American Oil and Gas Reporter - August 2021 - 69

SpecialReport: Fracturing Tech
has been called into question by industry
thought leaders given the nature of inbasin
and in-field mining and the fact
that sand is " re-hydrated " once it gets to
the well site. The dryers are the primary
driver of energy consumption and perton-cost
at the mine.
In addition, they account for a significant
tranche of the capital required to
build legacy facilities. In-field wet sand
mining is able to represent large reductions
in GHG emissions while saving endusers
money on each ton of sand. These
emissions benefits are underscored by
the large reductions in truck counts with
shorter hauls.
Definitive RCS Solution
Wet sand is a definitive solution for
employee exposure to silica dust at the
mine and the frac site. Respirable crystalline
silica dust (RCS) has been identified
as an occupational health hazard and is
regulated by the Occupational Safety &
Health Administration and Mine Safety
Health Administration. Beginning this
summer, hydraulic fracturing operations
must use engineering controls to lower
permissible exposure limits of RCS on
all well sites to 50 micrograms per cubic
meter of air per eight hours (μg/cm/8 hr),
with an action limit of 25 μg/cm/8 hr.
Moisture in damp sand keeps RCS dust
adhered to other particles, reducing hazardous
airborne dust in the workplace
and surrounding communities.
Numerous silica samples have been
taken when running wet sand on personnel
and in surrounding areas and were all
found to be consistently under the action
limit. Eliminating RCS dust also reduces
preventive maintenance on frac and sand
equipment, and minimizes the need for
uncomfortable employee personal protective
equipment. In fact, at these levels,
the data suggests that dust respirators
may not be required, which improves the
comfort and vision of on-site personnel
(Table 1).
The revolution of the frac sand supply
chain has been one of the most innovative
subsectors in the unconventional oil and
gas space over the past five years. In the
Permian, it has contributed to an average
$800,000 reduction in total well cost
since 2014. The results of frac crew efficiency
is forcing another wave of innovation
to solve last-mile operational challenges.
In-field wet sand mines within
or very near to an operator's acreage
solve more than merely simplifying sand
processing; they increase frac crew uptime
and reduce resource needs while leading
to sustainable long-term cost savings in
the face of truck driver supply-side inflation
pressures.
Unique driver needs are reduced by
79%, average individual driver utilization
is increased by a factor of three and variance
of driver count to meet the natural
swings of sand throughput by the pumping
company is reduced significantly. Equally
as important is the impact this transition
will bring to a reduction in supply chain
footprint in the form of reduced CO2 and
GHG emissions with resultant ESG benefits.
Frac operations using wet sand
sourced in the field significantly reduce
CO2 emissions.
Moreover, reducing or eliminating the
energy-intensive drying process with an
in-field wet sand mine helps operators
reduce operational NPT risk, simplify
the supply chain and minimize needed
resources, achieve significant sustainable
savings, reduce emissions per well and
solve the employee dust exposure problem.
It all simply makes too much sense. ❒
BRIAN DORFMAN is vice president
of operations at Denver-based
PropX LLC, which provides last-mile
proppant delivery solutions. Prior to
being the first employee and part of
the startup team at PropX, Dorfman
worked for four years at Halliburton
in Colorado and North Dakota. He
holds degrees in finance and accounting
from Georgetown University.
STEPHEN WHITE is chief operating
officer of Hi-Crush Inc. White
co-founded Pronghorn and served
as Pronghorn's chief operating officer.
After Hi-Crush acquired Pronghorn,
he served as vice president of logistics
and field services at Hi-Crush. Prior
to Pronghorn, White was director of
business operations at Rockpile Energy
Services.
Empire Buys New Mexico Properties
TULSA-Empire Petroleum Corp. subsidiary
Empire New Mexico LLC has
acquired producing oil and gas assets
and related gathering assets in Lea County,
N.M. from ExxonMobil Corp.
According to Empire, the acquired operated
assets are composed of about 700
gross oil, gas and injector wells and encompass
approximately 40,000 net acres
of Permian leasehold. The properties are
characterized by high working and net
revenue interests, producing 1,100 net
barrels of oil equivalent a day, 67% of
which is oil.
The Eunice Monument (EMSU) and
Arrowhead Grayburg fields (AGU) are
on the northwestern edge of the Permian
Basin's Central Basin Platform in southeastern
Lea County, 15 miles southwest
of Hobbs. According to Empire, the field
was produced under primary means until
unitization of the field in February 1985
as a secondary waterflood. The productive
intervals at Eunice are mostly the Queen,
San Andres and Grayburg formations.
" We believe the EMSU and surrounding
acquired fields have a significant resource
base, " says Empire Petroleum
President Mike Morrisett. " In our view,
these assets have current infill drilling
and return-to-production well potential
that should shortly enhance daily production.
We thank our major and core
shareholders in providing 100% of the
capital to close this key accretive transaction
for Empire. We are also excited to
have retained the existing sellers' team
that has successfully run the field for
several years. With this acquisition, Empire
operates in five states, with an aggregate
of over 100,000 net leasehold acres and
about 1,800 net Boe/d. "
" This acquisition is a terrific example
of what Empire looks to manage in its
assets: mature producing oil properties
with predictable, long-life production
with significant upside potential, " adds
Empire Chief Executive Officer Tommy
Pritchard. " Looking toward the future,
the geologic location of the Permian
EMSU and AGU holds 23,400 acres of
residual oil zone potential. The pipeline
of growth opportunities around EMSU
and AGU remains robust, and we are
currently evaluating additional deal flow
with a focus on building scale in the
Permian. "
❒
AUGUST 2021 69
American Oil and Gas Reporter - August 2021

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