Permian Fracking Tumbles on Trade, OPEC Uncertainty, CEO Says
(Bloomberg) -- Fracking in the Permian Basin is throttling back faster than expected amid tariff uncertainty and OPEC+ production hikes, according to one of the biggest pressure pumpers in North America’s most-prolific oil region.
There are now about 70 hydraulic fracturing crews working in the world’s largest shale patch, down from as many as 100 at the start of the year, Sam Sledge, chief executive officer at ProPetro Holding Corp., told analysts and investors Wednesday on a conference call.
After shale wells are drilled, specialized crews frack them by pumping high-pressure jets of water and other substances deep underground to allow oil and natural gas to flow more freely to the surface. Completion, as the practice is called, is the final and most-expensive step in oilfield development.
“The completions market in the Permian Basin continues to face challenges,” he said. “Increased market uncertainty driven by tariffs and rising OPEC+ production has resulted in more idle capacity than anticipated.”
ProPetro plunged as much as 21% after posting a surprise second-quarter loss. The company now expects to run 10 to 11 frack crews in the current quarter and may cut that in the final three months of the year.
The third-quarter forecast is weaker than expected, Scott Gruber, an analyst at Citigroup Inc., wrote in a note to investors.
Halliburton Co., the world’s biggest provider of fracking services, said last week it will park some equipment amid deteriorating conditions in the US shale patch.
©2025 Bloomberg L.P.
