U.S. Silica, CSX's TRANSFLO open frac sand storage facility in West Virginia

TRANSFLO Terminal Services and U.S. Silica Holdings Inc. held a grand opening ceremony Sept. 6 for a new frac sand storage facility at TRANSFLO's terminal in Fairmont, W.Va.

The facility adds about 10,000 tons of frac sand storage capacity at the terminal. Frac sand will be transported to the terminal by rail and then transloaded to trucks for deliveries.

A CSX Corp. subsidiary, TRANSFLO provides logistical services for transferring various products from rail to truck. The company operates a network of 58 terminals and can transload more than 500 bulk products.

U.S. Silica in late August also signed a multi-year agreement with Wildcat Minerals L.L.C. that provides U.S. Silica storage and rail capacity at 16 of Wildcat's sand storage facilities located near several major shale plays. U.S Silica now has storage capacity at 40 transload facilities near all of the major U.S. shales and basins, according to a press release.

"This arrangement will enable us to enter new markets, expand our footprint in existing markets, including the Bakken and the Permian basins, and better serve our customers by ensuring that they have greater access to ample supplies of our sand in basins and closer to the wellhead," said U.S. Silica President and Chief Executive Officer Bryan Shinn.