Uralchimplast put into operation the new production of resin-coated proppants  The ceremonial startup of the resin-coated proppants (RCP) production took place on the 24th of April at ÎÀÎ «Uralchimplast». The company invested $ 9 mio in the project started in the year 2005. The holding company has purchased production and laboratory equipment produced by European and American engineering and mechanical companies to the total amount of about $2.5 mio. The supplies started in September of 2007.
The new department having capacity up to 30 thousand ton of resin-coated proppants per year is located in the territory of the UCP’s own production site. There are spacious warehousing for raw materials and finished products in the workshop, local railway and roads. The specialized laboratory is fully equipped for developing mixes of resin coatings and technologies of their applying. The devices are bought to carry out compliance tests with American Petroleun Institute, Russian GOST.
The available equipment and test procedures allow to carry out crush-test, UCS-test immediately, to determine influence on frac gel rheology. Specialists of the holding company have undergone additional training, that helped to enlarge competence in the field of requirements to fracturing materials.
- Resin-coated proppants of UCP production are import-substituting products, moreover, it is premium product. This project realization opens new markets to the company, due to it, according to our plans, the turnover of Uralchimplast will increase by 30%, - said Managing Director of ÎÀÎ «Uralchimplast» Denis Anatolievich Borovkov.
At the moment Uralchimplast has about ten grades of coatings, where not only traditional phenol-formaldehyde resins, but also other synthetic resins are used. A line of resin-coated proppants is created and named «NORDPROP». Engineering tests of RCP has been currently carried out. The product samples have been sent to independent laboratories for carrying out tests, and the results from Stim Lab (USA), FracTech (Great Britain) are received.
The major region for sales of «NORDPROP» is Western Siberia – one of the biggest oil and gas production areas in the world. Besides Russia there is possibility to supply to markets of Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan.
At the same time Uralchimplast proposes to oil and service companies not only great variety of coatings for applying onto ceramic proppants (fully cured for strengthening proppants, including light-weight; curable, curing condition is combined effect of temperature and pressure; coatings for low, medium and high subsurface temperatures; for different closure pressures), but also recent development with unique characteristics, different from commercial grades.
In addition, the holding company guarantees service to customers: selection and supply of the resin-coated proppant subject to a well geodesicity, packaged supply of other chemical components (actovators), affecting curing temperature of the proppants, development of resin-coated proppants with special properties on customers’ request.
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