Halliburton and U.S. Silica Holdings moved a record breaking unit train carrying nearly 19,000 tons of U.S. Silica White frac sand from Ottawa, Ill., to Elmendorf, Texas.

The train, the largest frac sand unit of its kind shipped to date in North America, arrived last week via the BNSF railroad. Unit trains reduce transit time from mine to transload facility.

“Utilizing sand unit trains enables Halliburton to respond to customers’ needs on a shorter timeline and deliver cost efficient sand on location to drive the lowest cost per BOE,” said Richard Gonzalez, V.P., Production Enhancement, Halliburton.

“Unit train delivery, leveraging our combined logistical assets, is the most efficient and cost effective way to deliver high volumes of sand in the time constraints required,” said Don Weinheimer, senior V.P. and president, Oil and Gas, U.S. Silica. “Unit train capability is increasingly critical to our customers success as sand demand per well continues to ramp up.”

The unit train, which originated at U.S. Silica’s largest plant in Ottawa, Ill., took five days to build and was loaded with 30/50 and 40/70 U.S. Silica White frac sand. It was received at the Halliburton Elmendorf South Texas Sand Plant, which can handle two 115 car unit trains simultaneously and can hold 40,000 tons in its eight silos. The facility is located within the Alamo Junction Rail Park in Elmendorf, about seven miles from the company’s South Texas Operations Center in southern Bexar County.

Source: www.worldoil.com