Global Proppants Market Size, Share, Opportunities, And Trends By Product Type (Ceramic, Resin-coated, Frac Sand), By Application (Shale Gas, Tight Gas, Others), And By Geography - Forecasts From 2025 To 2030

The global proppants market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 9.97%, reaching a market size of US$14.317 billion in 2030 from US$8.902 billion in 2025.

Proppants are tiny particles formed of a solid substance, usually sand or a synthetic ceramic material. During a fracturing treatment, a clean fracturing fluid is initially injected to establish an appropriate fracture width, followed by a combination of proppants and fracturing fluids (often referred to as slurry). Proppants are designed to fill the fracture area and are strong enough to hold the fracture walls apart, allowing a conductive channel to the wellbore to be maintained after the treatment is complete and the fracturing fluid has flowed off.

The substance is utilized in the hydraulic fracturing process and is regarded as one of the century's most significant breakthroughs. The growing focus on shale gas extraction, particularly in North America, is driving the market for proppants. Rising E&P activity in the worldwide oil and gas industry is also a primary market driver. Another significant factor is increasing proppant consumption, aided by rising demand for frac sand proppant.

What are the global proppants market drivers?

• The foremost factor fuelling proppants market growth is increasing global demand for energy, which fuels oil and gas exploration, especially hydraulic fracturing or fracking. The higher the need for oil and gas by countries to meet their energy requirements, the greater the amount of fracking that takes place, which subsequently consumes enormous volumes of proppants like sand, resin-coated sand, and ceramics to keep open rock fractures so that oil and gas can flow.

Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) is a global leader in the oil and gas industry, operating in every area. ADNOC aims to reach 5 million barrels of maximum sustainable production capacity by 2030. Furthermore, the International Trade Administration estimates that the United Arab Emirates has the world's seventh-largest known oil and natural gas reserves, totaling around 97.8 billion barrels per year. As a member of OPEC and the Gas Exporting Forum (GECF), the nation produced an average of 4 million barrels of petroleum and liquids per day while holding 100 billion barrels of reserve oil. In 2023, approximately 30% of the country's GDP was directly reliant on its oil and gas extraction, accounting for over 13% of the value of its total exports.

In this regard, increased extraction efforts lead to greater demand for proppants because they are crucial for maximum well productivity. Thus, increased energy-consuming factors coupled with investment in oil and gas production expand the use of proppants in drilling operations worldwide.

• Advanced hydraulic fracturing fracking technology has significantly enhanced oil and gas production, requiring an increased need for proppants. Multistage fracturing is a key development that allows several fractures along one wellbore, whereas horizontal drilling maximizes exposure to the reservoir. The advent of better materials, such as resin-coated and ceramic proppants, has provided greater conductivity and strength under pressure compared to materials used previously. Monitoring and data analytics in real-time enable service operators to optimize the type and placement of proppant, while waterless fracking technologies allow reducing environmental impact by only using less water. Automation and enhanced recovery techniques also drive efficiency and increase proppant consumption in hydraulic fracturing operations.

Segment analysis of the global proppants market:

• By application, shale gas is anticipated to be one of the fastest-growing segments in the proppants market.

Considering the global shift toward cleaner fuel sources, the shale gas application would likely be one of the fastest-growing applications in the proppants market. Natural gas plays an important role in this fuel shift as a transitional fuel. Heavy investment in hydraulic fracturing technologies, especially in the U.S. and parts of Asia, has led to the development of shale reserves. With extraction becoming much easier with these hydraulic fracturing technologies, the demand for proppants also increases. Following this, the Council for Geoscience (CGS) launched a shale gas research project to reveal South Africa's shale gas exploration unknowns and assumptions. The initiative also aims to develop scientific abilities in shale gas exploration, which is a relatively new idea in the country. The Department of Mineral Resources funds the initiative, while also helping the government make educated decisions concerning shale gas in South Africa.

Moreover, advancements in technologies like multistage and horizontal drilling increase the efficiency of production, which in turn requires a greater quantity of proppants to be utilized to sustain fracture conductivity. In addition, growth in energy demands and sustainable development also drive innovations in shale gas proppant application, boosting the market segment rapidly.

• Asia Pacific’s proppants market is anticipated to grow significantly.

The proppants market in the Asia Pacific region is expected to grow significantly due to various factors. Growing industrialization and urbanization in countries of China and India, coupled with the energy demand, have led to increased exploration and production of oil and gas, particularly shale gas. In the region, large shale resources give major opportunities for hydraulic fracturing, which is the driver for proppants for these services. For instance, China’s National Energy Agency set a domestic crude oil production target of some 1.5 billion barrels for 2022 after the government announced in May 2022 that it would enhance crude oil exploration and production. The NOCs further stated that owing to Chinese demand for energy security, CAPEX was up by only 4.6% in 2022 over 2021 for actual capital spending. Other than Saudi Aramco, the second and third biggest CAPEX plans for 2022 belong to PetroChina and Sinopec. Sinopec pumped 281.2 million barrels of crude oil in 2022, which is higher than 1.5 percent of crude oil pumped in 2021.

