An Early Production Comparison of Northern White Sand and Regional Sand in the Permian Basin

Abstract Use of regional sand in the Permian Basin dramatically increased in 2018. Regional or in-basin sand is often perceived as lower quality compared to northern white sand (NWS); however, its use is fairly new, and production data has not been available to determine if, or in what cases, higher quality matters. This paper presents the results from a production comparison of Permian Basin wells that were hydraulically fractured with NWS and regional sand or both. A dataset consisting of approximately 450 wells completed with NWS or regional sand or both within the Delaware and Midland Basins was studied to determine the relationship between production performance and sand type (or quality). To evaluate the effect of sand quality in well production, the dataset was divided in smaller groups of wells with similar reservoir characteristics and completion practices. The initial phase of the study was completed using public domain production data, while the second phase focused on the development of regional reservoir models to forecast production of wells using NWS or regional sand or both. When analyzing an area containing sufficient wells for a reliable comparison, the survey revealed no statistically significant difference in production for wells that used NWS versus regionally sourced sand. Models were built to predict differences in the production performance of each sand type. These models take into account and demonstrate the effects of differences in sand properties, as well as the impact of the favorable economics associated with regional sands. It was confirmed with the study that the sand type is not a critical factor in regards to production performance when completing wells that are hydraulically fractured in ultralow-permeability nonconductivity-limited reservoirs. This paper presents an early look at the production numbers of West Texas wells completed with regionally sourced sand in the Permian Basin. The results of the study will encourage operators to further contemplate the use of regional sand when completing wells in ultralow-permeability shale reservoirs. This dataset will continue to evolve and reveal the effects of regional sand over the life of the well; this will be presented in a future paper.