Permian Explorer Launches Own Mobile Sand Mine to Cut Fracking Costs

Devon Energy Corp., one of the biggest oil explorers in the Permian Basin, is getting into the sand business to combat rising costs.

The Oklahoma City-based company told investors of a new, so-called mobile frack-sand mine it launched on 15,000 acres of land it owns in the West Texas county of Loving. The mine is expected to save the shale giant more than $200,000 per well amid rising sand prices and can account for as much as a quarter of its sand needs in the Delaware half of the Permian Basin, Chief Operating Officer Clay Gaspar said Tuesday on a conference call.

“Sand is one of those things that nobody worries about until it’s an issue, and then it’s a major major issue,” Gaspar said.

Mobile sand mines are starting to slowly grow within the industry, offering a smaller footprint compared to permanent mines and are closer to the well site. The sand is crammed in cracks of oil-soaked rock during production. Devon said it’s also looking at expanding the mobile sand mines to the areas it operates in Wyoming and Oklahoma.