Spending on Proppants for Unconventional Oil & Gas to Total $8.85bn in 2014, According to a New Study on ASDReports

Thursday 31 July 2014, Amsterdam

The new report now available on ASDReprots indicates that total spending on of proppant, will be $8.85bn in 2014. The continually expanding unconventional oil and gas markets are the key underlying factor for the proppants market over the next 10 years. To exploit these resources hydraulic fracturing (fracing) is employed; a process in which formations are fractured under high pressure and proppant pumped into the created fissures. The use of this method, combined with horizontal multi-stage fracturing, enables one rig to pump millions of pounds of proppant into a single well.  Subsequently, any growth in capital expenditure on the development of unconventional hydrocarbon resources will lead to increased spending on proppants.

The lead analyst of the report commented that, ‘Continual expansion of unconventional oil and gas development seen over the next decade – most notably in the US, but also around the globe – will necessitate steadily increasing proppant sales throughout the forecast period. In the US, proppant sales are primarily driven by the shale (tight) oil industry, since the natural gas price has decoupled from the crude oil price, making it more economical to develop shale (tight) oil. However, elsewhere in the world, proppant sales are underpinned by shale gas development as nations seek to exploit their unconventional gas resources for export purposes or for the sake of domestic energy security.‘

While most of the proppant spending will take place in the Americas, and in the United States in particular, annual growth rates for other nations and regions are more aggressive, as the unconventional oil and gas boon spreads across the glove over the next 10 years. Of particular note are the proppants markets in Argentina, throughout the Americas, and in China; these nations and regions have extensive unconventional oil and gas reserves and the global trend toward natural gas as the dominant feedstock will ensure significant political and fiscal capital is spent developing them. Strong global oil prices and, in the case of markets outside North America, gas prices, further justifies such development and spending.

The 246 page report provides sales and volume forecasts for 10 key national or regional markets, individually further subdivided by the three submarkets: ceramic proppants, resin coated proppants and frac sands. Proppant sales by application are also quantified in the report, with individual breakdown of shale gas, shale oil, tight gas and CBM. In addition, the report profiles the leading proppant suppliers, including details of proppants revenue, regional focus and competitor analysis.

The Proppants Market Forecast 2014-2024: Frac Sand, Resin Coated Sand & Ceramic for Hydraulic Fracturing (Fracing) in Unconventional Oil & Gas report will be of value to current and potential future stakeholders of proppants companies and in the broader natural gas and petroleum industries. It will also benefit companies and research centres that wish to broaden their knowledge and understanding of a market that plays a pivotal role in the development of unconventional energy resources worldwide.