Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd. (CP) said Wednesday it was teaming up with Pennsylvania-based Smart Sand to supply Northern White sand to drillers in key North American unconventional plays beginning with the Bakken Shale, where the first of several transload facilities is planned.

The partners also are targeting sand deliveries to the Eagle Ford, Marcellus and Utica shales. The first transload facility, which they said would be the region’s largest, is to be in Makoti, ND, with startup scheduled for early next year. No financial details were disclosed.

“Smart Sand offers substantial dry sand capacity and 100-plus years of proven reserves, plus direct rail access for unit trains,” said Smart Sand President Charles Young. “We believe the new North Dakota transload facility offers a unique combination of cost effectiveness, reliability and product flexibility. We look forward to offering similar services in other producing regions while building strong relationships in the Williston Basin.”

CP Chief Marketing Officer Jane O’Hagen said Smart Sand had resources and processing capabilities that “align well” with the Calgary-based operator’s shipping presence in the energy sector.

Smart Sand’s primarily facility, which opened in June, is on the CP rail line in Oakdale, WI. It would supply the Northern White sand to be used in hydraulic fracturing (fracking) operations.

CP, which recently was taken over by U.S. hedge fund Pershing Square Capital Management LP, already services energy operators in Alberta, as well as Bakken and Marcellus operators. The Class I railway moves thousands of carloads of energy-related products, including crude oil, sulfur, fuels, diluents and materials key to the energy industry, such as pipe and fracking sand.

The deal follows one in June between U.S. Silica Holdings Inc. and BNSF Railway Co., which are planning to build a silica sand storage facility in San Antonio for Eagle Ford operations, which is expected to be operational early next year (see Shale Daily, June 22). Pioneer Natural Resources Co. early this year acquired the U.S. industrial sands business of Carmeuse Holdings S.A. (Luxembourg) for a ready supply of frack sand (see Shale Daily, March 6). Other operators are pursuing similar deals.