China Proppants Demand to Rise as Natural Gas Market Explodes

London (17 July 2014) –China could overtake the US in terms of natural gas production as
experts predict demand will double within the next five years. As well as providing the country with an alternative source of energy, the country’s focus on this resource is expected to significantly boost the demand for proppants, which are used to aid the extraction process.

China is home to the world’s largest technically recoverable shale gas resources at 1,111 trillion cubic feet, which is 68% larger than the resources found in the US. China also hosts the world’s third largest shale oil reserves at 32 billion barrels.

These reserves are spread out over seven prospective basins: Sich­uan, Tarim, Junggar, Songliao, the Yangtze Platform, Jianghan, Ordos, and Subei. Most of China’s proven shale gas resources are in the Sichuan, Tarim, and Ordos Basins.

However, China is also pursuing three main unconventional resource routes which will help stimulate fracking activity: coal bed methane (CBM), coal-to-gas (CTG) or synthetic natural gas (SNG), and shale gas and shale oil.

Both shale oil and gas, which can be found contained in tight rock formations, require hydraulic fracturing (fracking) to effectively release the hydrocarbons contained within. While fracking remains a relatively new and emerging drilling technology in China, exploitation of this type of reserve is advancing at a rapid rate.

As a result of this increasing development, Chinese oilfield service companies are learning, developing, adopting and innovating techniques and equipment to vastly improve the country’s fracking abilities, as well as partnering with global majors such as Schlumberger.

Domestic exploration and production companies are also forging partnerships with international oil companies in staking and evaluating unconventional oil and gas resources, as well as increasing their shale gas production targets for 2015.

These findings can be found in the report: China’s Proppants Market Raw Material, Supply, & Consumption published by IM Research, part of Industrial Minerals.

The 144-page report is the first and only definitive look at China’s oil and gas proppants market, covering frac sand and ceramic proppants and is authored by independent consultant Eileen Hao.

Report contents:

1. Summary & Outlook
2. Proppants in perspective
3. Frac sand
4. Ceramic proppants
5. Market demand
6. Appendix A: EIA detail on China’s main shale gasbasins
7. Appendix B: Chinese ceramic proppant producers directory A-Z

How to order your report

Online at www.indmin.com/reports

Call our subscriptions team on +44 (0)20 7779 8032

Email our subscriptions team on sales@indmin.com

About IM Research (www.indmin.com/research)

IMR publishes in-depth, multi-client research reports on specific aspects of the industrial minerals industry.

Reports comprise comprehensive company and market data, commentary, and analysis across the mine to market supply chain.

Detailed studies explore current and historical information to predict future trends, solve complex problems and evaluate new opportunities in the minerals sector.

About Industrial Minerals (www.indmin.com)

Industrial Minerals is a market leading resource for in-depth non-metallic minerals intelligence.
Providing insight and analysis on Industrial Minerals since 1967, Industrial Minerals is dedicated to serving the entire market; those who work in any part of the supply chain from mine to market.

Industrial Minerals offers comprehensive global coverage of all relevant news affecting the supply,
logistics and demand of industrial minerals.

Industrial Minerals covers over 70 minerals, each with their own individual landing page, you can
view them here: www.indmin.com/Other

Industrial Minerals offers the latest news on the industrial minerals market via the website, email
alerts and the Industrial Minerals App, as well as expert insight and analysis through articles in the monthly publication. Industrial Minerals also regularly publishes maps, wall charts and infographics. These allow you to keep up to date with trends and best practice within the industry.