In recent years, the success of the U.S. shale oil and gas development , not only triggered a boom in exploration and development of shale gas resources worldwide , and many small manufacturing companies in China to create a great business opportunity.
Over the past three years , China 's maide ceramic proppant manufactured good support for its ability to gradually replace conventional proppant sand, into the U.S. market . So far, the Chinese -made ceramic proppant ceramic proppant has occupied the entire North American market share of 13% , the average annual business volume of $ 3 billion .
Shale oil and gas development is inseparable from the application of hydraulic fracturing , and hydraulic fracturing technology is the most important material is proppant . The purpose of the proppant in the oil pressure to open the high-pressure water layer prop open the crack pressure , so that the gas flows out .
In the past, U.S. companies used to make sand proppant . However, due to the sand into the deep well pump after easily crushed under high pressure formations , so more and more companies do tend to use resin coated ceramic proppant . But for those companies ( sand only 40 cents / lb ) are not willing to pay $ 4 / pound ceramic is concerned, more economical option is to use the child 's performance is better than conventional silica sand resin coating sand . As the number of drilling in North Dakota 's growing demand for sand is also increasing day by day , even from the state of Wisconsin and Minnesota looking for sand sources.
Since 2009 , North American demand for proppant almost tripled , as more and more companies are using multi- stage hydraulic fracturing , proppant demand grew by 10% to 15 %. Ceramic proppant with drilling companies need quality : size uniformity , chemical stability , high temperature high pressure , combined with good compatibility with sand , flowback easy to like. The main thing is not to deform under high pressure deep well , extend the productive life of oil and gas wells .
On the North Dakota prairie , the development of the Bakken Shale oil is very hot, the night from a satellite photo taken on the United States as evidenced by the recent North Dakota Bakken core group had deserted zone , night lights, no less bustling city . The state in October 2011 reached 48.8 million barrels of oil per day , sometimes a well requires 1,500 tons of sand and other proppants , of which ceramic proppant proportion reached 30%. Well here is often a depth of 10,000 to 12,000 feet , it is proppant best useless.
Over the past two years, the price increase is a large ceramic proppant , the U.S. domestic manufacturers have begun struggling to regain market . But with the rise of the Chinese domestic shale gas exploration and development , China 's ceramic proppant seem to have to worry about sales. In addition, the U.S. shale oil and gas development in the ascendant , from Ohio to Texas , shale oil and gas well drilling are heating up , the demand for ceramic proppant great , price increases have a certain tolerance.
Ceramic proppant production inputs is small, but highly profitable , Chinese proppant manufacturer's advantage lies in cheap local bauxite , bauxite is an important raw material for the production of ceramic .
Chinese proppant manufacturers sell their products directly to the Chinese oil service companies, such as Halliburton , Baker Hughes , Schlumberger , or through import and export companies , packaging will be shipped to the U.S. West Coast port their number , such as Long Beach , California or Seattle , Washington , and then transported by train in North Dakota and other places. According to North Dakota 's largest rail operator BSNF forecasts, ceramic proppant volume could double in 2012 .
A few months ago , North Dakota imported from China ceramic proppant ceramic production over the United States 20% cheaper . This difference has recently begun to shrink , with some of the middlemen involved in the future will further narrow the gap .
Since China began to develop its own shale oil and gas resources , the price advantage will be further weakened proppant . Recently, the China Petroleum and Shell to develop shale gas in Sichuan project progress , which means that China began commercial development of shale gas . Furthermore, the increase in production costs in emerging economies will also push up the price of proppant . Over the past two years , the price of Chinese ceramic proppant higher level rose by 60 % to $ 800 / ton. China will also exacerbate the current inflation proppant prices.
Nevertheless, the huge demand for North American ceramic proppant will provide enough space for all maneuvers . Chinese proppant company listed on the New York Stock Exchange , as long as oil and gas to maintain a certain price, they produce ceramic proppant on marketable .
Undoubtedly, prosperity proppant industry is another signal of U.S. shale gas development to the global spread of heat .
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