Jan 21 2015
Select Sands Corp. is pleased to provide an update on its ongoing drill program on its Sandtown Frac Sand property located in northeast Arkansas, USA. The Property is underlain by the Ordovician St. Peter sandstone formation, which is the source of 'Ottawa White' frac sand selling into the major US oil and gas plays.
There are several surface outcrop exposures of the St. Peter sandstone unit on the Property. The Sandtown property is located 3.1 miles from Highway 167, has an active power line on the property, and is about 14.7 miles away from the nearest rail system. (See December 4, 2014 News Release)
Recent studies suggest that the demand for fine grade sands (particularly 100 Mesh) will continue to increase due to weather-related logistical challenges and unexpectedly high requirements stemming from changes to fracking design. The sandstone at the Property is considered to be of finer mesh than anticipated based on the visual inspection from the current drilling. Select Sands has drilled three diamond drill holes and is currently drilling the fourth. Drill hole ST14-03, 960 m to the east of the ST14-01 and ST14-02, intersected 80 feet (ft.) of St. Peter sandstone formation (the target zone) from surface. The first two drill holes (ST14-01 and ST14-02) drilled 28 ft. and 34 ft. of the St. Peter sandstone respectively. These drill holes were not completed to depth due to mechanical issue, but both holes ended in sandstone and remain open to depth. Drill core samples have been sent to Stim-Labs (Oklahoma, USA) for analysis. The phase one reconnaissance drill program will test the depth and thickness of the sandstone and will provide an initial indication of mesh size of the frac sand on the Property. The Company will test the properties of frac sand as per the ISO 13503-2:2006/API RP 19C Recommended Practice for Measurement of Properties of Proppants Used in Hydraulic Fracturing and Gravel-packing Operations. These properties include sand sphericity and roundness, crush (K Value), acid solubility, turbidity, and SiO2% content.
"Based on the estimated 20-30% reduction on spending in 2015 in US drilling activity, we anticipate that frac sand transportation costs will experience the largest cuts in the sector," Rasool Mohammad, President & CEO, commented. "Sandtown is 650 rail-miles closer to the Permian and Eagle Ford (Texas) basins than the Wisconsin frac sand mines and can provide the transportation cost savings."