Proppants Market - Growth, Trends, COVID-19 Impact, and Forecasts (2021 - 2026)

The Global Proppants Market is expected to register a CAGR of over 5%, during the forecast period (2021-2026).

The major application of proppants is in oil and gas wells. Due to COVID-19 and geopolitics, the production of crude oil has decreased as markets had been over-supplied, thus forcing OPEC+ producers to cut the output. According to U.S. Energy Information Administration, in 2020, production averaged 11.3 million barrels per day, down from 12.2 million barrels per day in 2019. This is expected to affect the demand for various proppants such as frac sand, resin coated, and ceramics.

• In the medium term, improvements in fracking technology and increasing shale gas production activities are expected to drive the market studied. The Energy Information Administration (EIA) expects that the production of shale natural gas and oil production will likely double by 2040. According to EIA, the production from shale gas and tight oil will increase from about 14 trillion cubic feet (Tcf) in 2015 to 29 Tcf in 2040, thereby enhancing the market demand.
• However, environmental concerns and stringent regulations are likely to hinder the growth of the market studied.
• Shifting Focus toward the Usage of Ceramic Proppants is expected provide opportumities to the market studied.
• North America dominated the market across the world, with the largest consumption from the United States.

Key Market Trends

Frac Sand Segment Expected to Dominate the Market

• Frac sand proppants are the most widely used category for hydraulic fracturing, in the market. Frac sand proppants are made out of highly pure and durable quartz sand with round grains.
• They are majorly made out of sandstone. Their size ranges from about 0.1 millimeters in diameter, to 2 millimeters in diameter, depending on the requirement of the fracking job.
• Owing to its efficiency, low cost, and availability, frac sand accounts for around 83% of the total proppants usage. Superior characteristics of high-quality frac sand such as high-purity silica sand, spherical shape that helps in enabling it to be further carried in hydraulic fracturing fluid with minimal turbulence and possess durability to resist crushing forces of closing fractures, enhances its usage as proppants and thus increases the market demand.
• Raw frac sand is most widely used, due to its broad applicability in oil and natural gas wells, as well as its cost advantage relative to other proppants.
• As per the statistics provided by the US Energy Information Administration (EIA), the natural gas production globally is expected to increase from 342 billion cubic feet per day in 2015 to 554 billion cubic feet per day (bcf/d) by the year 2040.
• Canada has been producing shale gas since 2008, and the production is expected to increase and to account for 30% of Canada’s total natural gas production by 2040.
• Similarly, China has been among the first countries outside North America to develop shale resources. Shale gas is projected to account for more than 40% of the country’s total natural gas production by 2040, which is likely to make the country the second-largest shale gas producer across the world, after the United States.
• With increasing hydraulic fracturing activities, the demand for frac sand is projected to increase, over the forecast period.

United States to Dominate the Market in the North American Region

• The United States is one of the leading countries, globally, in terms of the exploration of unconventional crude oil reserves and application of hydraulic fracturing for the same.
• The quantity of oil produced from hydraulically fractured wells has been increasing significantly, in comparison to the oil produced from conventionally fractured wells.
• With growing hydraulic fracturing applications in the country, especially for shale gas and tight oil purposes, the demand for proppants has been witnessing a positive impact.
• Currently, about 95% of new wells drilled in the United States are hydraulically fractured, which accounts for two-third of the total marketed natural gas production in the country, and about half of the country’s crude oil production.
• According to U.S. Energy Information Administration, the number of natural gas and condensate producing wells in the United States in the year 2019 is approximated to around 491,205.
• According to the US Energy Information Administration (EIA), the crude oil production reached 12.23 million barrels per day (b/d) in 2019, 1.24 million b/d more than 2018 levels in United States. In the Offshore Federal Gulf of Mexico (the U.S. controlled waters in the Gulf of Mexico), new projects contributed to the region’s growth in production in 2019. Oil and natural gas producers brought online seven new projects in 2019, with nine more projects being expected to come online by the end of 2020. However, the outbreak of the new coronavirus (COVID-19) has added a major layer of uncertainty to the oil market. In 2020, global oil demand is expected to contract for the first time since the global recession of 2009.
• Moreover, according to the data given by the US Energy Information Administration (EIA), the shale gas production accounted for more than half of the US natural gas production, and it is expected to more than double from 37 bcf/d in 2015 to 79 bcf/d by the year 2040, which is around 70% of the total US natural gas production by 2040.
• Although, COVID-19 has severely impacted the price and trade of crude oil, the country is anticipated to witness growth in demand for proppants in the coming years, owing to the increasing number of exploration and maturing wells.
• However, the environmental and health concerns associated with the hydraulic fracturing process, along with the changing political scenario in the United States, may serve as a restraint for the proppants market in the country, to a certain degree.

Competitive Landscape

The global proppants market is partially fragmented, with no player having a significant share to influence the market. The major players of the market studied include Saint-Gobain, Hexion, CARBO Ceramics Inc., COVIA, and U.S. Silica among others.

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