Leading oilfield service provider
Halliburton Company
(
HAL
) has initiated its first bacteria-fighting truck in Australia.
The deployment is aimed at cleaning fracking waters and reducing
the environmental impact of drilling for natural gas.
Halliburton is known for its pressure-pumping technique called
fracking, which is used by companies to drill and complete wells.
This process blasts water mixed with sand and chemicals
underground to free trapped hydrocarbons from shale formations.
The CleanStream unit of Halliburton was introduced two years ago
in the U.S. This unit works to kill bacteria in the fracking
fluid using ultra-violet light. Halliburton combined this
technique with a process called CleanWave which uses an
electrical charge to eliminate the contaminants and clean the
water. The CleanStream unit was used for the first time in the
fourth quarter of 2012, in the Cooper basin of Australia.
Earlier this month, Halliburton together with
Caterpillar Inc.
(
CAT
) and U.S. energy firm
Apache Corporation
(
APA
) joined forces to develop dual-fuel technology mainly to provide
power to the pumping equipment used for hydraulic fracturing. The
innovative technology uses a mixture of natural gas and diesel,
of which the usage of natural gas is the maximum. The system also
emits low carbon dioxide by using natural gas usage, thereby
maintaining the same level of fuel efficiency and power as diesel
engine.
Halliburton is among the top three players in each of its
product/service categories, and is present in all major
hydrocarbon-producing regions of the world. The company enjoys a
good relationship with both publicly-traded and national oil
companies worldwide.
However, the new environmental regulations for hydraulic
fracturing (or fracking) in the shale plays could adversely
impact the company. The regulations will compel Halliburton to
reveal the structure of its fluids, and potentially wipe out its
competitive advantage in the high-end pressure-pumping market.
Following
Baker Hughes Inc.
(
BHI
), Halliburton was the second member of the 'big 4 oil service
companies' to post above consensus results.
Halliburton carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold), implying that it is
expected to perform in line with the broader U.S. equity market
over the next one to three months.
APACHE CORP (APA): Free Stock Analysis Report
BAKER-HUGHES (BHI): Free Stock Analysis
Report
CATERPILLAR INC (CAT): Free Stock Analysis
Report
HALLIBURTON CO (HAL): Free Stock Analysis
Report
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