Preferred Sands proppant technology company said Aug. 11 that wells in Weld County, Colo, using its Genoa Sands proppant outperformed competing wells using Premium White Sand.

The wells using fine-mesh Genoa outperformed by 29%. All wells had comparable vertical depths. The region has 40/70 sand demand, the company said.

The findings were based on real well data provided by NavPort, which sampled deep horizontal wells in Colorado. A study sampled Niobrara Shale wells at 7,500 feet average true vertical depth. Those using Genoa produced 12% more than those using Premium White. This was $857,837 in average increased production after 10 months.

“Manifest or unit train rail shipments from Genoa to Colorado offer a $400 to $700 per car savings compared to all other mines in Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota or Missouri, based on Genoa’s geographic proximity to the D-J basin,” said Michael O’Neill, founder and CEO of Preferred Sands. “This proximity affords Genoa with short, reliable transit times that prevent supply interruption for our customers, which leads to increased production and lower costs.”

Preferred Sands is based in Radnor, Pa.