Aurora to help haul frac sand ‘around the clock’ using autonomous trucks on public roads in Permian Basin

This month, Aurora Innovation, Inc. announced a partnership “to autonomously transport proppants around the clock for one of the world’s largest multinational oil and gas companies.”

On December 8, 2025, Aurora announced an agreement with frac sand logistics company Detmar Logistics to provide supervised autonomous trucking operations “around the clock” between Detmar’s facility in Midland, Texas and Capital Sand’s mining site in Monahans starting early next year.

“The route combines high-speed driving on Interstate 20 with local and private roads surrounding Detmar’s facility and the mining site. Notably, Aurora is delivering advanced capabilities at the mining site, including autonomously navigating overhead filling silos for proppant loading,” the company said.

Per the agreement between the companies, Detmar Logistics will operate 30 Aurora Driver-powered trucks in 2026, with each unit hauling sand for over 20 hours a day.

The companies are expected to transition to “driverless operations without anyone onboard” in Q2 of 2026.

Aurora says that this is “the first time frac sand will be hauled autonomously on public roads and highways in the Permian Basin.”

“Launching autonomous highway operations for Detmar is a great example of how we’re delivering immediate customer value,” said Chris Urmson, co-founder and CEO at Aurora. “With the Aurora Driver, Detmar can achieve nearly 24/7 asset utilization and effectively double its capacity to move sand for a leading energy producer.”

“As simul-fracs demand higher sand volumes and operators move to 24/7 schedules, maintaining a safe, reliable flow of proppant is critical,” said Matt Detmar, CEO of Detmar Logistics. “Aurora’s autonomous technology is a game changer for our industry. It will enable us to safely improve efficiency and support our customers’ continuous operations. We expect autonomous trucks to become a competitive advantage to strengthen and grow our business in the years to come.”