Oxane Materials

About Oxane Materials

Oxane Materials, Inc. was an American company founded in 2002 by Chris Coker, who served as its President. The company focused on developing and commercializing nanotechnology-enhanced propping agents, known as proppants, for the oil and gas industry. These proppants were designed to address significant technical challenges in hydraulic fracturing, or "fracking".

The core of Oxane's business was its proprietary product, OxFrac™, a lightweight, high-strength ceramic proppant. This product was engineered as a hollow ceramic bead with a dense, hard shell created by coating a lightweight, hollow material with nanostructured ceramic materials. The result was a proppant that combined the desirable qualities of being light enough to travel further into fractures with the strength to withstand the high pressures of deep oil and gas reservoirs. The company promoted its products with the slogan "More oil, more gas, more quickly," claiming that its proppants could improve initial production by 50% and total recovery by as much as 30%. The company's product line included grades like OxBall™, OxSteel™, and OxThor™, each designed for different well conditions, including demanding deepwater applications.

Headquartered in Houston, Texas, Oxane Materials operated a manufacturing facility in Van Buren, Arkansas. The company's business model revolved around manufacturing and selling these advanced proppants to oil and gas operators. Over its lifetime, the company raised significant capital, with reports of between $66.3 million and $150 million in equity from investors that included major industry players like Chevron, BP, ConocoPhillips, and Total. Despite its technological advancements and substantial backing, the company faced challenges. In November 2014, Oxane announced the permanent closure of its Van Buren manufacturing plant, which resulted in the loss of about 70 jobs. Ultimately, the company could not achieve the production volume and cost structure needed to be profitable, especially in the face of a downturn in the oil and gas industry. This led to Oxane Materials filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2015. As part of the proceedings, the company's intellectual property was sold to Halliburton Energy Services, while its Houston research labs and Arkansas manufacturing facility were sold to Chemject International.