25-08-2017, 09:32 PM
19-09-2017, 11:06 AM
Guar gum also called guaran. It is a substance made from guar beans which has thickening and stabilizing properties useful in various industries, traditionally the food industry, but increasingly the hydraulic fracturing industry. The guar seeds are stripped, milled and sieved to obtain the guar gum. It is usually produced as a clear white powder that flows freely. It is classified as a galactomannan.
Guar bean is grown mainly in India, Pakistan, the United States, Australia and Africa. India produces between 2.5 and 3.5 million tons per year of guar, making it the largest producer, with around 80% of world production, while in Pakistan there are 250,000 tons of guar in 2013. In India, Rajasthan, Gujarat and Haryana are the main producing regions; Jodhpur, Sri Ganganagar and Hanumangarh in Rajasthan are the main commercial markets of Guar. The United States has produced between 4,600 and 14,000 tonnes of guar in the last 5 years. The area under cultivation in Texas since 1999 has fluctuated between 7,000 and 50,000 acres. Global production of guar gum and its derivatives is about 1.0 million tonnes. Industrial guar gum accounts for approximately 70% of total demand.
It is mainly used as a proppant transport suspending agent / suspender in hydraulic fracturing. In 2012, guar prices increased by 900-1000%. At its peak it reached $ 28,000 per ton. however it later stabilized at $ 8000 per ton. The main reason for this large-scale price increase was inventory accumulation by companies such as Halliburton and Schlumberger, Baker Hughes, Calfrac Well Services, amid fears of shortage of guar gum for drilling due to drought in Rajasthan. 2013 was a strong year for sowing and guar production in India. Total planting area increased by 21 percent in 2013 to reach 10.6 million acres. Rajasthan, Haryana and Gujarat - the three main guar producing states - surpassed the objective of the sowing area established by their respective departments of agriculture. Non-traditional guar growers in other Indian states also showed great interest in cultivation in 2013. Calgary-based Trican Well Services Ltd. markets its TriFrac-C and Novum trademark guar substitutes. Baker Hughes recorded something called "AquaPerm", while Halliburton released "PermStim". In 2013, Schlumberger announced its guar substitute, "HiWay". Most of these laboratory substitutes use biodegradable polymers. But according to market analyst Thomasnet.com (May 9, 2013), "... there is nothing currently available with the reliability and quantities of guar gum."
The American Petroleum Institute's July 2014 report, Hydraulic Fracture: Unlocking America's Natural Gas Resources, uses images of a tube of lipstick and an ice cream bar (containing guar gum) as examples of non-ingredients threatening in fracking fluids. One of India's largest guar exporters, Vikas WSP, donated 3,000 tons of guar seeds to encourage farmers to switch cotton and other crops to growing guar shrubs.
Guar bean is grown mainly in India, Pakistan, the United States, Australia and Africa. India produces between 2.5 and 3.5 million tons per year of guar, making it the largest producer, with around 80% of world production, while in Pakistan there are 250,000 tons of guar in 2013. In India, Rajasthan, Gujarat and Haryana are the main producing regions; Jodhpur, Sri Ganganagar and Hanumangarh in Rajasthan are the main commercial markets of Guar. The United States has produced between 4,600 and 14,000 tonnes of guar in the last 5 years. The area under cultivation in Texas since 1999 has fluctuated between 7,000 and 50,000 acres. Global production of guar gum and its derivatives is about 1.0 million tonnes. Industrial guar gum accounts for approximately 70% of total demand.
It is mainly used as a proppant transport suspending agent / suspender in hydraulic fracturing. In 2012, guar prices increased by 900-1000%. At its peak it reached $ 28,000 per ton. however it later stabilized at $ 8000 per ton. The main reason for this large-scale price increase was inventory accumulation by companies such as Halliburton and Schlumberger, Baker Hughes, Calfrac Well Services, amid fears of shortage of guar gum for drilling due to drought in Rajasthan. 2013 was a strong year for sowing and guar production in India. Total planting area increased by 21 percent in 2013 to reach 10.6 million acres. Rajasthan, Haryana and Gujarat - the three main guar producing states - surpassed the objective of the sowing area established by their respective departments of agriculture. Non-traditional guar growers in other Indian states also showed great interest in cultivation in 2013. Calgary-based Trican Well Services Ltd. markets its TriFrac-C and Novum trademark guar substitutes. Baker Hughes recorded something called "AquaPerm", while Halliburton released "PermStim". In 2013, Schlumberger announced its guar substitute, "HiWay". Most of these laboratory substitutes use biodegradable polymers. But according to market analyst Thomasnet.com (May 9, 2013), "... there is nothing currently available with the reliability and quantities of guar gum."
The American Petroleum Institute's July 2014 report, Hydraulic Fracture: Unlocking America's Natural Gas Resources, uses images of a tube of lipstick and an ice cream bar (containing guar gum) as examples of non-ingredients threatening in fracking fluids. One of India's largest guar exporters, Vikas WSP, donated 3,000 tons of guar seeds to encourage farmers to switch cotton and other crops to growing guar shrubs.