he Middle East and Africa proppants market is expected to see healthy rise due to the presence of immense shale gas reserves in Algeria, South Africa and Libya. The governments in these countries are also showing willingness to pursue hydraulic fracturing. Algeria holds the fourth largest recoverable shale gas reserves after China, USA and Argentina. After Algeria announced it’s intend to tap shale gas reserves, the first wells were drilled in 2011 and they started off by supplying to the European gas market.
An initial imposition of a moratorium on fracking in April 2011 by South African government was lifted later on in September 2012 after a realization that fracking was in the best interest of the country. Several energy companies were subsequently granted exploration licenses. However, water shortages remain a major grievance in the entire region.
Sonatrach, an Algerian hydrocarbons company, has entered into agreements with a number of multi-nationals, including Shell, ENI and Talisman. A hydrocarbons law amended in 2012 has made it easier for foreign companies to invest in the shale gas sector, allowing for tax breaks and variable royalty taxes.
Proppants are sand or other granular substances injected into the fractures to hold or open formation fractures created by hydraulic fracturing. Although proppants have been used in oil and gas production for 70 years, the recent emergence of horizontal drilling technology and multistage hydraulic fracturing along with the advent of shale gas extraction created new opportunities for growth in the early and mid-2000s.
Proppants can be categorized into three- Frac Sand, Resin Coated and Ceramic. Frac sand is the most inexpensive and accounts for 80% share of the demand. This demand will continue to account for the largest chunk of the market due to cost advantages. Improved fracturing techniques have allowed sand to be used in applications previously thought to be beyond its performance range. It performs suitably in most conditions except in wells with high closure pressures. Due to their higher cost, ceramic proppants will be limited to areas requiring high performance products. Their market will grow at a higher rate mainly because of their reliability in extreme conditions.
Resin coated proppants are also expected to grow due to the relative cost advantages over ceramic proppants and performance advantage over frac sand. The market can be segmented based on geography into China, India, Japan, South Korea and other countries. Some of the key players in this market are Superior Silica Sands, U.S. Silica Holdings, Texas Silica and Badger mining.
Drivers:
New drilling techniques that employ proppants and improvements in the fracturing industry are the major drivers in this market.
Restraints:
Major impediments to the growth of this market are environmental norms on the use of the proppants and cost factor.
WHAT THE REPORT OFFERS?
1) Market Definition along with identification of key drivers and restraints for the market.
2) Market analysis for the Middle East and Africa Proppants market with region specific assessments and competition analysis on a global and regional scale.
3) Identification of factors instrumental in changing the market scenarios, rising prospective opportunities and identification of key companies which can influence the market on a global and regional scale.
4) Extensively researched competitive landscape section with profiles of major companies along with their strategic initiatives and market shares.
5) Identification and analysis of the Macro and Micro factors that affect the Middle East and Africa Proppants market on both global and regional scale.
6) A comprehensive list of key market players along with the analysis of their current strategic interests and key financial information.
