Marcellus Shale Fracking – Transloading Bulk Materials for Marcellus Shale Drilling

Posts Tagged ‘Demurrage’

The facilities that are involved in transloading silica sand are called transloading stations. These are purpose-built facilities that specialize in the transfer of mainly bulk material from railcars to tractor trailers.

This process might sound rather simple, but there is more to it than meets the eye. Mobile conveyors that are designed to only be used in the transfer of frac sand are necessary. This reduced the possibility of the frac sand from becoming contaminated with any foreign material or objects.

This is important since frac sand is purchased by the oil and natural gas explorers by a particular size. Each region and geographical formation uses a different kind and size of frac sand. If this becomes contaminated with foreign objects, it could cause problems in the wells where the hydrofracking will occur.

If the foreign material is water soluble, its visual appearance will not be present but the chemical makeup could cause an unwanted reaction in the solution.

Moving on to the actual transfer of the frac sand from rail car to tractor trailer, there is the time component that must be considered. A few of the important factors, besides the possibility of contaminating the silica sand, is the speed at which it can be accomplished.

People are able to increase the speed and efficiency of performing a specific task the more they do such a task. The same is with the transfer of bulk frac sand. The facilities that specialize in this field of handling non-food items know what works and how to perform the task at hand safely, along with being efficient with their time.

The average time it takes to off load one railcar of frac sand is generally around an hour. Knowing this, you can calculate how long it would take to off load your shipment by knowing how many designated conveyors are available at the transloading station. This will allow the calculation of the demurrage so cost can be kept at a minimum.

There is a lot more involved with transloading silica sand than just playing in the sand box.

The purpose of a sand transload facility is to provide a safe and effective manner in which to transfer the bulk commodity of frac sand from rail cars to over the road tractor trailers. This is so the frac sand can be delivered to the natural gas and oil wells where they will be used in the hydrofracking procedure.

Since all rail cars have a demurrage associated with them once they reach their destination. A fast and efficient means of offloading the bulk commodities that are transported by railcars is needed. This is done at a facility that has the proper equipment to do the job.

This equipment has to include several portable conveyers that can take to frac sand from the railcars and move it in a safe and efficient manner to an awaiting tractor trailer. By having designated equipment just for this purpose, the chances of accidental contamination is also greater reduced.

To have a facility like this, there must be access to the rail lines and major roads in areas where the material that is being transported will be used. These facilities are purpose built for just this reason. They are also manned 24 hours a day 7 days a week because the need to offload the railcars could occur at any time.

In a facility like what has been described, the offloading of a rail car can occur within less than 1 hour. The more conveyers they have on site, the less time it will take to offload the shipment of frac sand so it can continue its journey to its final destination.

If you are in need of the services a frac sand transload facility has to offer, then look in the vicinity of your wellbore. There is a third party provider of this service in most areas where exploration of natural gas and oil is being conducted.

For more information click on the link to Tran-Z

The Marcellus Basin Transload business is booming since the oil and gas fields have increased in their number and production.

Transloading has been around since the early days of the steam locomotive. Today, nearly 50% of all goods that are transported by rail are involved with some degree of transloading to trucks. In the Marcellus shale basin, this business has grown exponentially. This is because of the need to efficiently transport in a timely manner the goods and supplies that are needed for filling the need of the oil and gas companies exploring this vast energy reserve.

Transloading is generally done by a third party that specializes in this unique business. It requires special equipment and access to the rail road lines. Since a demurrage for the rail cars is common, a fast way to unload them is necessary to keep profits up. This service is done by trained and qualified personnel that have impeccable safety records.

The reason the safety concern is high on the list when choosing a transloading company is the relationship of accidents to delays. No one wishes to see anyone hurt, but a side effect of no accidents is no delays in the off loading of material, so the delivery can be made on time.

Most of these transloading facilities run 24/7 with multiple crews. This way, when a customer has a shipment arriving, it will be properly handled and loaded onto trucks for delivery as soon as possible.

The Marcellus Basin Transload businesses are highly competitive, so look for the ones with the best safety record. This is the best way to guarantee that your shipment will arrive on time, every time.

Contact the sponsor of this blog, TranZ, to asses and fill your needs for gas drilling goods.

The word demurrage can be applied to nearly any form of transportation of goods by a vessel. As applied to the railroad industry, it refers to the rate, usually daily, that is charged to a transloading company for the failure of unloading the rail car in a specified and previously agreed time period.

The reason for this charge is to help ensure this process is done in a time-efficient manner to help free the rail cars for the transporting of more material as quickly as possible. This improves the rolling stock of available rail cars that a company can utilize.

To help encourage the shortest possible time a rail car is kept before unloading, many railway companies give early release incentive (ERI) or credits for cars that are unloaded within a 24 hour period. This period begins when the car arrives at the unloading station. At Union Pacific, this credit amounts to $80.00 per car.

The first 24 hours is called the free time. For every car that is unloaded can earn the ERI. On the flip side, for every car that is unloaded after the first 24 hours incurs a charge of $80 per car. The number of rail cars that were unloaded within the first 24 will be applied to the rail cars unloaded after this period. As an example, if a train with 100 cars arrive and 50 of them are unloaded in the first day and 50 the second day, no incentive is earned but no charge is incurred either, because the two have directly offset each other.

Because of this demurrage way of conducting business in the railroad industry, a 24/7 transloading station is the best business plan to minimize cost, along with the delivery the goods and materials in a timely and cost efficient manner.