Frac Sand Firm Shale Support Buys Two Mines in LouisianaFrac Sand Firm Shale Support Buys Two Mines in Louisiana

Frac sand and logistics services provider Shale Support LLC recently acquired two natural sand mines in Louisiana, more than doubling its annual capacity, the company announced in a June 20 press release.

“Shale Support’s geographic proximity to the Haynesville, Austin Chalk, and Eagle Ford Shale areas, in addition to our ability to use Norfolk Southern as a single haul carrier to the Northeast, has always allowed us to provide a superior product at a lower price point than our competition,” Jeffrey B. Bartlam, the firm’s co-founder and president, said in a statement.

The purchase of the mines in Kinder, LA and Baywood, LA, brings Shale Support’s total capacity to 5 million tn/yr from 3 million tn/yr. A project to expand the capacity of the two mines is expected to reach completion in early 2019, raising the firm’s total output to 6 million tn/yr.

“It’s been difficult for Shale Support to find acquisition opportunities which maintain the clean, single digit turbidity product quality requirements of our organization. These two mines produce a clay-free, white sand that will maintain the stringent product standards of our brand, Delta Pearl, and will be a perfect solution for the huge demand increase that we see coming from increased Austin Chalk activity,” said Kevin Bowen, a co-founder of Shale and its chief executive officer, in the release.

Shale Support paid $2.6 million to acquire the Baywood mine from Hill Songs LLC, according to coverage by the Greater Baton Rouge Business Report.

Based in Picayune, MS, the company operates seven proppant solutions rail terminals and three mining and processing plants across Texas, Mississippi, Louisiana, Ohio, and Pennsylvania.

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