CP to serve new Smart Sand terminal in North Dakota

Canadian Pacific and Smart Sand Inc. have partnered on a long-term lease agreement to operate a frac sand transloading terminal in Van Hook, North Dakota.

Smart Sand paid $15.5 million to acquire certain assets at the terminal, according to a company press release.

As part of the lease agreement, the company and CP will service the unit train-capable terminal along with other key oil and gas exploration and production basins of North America.

Smart Sand officials expect the terminal to be operational next month.

"This agreement with CP is another step forward toward Smart Sand's goal of being an integrated mine to wellhead supplier of frac sand," said Smart Sand Chief Executive Officer Charles Young.

"Working with Smart Sand to repurpose this existing rail facility into a high-efficiency sand terminal is well-aligned with our commercial strategy to maximize capacity and asset utilization," said Coby Bullard, CP’s vice president of sales and marketing, merchandise and energy, chemicals and plastics. "It capitalizes on our high-capacity corridor between the nation's premier proppant-producing region and North Dakota's Williston Basin."