Proppant

Stimulation & Fracturing

Proppant is a granular material mixed with fracturing fluid to 'prop' open the fractures created during hydraulic fracturing. Without proppant, the fractures would close back up due to the immense weight of the overburden rock once the pumping pressure is removed.

The most common proppant is high-purity quartz sand (frac sand). For deeper, higher-stress wells, engineered ceramic proppants or resin-coated sands are used because they offer higher crush strength and improved conductivity. The size and sphericity of the grains are strictly controlled to maximize flow capacity.