The Tiny Material That Could Replace Sand In Fracking

Those giant pyramids of sand at every frac site exist for one reason, and it turns out the industry might be quietly running short on the good stuff. Curtis Wilie and Josh Johnson of Superior Energy Services break down how a coal byproduct called fly ash is shaking up the proppant game, why something three times finer than sand outperforms it, and how pulling forgotten barrels from legacy wells could matter more than drilling new ones. Plenty of analogies, zero shame about the dumb questions.Click here to watch a video of this episode.Join the conversation shaping the future of energy.Collide is the community where oil & gas professionals connect, share insights, and solve real-world problems together. No noise. No fluff. Just the discussions that move our industry forward.Apply today at collide.ioClick here to view the episode transcript. 00:00  Why there's sand everywhere on a frac site01:00  How hydraulic fracturing actually works04:00  River frac in the 1930s and the search for the right proppant06:00  The sand economy and a looming supply squeeze09:00  Where sand comes from and the Permian conveyor belt16:00  Meet EcoReach: fly ash instead of sand19:00  Lighter, stronger, finer, and how it travels farther21:00  Unlocking micro fractures and trillions of trapped barrels25:00  Sourcing ash from coal plants worldwide29:00  Walnut shells, steel balls, and other proppant experiments30:00  Skipping the blender and pumping at six barrels a minute33:00  Flowing like water and getting 90 percent of fluid back35:00  The floor jack analogy for frac initiation37:00  The godfather story and balancing the proppant triangle43:00  Who's adopting it and the case for refracshttps://twitter.com/collide_aihttps://www.tiktok.com/@collide.iohttps://www.facebook.com/collide.iohttps://www.instagram.com/collide.iohttps://www.youtube.com/@collide_iohttps://bsky.app/profile/collide-ai.bsky.socialhttps://www.linkedin.com/company/collideai