US oil and gas services giant Halliburton on Friday announced its first joint venture for hydraulic fracturing services in China, teaming up with private Chinese firm SPT Energy Group.
Halliburton said it had signed an agreement with the SPT affiliate, Petrotech Engineering, to create a joint-venture company focused on hydraulic fracturing, commonly known as fracking, and production enhancement services in Xinjiang, in China's far west.
The new company, Xinjiang HDTD Oilfield Services, will provide fracture stimulation services, including design and analysis, data acquisition, and pumping and chemical services in the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region, Halliburton said in a statement.
"Seventy-five percent of the market share in high-end completion services in the field was achieved through SPT's collaboration with Halliburton over the past seven years, and the market for horizontal drilling and fracturing services is increasing rapidly," the Texas-based company said.
Fracking is a controversial technique in drilling using a mixture water, sand and chemicals injected at high pressure into a wellbore to fracture deep-rock formations and extract deposits of natural gas and oil. Critics say it can contaminate water supplies and damage the environment.
Halliburton said that SPT Energy Group has a 20-year history of providing oilfield technical services in Xinjiang's Tarim oilfield, and holds the leading market share among privately owned companies.
By 2025, the total barrels of oil equivalent (BOE) in the Tarim oilfield is expected to be 50 million tons, while total BOE throughout Xinjiang province is expected to reach 100 million tons and account for up to one-third of China's BOE, the company said.
"Halliburton looks forward to strengthening our partnership with SPT Energy Group by bringing a suite of integrated, comprehensive solutions to the challenge of developing China's unconventional reservoirs," said Dave Lesar, Halliburton chairman, president and chief executive, in the statement.
The company said a ceremony held on Wednesday in Beijing was attended by about 200 guests representing the oil and gas industry in China , as well as a number of local government officials.