Bryan Shinn, U.S. Silica's CEO, said the company is "very excited to partner with BNSF to add a unit train frac sand storage facility in a prime Eagle Ford location. US Silica is committed to continuing to differentiate our offering by leveraging our scale and flexible supply chain to bring high quality products closer to the market."

"Working with U.S. Silica to extend BNSF's service into the Eagle Ford shale will create new opportunities for growth for the nation's energy supply, for jobs and the economy," said John Lanigan, BNSF executive vice president and chief marketing officer.

U.S. Silica anticipates the company will make three to four shipments per month of approximately 10,000 tons of frac sand on 100 car unit BNSF trains from its Ottawa, Ill., facility.