze the latest Permian bear call and shine a spotlight on Permian permits to discern clues about the near-term outlook for drilling after a better than expected 3Q rig count. There’s a lot more to this story… To read this update and receive …

From what we could see driving up to and around the property (it was raining hard during our site visit), the first northwestern Oklahoma frac sand plant looked substantially complete with just last minute connections remaining on the punch-list. There’s a lot more to this story… To read this update …

In this update, we follow up on several recent Infill Thinking stories with what’s new. Follow-up topics include: wellsite storage replacement cycle appearing in the mainstream press. a new mine opens confirming an exclusive report. … … There’s a lot more to this story… To read this update and receive our …

The sand dune fields in Winkler County Texas that are now home to almost two dozen frac sand mining projects have historically been used for cattle ranching. Some of these cattle ranches have been owned by the same families for generations. For this guest post, we invited these long-time area …

During our recent MidCon Recon trip, we learned from speaking with locals that a frac sand producer new to Oklahoma was actively looking at property for a new frac sand mine near Fay. We reported that datapoint in the first of several takeaway pieces from the trip several weeks ago. …

Late breaking news tonight of the unfortunate variety. Updates are being posted as we learn more… There’s a lot more to this story… To read this update and receive our research newsletters, you must be a subscriber. If your free trial has expired, renew here. (Current members login here.) Subscribers get Exclusive research update newsletters High-caliber, data-driven …

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… To read this update and receive …

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… To read this update and receive …

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… To read this update and receive our research newsletters, you must be a subscriber. If your free trial has expired, renew …

Today we’re checking in on a Permian prediction made here three months ago. There’s a lot more to this story… To read this update and receive our research newsletters, you must be a subscriber. If your free trial has expired, renew here. (Current members login here.) Subscribers get Exclusive research update newsletters High-caliber, data-driven analysis and commentary …

More notes from the road from the time our team invested researching the MidCon on location. There’s a lot more to this story… To read this update and receive our research newsletters, you must be a subscriber. If your free trial has expired, renew here. (Current members login here.) Subscribers get Exclusive research update newsletters High-caliber, data-driven …

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 …

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… To read this update and receive our research newsletters, you must be a subscriber. If your free trial has expired, renew …

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… To read this update and receive our research newsletters, you must be a subscriber. If your free trial has expired, renew here. (Current …

Eagle Ford local sand update. There’s a lot more to this story… To read this update and receive our research newsletters, you must be a subscriber. If your free trial has expired, renew here. (Current members login here.) Subscribers get Exclusive research update newsletters High-caliber, data-driven analysis and commentary New angles on stories you’ll only find here …

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… To read this update and receive our research newsletters, you must be …

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… To read this update and receive our research newsletters, you must be a subscriber. If your free trial has expired, renew here. (Current members login here.) Subscribers get Exclusive research update newsletters High-caliber, data-driven …

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… To read this update and receive our research newsletters, …

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… To read this update and receive our research newsletters, you must be a subscriber. If your free trial has expired, renew here. (Current members login here.) Subscribers get Exclusive …

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… To read this update and receive our research newsletters, you must be a subscriber. If your free trial has expired, renew here. (Current members login here.) Subscribers get Exclusive research …

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 …

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… To read this update and receive our research newsletters, you must be a subscriber. …

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, …

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… To read this update and receive our research newsletters, you must be a subscriber. If your …

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… To read this update and receive our research newsletters, you must be a subscriber. …

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 …

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… To read this update and receive our research newsletters, you must be a subscriber. If your free trial has …

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… To read this update and receive our …

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… To read …

In our weekly rig count update this week we put some context around the drop. There’s a lot more to this story… To read this update and receive our research newsletters, you must be a subscriber. If your free trial has expired, renew here. (Current members login here.) Subscribers get Exclusive research update newsletters High-caliber, data-driven analysis …

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. …

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… To read this update and receive our …

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. …

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 …

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 …

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… To read this update and receive …

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… To read this update and receive our research newsletters, you must be a subscriber. If your free trial …

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 …

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… To read this update and receive our research newsletters, you must be a subscriber. If your free trial has expired, renew …

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… To read this update and receive our research newsletters, you must be a subscriber. If your free trial has expired, renew here. (Current members login here.) Subscribers get Exclusive research …

In this weekly rig count update, we take a closer look at Permian Drilling Permits. There’s a lot more to this story… To read this update and receive our research newsletters, you must be a subscriber. If your free trial has expired, renew here. (Current members login here.) Subscribers get Exclusive research update newsletters High-caliber, data-driven analysis …

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 …

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 …

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… To read this update and receive our research newsletters, you must be a subscriber. If your free trial has expired, renew here. (Current members login here.) Subscribers get Exclusive research …

An update on frac sand mining’s newest frontier: the Rockies. There’s a lot more to this story… To read this update and receive our research newsletters, you must be a subscriber. If your free trial has expired, renew here. (Current members login here.) Subscribers get Exclusive research update newsletters High-caliber, data-driven analysis and commentary New angles on …

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… To read this update and receive our research newsletters, you must be a subscriber. If your free trial has expired, renew here. (Current members login here.) Subscribers get Exclusive research update newsletters …

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… To read this update and receive our research newsletters, you must be a subscriber. If your free trial has expired, renew here. (Current members login here.) Subscribers get Exclusive research …

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… To read this update and receive our research newsletters, you must be a subscriber. If your free trial has expired, renew here. (Current members login here.) Subscribers get Exclusive research …

The US land contract drillers are currently unanimous Lower 48 rig count outlook… There’s a lot more to this story… To read this update and receive our research newsletters, you must be a subscriber. If your free trial has expired, renew here. (Current members login here.) Subscribers get Exclusive research update newsletters High-caliber, data-driven analysis and commentary …

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… To read this update and receive our research newsletters, you must be a subscriber. If your free …