2019 in the Rearview Mirror for Black Mountain Sand

2019 was a year of exciting growth for our company. The official commissioning of Bigfoot and Blaine in March 2019 made us the largest in-basin frac sand mining operation in the multi-billion-dollar-a-year frac sand industry. We continued to push the envelope throughout the year with operational efficiencies, reliable execution, and continuous improvement.

Today, we have a total of five in-basin frac sand facilities across Texas and Oklahoma that operate 24/7 to help serve the needs of our customers throughout the Permian, Eagle Ford, and Mid-Continent regions. According to a recent analysis by Rystad Energy, frac sand demand in 2020 is expected to reach 130MMtpa. With a combined 17mmtpa and loading out over 50,000 tons per day on average, our company is set to meet 14 percent of this estimated demand.

Bigfoot at Night | Poteet, Texas Aug 5, 2019

2019 Company Highlights

500+ new permanent and sustainable full-time jobs created across three oil-producing regions (Explore careers here)
March: Commercial operations commenced at the Blaine Facility in the Mid-Con and Bigfoot Facility in Eagle Ford.
April: Black Mountain Sand CEO Rhett Bennett spoke at DUG Permian Sand Conference to share his unique perspective on the evolution of the 2019 in-basin market.
May: In the Eagle Ford, the Dimmit Facility expansion was completed and began producing 2MMtpa and storing 9,000 tons of frac sand.
June: Black Mountain Sand is recognized as the “2019 Best In-Basin Frac Sand Provider” and “Most Innovative Proppant Solutions Company 2019” at the Global Energy Oil and Gas Awards.
August: Black Mountain Sand and Hexion, Inc. partner to bring mobile resin-coated sand to the Permian.
September: Black Mountain Sand named “Frac Sand Supplier of the Year” at the Oil and Gas Awards.
October: CEO Rhett Bennett is named “Services CEO of the Year” for the 2019 D Magazine’s North Texas Oil and Gas Awards.
November: Black Mountain Sand is named finalist for the Rising Star Award in the 2019 S&P Global Platts Awards.
December: Black Mountain Sand is named Growjo’s #33 Fastest Growing Companies in the Energy/Oil Industry and #51 Fastest Growing Companies in Dallas, Texas.

2019 Industry Highlights

U.S. oil production sets a new record of 12.8 million BPD – up from 11.6 in 2018.
The Permian Basin solidified its position as the largest oil producing region in the world.
A record-setting well has been drilled in the Permian’s Wolfcamp A Formation at 24,592 feet.
An attack on Saudi Arabia’s largest oilfields and the world’s biggest crude processing facility at Abqaiq knocked a total of 5.7 million BPD of oil production offline – the most significant attack on oil infrastructure ever.
OPEC cuts production to prop up oil prices in response to swelling U.S. shale oil production.

In the News

Throughout 2019 we were featured in numerous publications covering the oil and gas industry. The following highlights many of the stories.

Sands of Time: The Care and Grooming of a Frac Sand Mine
Posted on PB Oil & Gas on January 1, 2019

Reminiscent of the 1889 Oklahoma Land Rush, the 2018 Permian Basin sand rush saw excited investors descend on the Basin, opening approximately 19 new sources of this granular gold. Black Mountain Sand opened three of those 19: Vest, El Dorado, and Sealy Smith. Read more…

Liquid Treatment Market for Shale Fracturing Sand is Growing Rapidly
Posted on The McIlvaine Company on January 9, 2019

The West Texas Permian Basin is relatively arid. Freshwater supplies are limited. The new fracking sand mining plants in the basin add to the large water demand already caused by the fracking process. With multiple potential solutions, fresh water will remain the main source for the foreseeable future. As a result, conservation becomes a high priority. Fracking sand plant suppliers have risen to this challenge by designing systems which reuse as much as 98 percent of the process water needed. Read more…

From Worn-Out Sandlot To ‘Bursting with Production,’ Texas Monster Field Revives U.S. Oil Fortunes
Posted on Financial Post on February 5, 2019

Shale-drilling frenzy in the Permian allowed U.S. to cut crude imports, and to become major exporter for the first time in 50 years. Read more…

Everything Has Changed – The Frac Sand Revolution
Posted on RBN Energy on March 18, 2019

Over the past three years, demand for the sand used in hydraulic fracturing has more than doubled. We’ve said it time and again: the Shale Revolution would not have been possible without sand — and lots of it… Today, we begin a blog series on the major upheavals rocking the frac sand world in 2019. Read more…(subscription required)

DUG Permian Tackles Sand, Water, Minerals Issues, Opportunities
Posted on Hart Energy on April 15, 2019

The annual DUG Permian Conference and Exhibition got off to an early start on April 15, one day before the main event with simultaneous pre-conference sessions focused on three increasingly important discussions when it comes to the Permian Basin: sand, water and minerals. Read more…

Shifting Sands: Market Disruptions Deliver Savings in Permian
Posted on Hart Energy on April 4, 2019

In pursuit of the lowest cost and most efficient option, there’s been a shift away from Northern White Sand from mines in northern states to regional, or in-basin, sand from mines closer to home. Read more…

Rhett Bennett Named 2019 Entrepreneur of Excellence in Energy
Posted on Fort Worth Inc. on May 9, 2019

This year, the inaugural award for Entrepreneur of Excellence in the Energy category goes to Rhett Bennett. Read more…

Rhett Bennett Named 2019 Entrepreneur of The Year®
Posted on Ernst & Young Global Limited on June 28, 2019

EY announces Rhett Bennett of Black Mountain named Entrepreneur of The Year® 2019 Award winner in the Southwest Region in Energy Services. Read more…

Hexion Announces In-Basin Resin Coating Partnership with Black Mountain Sand
Posted to PRNewswire – Financial Content on August 1, 2019

The Oilfield Technology Group (OTG) of Hexion Inc. (Hexion) and Black Mountain Sand, LLC today announced their partnership created to provide in-basin production of resin-coated proppants. Read more…

Black Mountain Sand Named Frac Sand Supplier of the Year
Posted to Oil and Gas Awards on September 19, 2019

The 2019 Texas Oil and Gas Awards named Black Mountain Sand this year’s Frac Sand Supplier of the Year. There were 50 finalist and 17 awards given at the awards gala in Houston, TX. Read more…

Black Mountain Sand Named in Growjo’s Fastest Growing Companies
Posted to Growjo on December 3, 2019

Growjo ranked Black Mountain Sand #51 in Dallas’ Fastest Growing Companies in 2019. It also ranked #33 in the Energy/Oil Industry. Read more…

Our Blogs

Last year, we released numerous articles helping to educate and inform on interesting industry topics related to frac sand and beyond. This year, we started a 5-part blog series told directly from employees to bring transparency to the in-basin mining industry. From selecting a mine location to how much water is actually used, we dug deep to uncover facts about real processes and “day-in-the-life” stories. Here are the most popular blogs released in 2019:

Connect with Us on Social Media

Come join our quickly growing social! We’ve built active communities on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn with daily updates on current oil and gas trends, breaking news, and the people and culture that makes our company great! If you haven’t already joined the conversation, you can follow us via the following links:

Conclusion

As you can see, we have had quite a year. We went from zero producing frac sand mines in 2017 to five fully producing mines in 2019. In just two years, we have created over 500 new full-time jobs in the oil and gas industry across three distinct hydrocarbon-producing regions. Our frac sand mining capacity is estimated to equal approximately 14% of all frac sand demand for 2020 and we are expecting an exciting year to come.