Halliburton Pursues Autonomous Fracking

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Written by Daniel Graeber for Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Building on improvements in hydraulic fracturing, energy services firm Halliburton (NYSE:HAL) (Houston, Texas) said it believes automation could lead to a 17% improvement in efficiency.

Halliburton Energy Services recently teamed up with Coterra Energy Incorporated (NYSE:CTRA) (Houston) to launch autonomous fracking technology in North America through its Octiv Auto Frac service.

"The deployment of intelligent automation for hydraulic fracturing helps us execute stages consistently and provides us with more autonomy and control over the completion process," said Tom Jorden, the chief executive officer of Coterra, on Monday.

Coterra recently became the first operator to fully automate its hydraulic fracturing design and execution. The technology will be incorporated into Halliburton's ZEUS platform, a fully electric fleet that "offers an integrated, all-electric frac site that lowers emissions, reduces fuel costs, and maximizes efficiency gains for our customers," Halliburton said.

Halliburton added that the initial results showed the technology led to a 17% improvement in stage efficiency, results it said warranted Coterra's deployment of the frac service in the Permian Basin.

The ZEUS platform already boasts a 30% improvement in stage transitions and 30% lower emissions.

Operators globally are working to do more with less, and with the environment in mind. EQT Corporation (NYSE:EQT) (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania), the largest U.S. natural gas producer by volume, already reached its climate goals by replacing diesel frac fleets with electric fleets powered by its own natural gas, avoiding some 300,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide (CO2)-equivalent emissions over the course of two years.

The U.K.'s North Sea Transition Authority (NSTA), meanwhile, found that electrification of offshore platforms could save between 1 million and 2 million metric tons of emissions every year.

The NSTA estimates that electrification will be such an integral part of the government's decarbonization strategy that field development plans may be in jeopardy without it.

Equinor (NYSE:EQNR) (Stavanger, Norway) already is powering two of its oil and gas fields--Snorre and Gullfaks--with energy from the floating Hywind Tampen Windfarm in the North Sea.

Apart from the climate benefits, technology like ZEUS and the automated frac service could support future production without adding more rigs. Longer laterals and multi-bore wells in the shale patch are leading to production gains, though the North American rig count remains suppressed relative to the past.

Upstream services firm Baker Hughes Company (NASDAQ:BKR) (Houston) listed 589 active rigs in the U.S. as of January 3, about 5% lower than during the same time last year. Production, meanwhile, is on pace for an increase.

Total crude oil production is set to increase marginally, from 13.2 million barrels per day (BBL/d) on average for 2024 to 13.5 million BBL/d. In the Permian, where Halliburton and Coterra are deploying the autonomous frac technology, oil production is expected to improve 3% from 2024 levels to an average of 6.5 million BBL/d.

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