Demand For Frac Sand Still Strong Despite Drop In Oil Prices, Producers Say

Despite a significant drop in the price of oil, Wisconsin frac sand producers say demand is high and that they’re moving as much sand as possible to oil fields across the U.S. and Canada.

“The demand for sand itself it’s still, from my viewpoint … pretty high,” said Rich Budinger, president of the Wisconsin Industrial Sand Association. “We haven’t seen any declines, or any issues, which tells me there’s still levels of production going on out there.”

The price of oil in the U.S. closed at around $57 a barrel on Tuesday, just about half of what it cost in July. The drop has spooked investors in the oil and gas industry and caused some major companies to halt new drilling.

Stock prices of frac sand companies operating in Wisconsin have fallen with the price of oil but Budinger said the market will sort itself out and remain strong in the long-term.