Marcellus Shale News

Ohio Sand Turns to Gold as Drilling Boom Comes to Buckeye State

Rob Sidley is sitting on a gold mine, thanks to Mother Nature. His family-owned company produces the special sand needed for the drilling boom in Ohio’s deep layer of Utica shale. The sand is perfect for the hydraulic fracturing process which uses force to open cracks in the shale and free up natural gas, oil and other lucrative products. … Sidley declined to reveal how much fracking sand his company is expecting to produce, but the company annually produces 400,000 to 500,000 tons of sand and gravel from its 1,800-acre operation with its 150 employees. (Akron Beacon Journal, 12/26/11)