North America Frac Sand Inc., headquartered in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, acquired North America Frac Sand (CA) Ltd. and its 30,000 acres of leases that are estimated to contain 6.4 million tons of recoverable reserves of frac sand, as well as potential reserves of at least 66 million tons.
With the discovery of new frac sand reserves comes challenges. The challenges facing North America Frac Sand include the following:
- Meeting all of the American Petroleum Institute specifications with respect to size and shape of the frac sand deposits
- Maintaining sufficient contiguous volume and value to be economical
- Ensuring all reserves are close to oil and natural gas reserves, or at least to railways, for cost-efficient transportation
According to the company, it’s strategically located to replace a significant portion of the 70 percent of the frac sand being imported into Canada from Wisconsin. By trucking directly to customers, North America Frac Sand says it saves more than 930 miles of shipping costs. It also bypasses bottlenecks of the supply chain, which are railcar availability; lack of transloading facilities; sand storage infrastructure; and improving last-mile deliveries.
Additionally, in this short-term period of low oil prices, North America Frac Sand says it provides a cost-efficient solution to deliver the frac sand exactly when and where the drillers require it.
