The demand for construction vehicles has waned for building
residential and commercial properties, as the new housing slump
has stagnated at volumes that are only a fraction of pre-reces-sion levels. Yet the growth in hydraulic fracking operations has
boosted the “ACE” (Agricultural & Construction Equipment)
market to deliver products such as tree harvesting & transport
vehicles, a variety of construction and earth moving equipment,
riggers, tankers, and even seismic, pumping and drilling trucks.
It is due to this market that the major ACE manufacturers have
reported an annual business growth of more than 10%.
• Coatings and applications techniques for these vehicles
would follow along the same lines as the transportation paints
listed above, with DTM (direct to metal) and two coat formulations applied to meet chemical, corrosion, weatherability and
other performance requirements.
• The fracking sites contain many tanks to hold a variety of
raw materials and waste products that are typically water based
in nature. Depending upon the need, the tanks may be lined
with an epoxy or phenolic coating to resist, for example certain
chemicals or even a brine environment.
• Buildings for employees and/or equipment are often constructed from epoxy primed and polyester coated coil stock, and
fractionation facilities typically need both chemical resistance
and outdoor durability; either two coat systems, or urethane
topcoats may be a typical choice.
• Equipment, such as generators, compressors, pumps and
oil field apparatus may be powder coated with exterior durable
polyester TGIC, HAA or urethane crosslinked coatings, or ep-oxy-polyester hybrids for interior application.
Knowledge of the value chain is often derived through building long term, loyal relationships with one’s customers. Thus,
profitable growth can be achieved by supplying customers who
are supporting these markets, and being able to react and deliver
on evolving requirements for improved cure response, performance or environment regulations.
The development of large scale hydraulic fracturing op-
erations in North America has introduced several substantially
new and tremendously growing technologies. After the well has
been drilled and stabilized, the fracturing fluid is pumped down
into the well bore at high pressure to create fractures or voids
through the horizontally drilled shale formations.
• The fracturing fluid is a water-based slurry containing
typically close to 10% sand and a number of additive chemicals that in combination typically make up less than 1% of the
fluid formulation.
• Many of these additives are used in coatings, and not unlike coating formulations, there is an evolving process, which
varies by application location, to optimize performance, decrease environmental impact, and reduce the cost of the fluids.
The fractures or voids allow the tight gas or oil to permeate
through the rock and be conducted upward through the well.
However, the underground pressure, which drives the flow, will
also cause the void space to collapse over time. This pressure
and void space must be maintained to continue conduction of
the crude, and this accomplished with the injection of proppants
with the fractionation fluid.
• Proppants are a sieved grade of spherical sand or ceramic particles, used to pack in to and stabilize the voids, thereby
maintaining the effective conduction of the crude up the well
bore. However, depending on the well depth, pressure and other
factors, the strength of proppants may be need to be increased,
which is accomplished by coating the proppant.
• The proppant coating generally consists of a phenolic resin
cured with hexamine. Other resins, such as epoxies, have also
been used in to produce proppant coatings. The coating may
be formulated to develop additional flow and cure in the void
space, further stabilizing the proppants in the void space by
“locking” the particles together.
In 2015, it is estimated that approximately 80 billion pounds
of proppants will be consumed in North America, and almost
90% of that volume was sand. The use of resin coated proppants is about 5% of the total and expected to continue to grow,
though at a slower pace than the general market. Yet this is a
tremendous growth market, which may be accessed by working
with customers that have entrée to this value chain.
During the process of fracking, portions of the horizontal
lines are systematically blocked off to target fracturing in a particular area. A frac-ball, or plug, with a diameter aligned with
the well bore or sleeves, is injected into the well to create the
blockage. Eventually the frac-ball is removed and the well is
open to conduct the crude to the well head.
• The frac-balls are essentially a composite of fiberglass and
resin, typically an epoxy or phenolic.
The fracking process has grown tremendously over the last
decade in North America. This has created tremendous opportunities for new business development, ranging from the
mundane, such as mining and hauling sand, to exotic new technologies, such as resin coated proppants; and an overall boost
in the manufacturing of equipment used in drilling operations.
Growth in coatings is an inevitable and positive consequence of
extracting oil and gas from tight places, and being able to leverage loyalty and customer relationships can support new growth
for sustainable profitability. CW
