CN, Superior Silica Sands and Di-Corp will start serving a new state-of-the art frac sand terminal near Rocky Mountain House, Alta., located southwest of Edmonton, in early 2015 to meet rising demand for frac sand in the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin.
Di-Corp of Edmonton is building the new 30-acre facility, which will have three tracks capable of holding 95 rail cars for unloading and six silos with 2,000 tons of storage capacity. Trevor Derksen, vice-president of Di-Corp, said: “We are thrilled to work with both Superior Silica Sands and the CN on the development of this new facility near Rocky Mountain House. The frac sand pumping market has been telling us for some time that we need to look to expand. I think the partnership of Superior Silica Sands, CN and Di-Corp will be well positioned to meet this growing need. This facility is a close replication of the existing facility we have in the Grand Prairie area.”
Rick Shearer, president and chief executive officer of Superior Silica Sands, said: “By partnering with Di-Corp and the CN on this new, best-in-class terminal at Rocky Mountain House, Superior Silica Sands believes that we will be positioned to provide our customers in the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin the premier frac sand product and storage/transload services available. This important partnership is a further testimony to our commitment to our leading proppant supplier position in the sedimentary basin in Western Canada.”
JJ Ruest, CN executive vice-president and chief marketing officer, said: “CN is pleased to work with Superior Silica Sands and Di-Corp on this venture. CN’s rail network is well positioned to help its frac sand customers compete in their end markets, with rail access to the largest North American frac sand consumption regions, including Western Canada, Texas and Marcellus shales. As a supply chain enabler, we offer our frac sand customers merchandise and unit train services to reach markets efficiently in both Canada and the U.S.”
Frac sand is used by the oil and gas industries in the hydraulic fracturing process to hold shale fractures open and let natural gas and oil flow out.