Saturday, May 18, 2013
Guar Gum Shortage Minimize
Guar gum is a polysaccharide (galactose/mannose) used to thicken various liquids.  Guar gum powder is used in the pharmaceutical industry as Gelling/ Viscosifying/Thickening, Suspension, Stabilization, Emulsification, Preservation, Water Retention/Water Phase control, Binding, Clouding/Bodying, Process aid and in tablet manufacturing it is used as a binder and disintegrating agent and in micro-encapsulation of drugs.

The reason for the shortage is not fully understood; however, the Oil & Gas industry also uses Guar gum in hydraulic fracturing to prevent fluid loss.   The increase in hydraulic fracturing has caused previous a previous raw material shortage in the pharmaceutical industry (see Rx-360 Flash Report on the Hydrochloric Acid Shortage by clicking here) 
 

One source states that the weak sugar harvest in Brazil is playing a role, while others state that Oil & Gas has increased their consumption.  Most likely both issues are contributing to the shortage, and ultimately, price volatility.

Firms who use guar should consider taking the following actions: 

1. Contact your supplier and assure their ability to supply
 
2. Assess and understand the Guar gum supply chain for vulnerabilities that could cause supply interruptions and product authentication concerns
 
3. Secure a supply of Guar gum from a trusted supplier
 
4. Conduct full analytical testing upon receipt of Guar gum 
 
Rx-360 is continuing to monitor the situation and will publish updates as necessary.

To learn more about Guar gum go to http://www.guargum.biz/index.html
 

 
  

Update Minimize

Fracking and its Impact on Specialty Chemicals

By Charlotte Hicks, posted 01/6/2012
Contents can be found at http://www.doeingalls.com/blog

Lately, the Specialty Chemicals Market has been experiencing tightness in supply on a few key raw materials. Some of this tightness is due to the slump in the auto and construction industries, but recently, we have seen shortages caused by increased demand from the Oil & Gas market, specifically those materials that are used in hydraulic fracturing (fracking).
 

Overview of Fracking

Fracking is a process that forces liquids through the ground at high pressures to create small fractures in a rock formation, ultimately releasing oil and/or gas for collection. Fracking is not a new process, and its recent resurgence is expected to generate considerable growth in natural gas production. But with this growth comes increased demand for more raw materials.
 

Materials Used in Fracking

Approximately 99.5% of the materials used in fracking are water (90%) and sand (9.5%). When you consider that fracked wells use about 1,000,000 gallons of water per well - times 500,000 or so active wells - that remaining 0.5% of “other materials” can have a sizeable impact on our market.

As part of our MOR™ (Management of Risk) program, we have researched the materials used in fracking and the specialty chemicals market to determine which products could be at risk (see the table below). Keep in mind that many fracking materials are proprietary making exact information difficult to obtain; however, we will continue to research this market and further refine the product list and associated risk.

 

Overlapping Products Used in Fracking & Specialty Chemical Industries
Acetic Acid Ethylene Glycol Potassium Chloride2
Ammonium Persulfate Formic Acid Potassium Hydroxide2
Borate Salts Glutaraldehyde Quaternary Ammonium Chloride5
Boric Acid1 Guar Gum4, 3 Sodium Carbonate
2-Butoxyethanol Hydrochloric Acid4 Sodium Chloride
Calcium Chloride Isopropanol Sodium Erythorbate
Choline Chloride Methanol Sodium Hydroxide
Citric Acid2, 3 Polysaccharide Blend3 Tetrakis Hydroxymethyl-Phosphonium Sulfate5
Ethanol2 Potassium Carbonate2 Tetramethyl Ammonium Chloride

1Materials used in nuclear cleanup: tight market due to Japan disaster.

2Materials also influenced by fertilizer demand.

3Market tightness due to weak sugar crop in Brazil.

4Current market tightness due to fracking demand.

5Materials used in various cleaning chemistries as a biocide.


Risk Mitigation

In November, D&I released a MOR™ notification to MOR™ participating customers concerning tightness in the hydrochloric acid market caused by reduced supply in the market and increased demand by Oil & Gas. In the last few weeks, guar gum has also been impacted. Because of these impacts, we are now monitoring the overlapping materials used in the Oil & Gas and Specialty Chemicals market.


Next Steps

MOR™ Participants: Should conditions deteriorate on any of these materials, D&I will notify you with suggested risk mitigation steps prior to any public communication.

Non-MOR™ Participants: Consider subscribing to our blog where we will post updates on developing market conditions.


For More Information

For more information on Doe & Ingalls' MOR™ program, sign-up for our free webinar where we will explain how the program works. To learn how you can register as a participant of the MOR™ program, contact your sales rep, or email us.


References

http://www.energyfromshale.org/hydraulic-fracturing-fluid

http://fracfocus.org/water-protection/drilling-usage

http://www.eia.gov/forecasts/aeo/MT_liquidfuels.cfm#biofuels
  

 
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