Investment in the oil and gas industry is also encouraged by policies that support decentralized energy generation and a landmark decrease in the importation of energy resources. Moreover, in March 2023, Aramco started constructing a giant integrated Refinery and Petrochemicals complex NE- Asia in China in association with NORINCO Group and Panjin Xincheng Industrial Group.

Apart from this, inter-local and international firm collaboration continues to promote the transfer of technology and skill, ensuring efficient usage of proppants during hydraulic fracturing processes. It will lead to increased energy needs in the region and means of extracting more oils and natural gases.

Key developments in the global proppants market:

• In February 2024, Atlas Energy Solutions Inc. announced that it had entered into a definitive agreement with Hi Crush Inc. The former will buy out Hi Crush’s Permian Basin proppant production facilities and logistics throughout North America for $450 million.
• In February 2023, ProFrac Holding Corp. acquired Performance Proppants, making it the largest in-basin proppant producer serving Haynesville.

The global proppants market is segmented and analyzed as follows:

• By Product Type
  • Ceramic
  • Resin-Coated
  • Frac Sand
• By Application
  • Shale Gas
  • Tight Gas
  • Others
• By Geography
  • North America
    • United States
    • Canada
    • Mexico
  • South America
    • Brazil
    • Argentina
    • Rest of South America
  • Europe
    • United Kingdom
    • Germany
    • France
    • Italy
    • Spain
    • Rest of Europe
  • Middle East and Africa
    • Saudi Arabia
    • United Arab Emirates
    • Rest of the Middle East and Africa
  • Asia-Pacific
    • China
    • India
    • Japan
    • South Korea
    • Taiwan
    • Thailand
    • Indonesia
    • Rest of Asia-Pacific

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1. INTRODUCTION

1.1. Market Overview

1.2. Market Definition

1.3. Scope of the Study

1.4. Market Segmentation

1.5. Currency

1.6. Assumptions

1.7. Base and Forecast Years Timeline

1.8. Key benefits for the stakeholders

2. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY  

2.1. Research Design

2.2. Research Process

3. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

3.1. Key Findings

3.2. Analyst View

4. MARKET DYNAMICS

4.1. Market Drivers

4.1.1. Increasing Shale Gas Production

4.1.2. Technological Advancements

4.2. Market Restraints

4.2.1. Environmental Concerns

4.2.2. Competition from Alternative Energy Sources

4.3. Porter’s Five Forces Analysis

4.3.1. Bargaining Power of Suppliers

4.3.2. Bargaining Power of Buyers

4.3.3. The Threat of New Entrants

4.3.4. Threat of Substitutes

4.3.5. Competitive Rivalry in the Industry

4.4. Industry Value Chain Analysis

5. GLOBAL PROPPANTS MARKET BY PRODUCT TYPE

5.1. Introduction

5.2. Ceramic

5.3. Resin-Coated

5.4. Frac Sand

6. GLOBAL PROPPANTS MARKET BY APPLICATION

6.1. Introduction

6.2. Shale Gas

6.3. Tight Gas

6.4. Others

7. GLOBAL PROPPANTS MARKET BY GEOGRAPHY

7.1. Global Overview

7.2. North America

7.2.1. United States

7.2.2. Canada

7.2.3. Mexico

7.3. South America

7.3.1. Brazil

7.3.2. Argentina

7.3.3. Rest of South America

7.4. Europe

7.4.1. United Kingdom

7.4.2. Germany

7.4.3. France

7.4.4. Italy

7.4.5. Spain

7.4.6. Rest of Europe

7.5. Middle East and Africa

7.5.1. Saudi Arabia

7.5.2. United Arab Emirates

7.5.3. Rest of the Middle East and Africa

7.6. Asia-Pacific

7.6.1. China

7.6.2. India

7.6.3. Japan

7.6.4. South Korea

7.6.5. Taiwan

7.6.6. Thailand

7.6.7. Indonesia

7.6.8. Rest of Asia-Pacific

8. COMPETITIVE ENVIRONMENT AND ANALYSIS

8.1. Major Players and Strategy Analysis

8.2. Market Share Analysis

8.3. Mergers, Acquisitions, Agreements, and Collaborations

8.4. Competitive Dashboard

9. COMPANY PROFILES

9.1. Badger Mining Corporation

9.2. Carbo Ceramics

9.3. ChangQing Proppant

9.4. Covia

9.5. Halliburton

9.6. Hexion

9.7. Nika PetroTech

9.8. Saint-Gobain NorPro

9.9. U.S. Silica

9.10. Pattison Company

9.11. Orient Ceratech Ltd

Badger Mining Corporation

Carbo Ceramics

ChangQing Proppant

Covia

Halliburton

Hexion

Nika PetroTech

Saint-Gobain NorPro

U.S. Silica

Pattison Company

Orient Ceratech Ltd