Halliburton Co. and U.S. Silica Holdings, Inc. recently announced that they have 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, reportedly the largest frac sand unit of its kind, arrived via the BNSF railroad. Unit trains reduce transit time from mines to transload facilities.

“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 [barrel of oil equivalent] BOE,” said Richard Gonzalez, vice president of Production Enhancement for Halliburton. “Our extensive infrastructure, along with a great working relationship with U.S. Silica, highlights our strength in collaborating and engineering solutions to maximize asset value for customers.”

“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 vice president and president of Oil and Gas for 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 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.

For more information, visit www.ussilica.com or www.halliburton.com.