Topic: How To Invest

Hi Pat: I would appreciate your advice on CARBO Ceramics. Many thanks.

Article Excerpt

CARBO Ceramics, $85.09, symbol CRR on New York (Shares outstanding: 23.1 million; Market cap: $2.0 billion; www.carboceramics.com), makes and sells ceramic proppant, which is used in hydraulic fracturing. In 2010, the company began selling resin-coated sand. CARBO also sells, through its StrataGen subsidiary, what it believes is the oil and gas industry’s most popular fracture-simulation software. In addition, it provides fracture-design and consulting services and a range of technologies for spill prevention and containment. Hydraulic fracturing involves pumping fluids down a well at pressures sufficient to create fractures in oil- and gas-bearing rock formations. Proppant is a granular material that the fluid carries in to fill the fracture, thereby “propping” it open. The proppant-filled fracture creates a channel through which the oil and gas can flow more freely, increasing production rates. There are three main types of proppant: sand, resin-coated sand and ceramic. Sand is the least expensive option, resin-coated sand is more expensive, and ceramic is the costliest. CARBO uses two…