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a large mound of sand and blue sky
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As part of the hydraulic fracturing process, proppants (commonly natural sands and manufactured ceramic spheres) are used to keep the fractures that are created open for the enhanced flow of oil and gas from the fractures into the wellbore.

The continued success of the Bakken/Three Forks oil play in North Dakota, through the hydraulic fracturing of oil and gas wells and placement of proppants in fractures during the stimulation of completed wells, has created an unprecedented demand for natural proppants in the Williston Basin. 

Recently, the oil and gas industry has relaxed proppant testing specifications in parts of the U.S. in favor of more regional or local proppant sand source utilization. The high prices associated with transporting high-quality proppants from their source areas in the upper Midwest have also resulted in an evolving trend in other U.S. shale basins to develop more cost-effective, local sand resources. This is why NDGS geologists continue to evaluate North Dakota’s eolian and bedrock sandstone resources as potential alternatives to the much pricier out-of-state proppant sands.

Samples are evaluated for proppant suitability in accordance with testing standards and specifications published by the American Petroleum Institute (API): API STD-19C (API, 2018) and the International Organization for Standardization (ISO): ISO 13503-2 (ISO, 2006). Testing includes: gross sample inspection and field description (including field acid reactivity), sample washing and comparison, stereo microscope photomicrography, particle shape factors (roundness and sphericity) analysis, qualitative and quantitative mineralogy via X-ray diffraction (XRD), crush resistance, acid solubility, turbidity, loss on ignition, and sand density testing. Tests were again performed on the most abundant size classes, as determined by sieve analysis, which typically fell into the 40/140 and 70/140 size classes. Over the past decade, desired sand specifications have changed with continued refinements in the hydraulic fracturing process. Sand in the coarser size classes (e.g., 30/50) was originally preferred, which over time has changed to the finer sand size classes in the 40/70 and 70/140 ranges which generally demonstrate much higher crush resistance than coarser fractions. Also broadening the testing size class range, such as in a 40/140 or 50/140 cut continues to result in higher crush resistance values in some samples and provides useful data over a larger amount of the deposit.

 

REPORTS OF INVESTIGATION

RI-132Sandstones Of The Fox Hills and Hell Creek Formations In North Dakota: Proppant Testing and Characterization by Anderson, F.J., and Moxness, L.D., 2022.
RI-127Evaluation of Windblown Sand Deposits in Eastern North Dakota for Potential Use as Proppant by Anderson, F.J., 2021.
RI-126Evaluation of Windblown Sand Deposits in South-Central North Dakota for Potential Use as Proppant by Anderson, F.J., 2020.
RI-124Evaluation of Windblown Sand Deposits in North-Central North Dakota for Potential as Proppant by Anderson, F.J., 2020.
RI-123Evaluation of Eolian Sand Deposits in North and South-Central North Dakota for Potential Use as Proppant by Anderson, F.J., 2019.
RI-121 Evaluation of Tertiary (Paleocene) Bedrock Sandstone of the Sentinel Butte and Bullion Creek Formations for Potential Use as Proppant by Anderson, F.J., Moxness, L.D., Kruger, N.W., Murphy, E.C., and Maike, C.A., 2019.
RI-110Investigation of Sand Resources in North Dakota: Sedimentological Characterization of Surficial Sand Deposits for Potential Use as Proppant by Anderson, F.J., 2011.
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GEOLOGIC INVESTIGATIONS

GI-270Windblown Sand Resources in the Hazen East Quadrangle, Anderson, F.J., 2023. Available online.
GI-243Mineralogy of Windblown Sand Deposits in McHenry County, North Dakota: Anderson, F.J., 2020. Available online.
GI-224Windblown Sand Resources in the Denbigh Quadrangle by Anderson, F.J., 2020. Available online.
GI-218Sieve Analysis of Selected Late-Cretaceous and Tertiary (Paleocene) Bedrock Sandstones in North Dakota for Potential use as Proppant, Anderson, F.J., Moxness, L.D., Kruger, E.W., Murphy, E.C., and Maike, C.A., 2019.
GI-216The Potential of the Hazen-Stanton Dunes for use as Natural Sand Proppant, Anderson, F.J., 2019.
GI-207Eolian Sands in North Dakota Evaluated for use as Natural Sand Proppant for Oil & Gas Wells, Anderson, F.J., 2018.
GI-197Geomorphology of Dune Sand Resources in Western Pierce County, North Dakota, Anderson, F.J., 2016.
GI-190 Geomorphology of Dune Sand Resources in Southwestern Sargent County, North Dakota, Anderson, F.J., 2016.
GI-130Locations of Sand and Gravel Sites in North Dakota, Anderson, F.J., 2010.
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BULLETINS

BULLETINS Bulletins 36 - 80, Parts I-III

 

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GEO NEWS ARTICLES

Summer 2020 Mineralogy of the Hazen-Stanton Dunes, Anderson, F.J.
Winter 2020 In Basin Sand a Reality in North Dakota: Eolian Sand in McHenry County Produced for Proppant Use in the Williston Basin, Anderson, F.J.
Summer 2019 Central North Dakota’s Eolian Sands Evaluated as Potential Natural Proppant Sand Alternative, Anderson, F.J.
Winter 2019 Characteristics of Loess in North Dakota for Potential Use as Microproppant, Anderson, F.J.
Summer 2018 Evaluation of Eolian Sands in North Dakota for Proppant Use, Anderson, F.J.
Summer 2012 Sand and Gravel Resources Show Record Production in North Dakota, Anderson, F.J.
Summer 2011 Dunes on the Wind-Swept Prairie: North Dakota’s Eolian Sands, Anderson, F.J.
Winter 2011 Potential Use of North Dakota Sand and Clay for Natural and Manufactured Proppants, Anderson, F.J.
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SURFACE GEOLOGY MAPS

AS-4-A1 Surface Geology of the Souris River Map Area, by Mark L. Lord, 1988, 1 pl. (1:250,000). ($3).
Plate I Bulletin 74 Geologic Map of McHenry County, 1982.
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MISCELLANEOUS MAPS

MM-43 Eolian Sand in North Dakota, Anderson, F.J., 2018.
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WINDBLOWN SAND DEPOSIT MAPS

24K: Riga-s Windblown Sand Deposits, Riga Quadrangle, North Dakota, 1:24,000, by Anderson, F.J., 2020.
24K: Dnbh-s Eolian Sand Deposits, Denbigh Quadrangle, North Dakota, 1:24,000, by Anderson, F.J., 2019.
FS-ES1DQ Eolian Sand Resources in the Denbigh Quadrangle McHenry County, North Dakota, by Anderson, F.J., 2019.