Archives

Home   >   Archives   

Not even in top 10 three years ago, Liberty now sits in the #2 frac spot

Rig Lynx
  • By Rig Lynx
  • Sep 04, 2020
  • Category : Archives
  • Views : 751

 

Liberty Oilfield Services Inc., which will become North America’s second-biggest fracing provider with the acquisition of a Schlumberger unit, expects to one day topple Halliburton Co. from the No. 1 spot.

“Customer demand has told us to grow at this pace, and then deals like this come to us,” Liberty CEO Chris Wright said in an interview after the deal was announced on Tuesday. “Our goal with this acquisition is to keep getting better, but to the extent we succeed at that, it probably leads to us being the leader sometime down the road.”

Less than three years ago, the Denver contractor didn’t even crack the top ten for its frac-fleet size. Now in its ninth year of business, Liberty is growing its presence within a business that is severely shrinking: Three-fourths of U.S. frac crews have been sidelined this year, according to Primary Vision Inc.

Wright said he’s not concerned to see rivals like Schlumberger, Baker Hughes Co. and Weatherford International Plc exiting the fracing business.

“When you do a lot of business lines -- and those are all good companies -- it’s harder to be truly fantastic,” said Wright, a Massachusetts Institute of Technology-trained electrical engineer. “I liken what’s gone on with the shale revolution to the dot-com revolution.”

Liberty agreed to buy Schlumberger’s OneStim fracing business in exchange for a 37% stake in the company. Beyond the growth of its traditional frac fleet, Wright said a hidden gem in the deal is getting Schlumberger’s electric blender technology that mixes the water, sand and frac chemicals prior to being pumped downhole. He aims to pair the electric blenders with his company’s two-year effort to develop the next generation in frac pumps that work off electricity, rather than diesel.

But Wright said building new electric pumps in a market already oversupplied with diesel-powered frac gear won’t be easy. His company already has plans to scrap about 1 million horsepower of frac pumps it just bought from Schlumberger.

“We’ll only build new, next-generation fleets with partnerships with customers,” he said. “I’m pretty confident we will have that out next year.”

Source: Bloomberg

 

Come join our community!

Download the Rig Lynx app here

 

Comments (0)

Leave Comment


Check out our other stories

Rig Lynx
Mar 09, 2023

  Valaris Limited announced new contracts awarded subsequent to issuing the Company’s most recent fleet status report on February 21, 2023.   Three-year contract with Petrobras for drillship VALARIS DS-8. The rig will be reactivated for this contract. The total contract value is approximately $500 million, including a $30 million mobilization fee. 100-day contract with a TotalEnergies affiliate for drillship VALARIS DS-12. The contract is expected to commence in second quarter 2023. 70-day contract with Beach Energy offshore New Zealand for heavy duty modern jackup VALARIS 107. The contract is expected to commence in third quarter 2023. The total contract value is approximately $26 million. President and Chief Executive Officer Anton Dibowitz said, “We are particularly pleased to have secured the award for preservation stacked drillship VALARIS DS-8, for a contract that is expected to generate a meaningful return over the firm contract term, and we remain focused on exercising our operational leverage in a disciplined manner. This most recent award represents the sixth contract awarded to one of our high-quality stacked floaters since mid-2021, and speaks volumes about our demonstrated track record of project execution when reactivating rigs.”   Dibowitz added, “Following the reactivation of VALARIS DS-17 and DS-8, we will have ten floaters working across the golden triangle, including four drillships in Brazil, a market where we expect to see continued growth over the next several years.”   Updated Guidance   As a result of the contract awarded to VALARIS DS-8, which will require the rig to be reactivated from preservation stack, we are updating our first quarter 2023 and full-year 2023 guidance provided on our fourth quarter 2022 conference call on February 21, 2023.   First Quarter 2023   Contract drilling expense is expected to increase by approximately $5 million to $385 million to $395 million. Adjusted EBITDA is expected to decrease by approximately $5 million to negative $5 million to breakeven. Adjusted EBITDAR, which adds back one-time reactivation expense, is expected to be $25 million to $30 million, unchanged from the guidance provided on our fourth quarter 2022 conference call. Full-Year 2023   Revenues are anticipated to be $1.8 billion to $1.9 billion, unchanged from the guidance provided on our fourth quarter 2022 conference call. Contract drilling expense is expected to increase by approximately $60 million to $1.49 billion to $1.59 billion. Adjusted EBITDA is expected to decrease by approximately $60 million to $180 million to $220 million. Adjusted EBITDAR, which adds back one-time reactivation expense, is expected to be $280 million to $320 million, unchanged from the guidance provided on our fourth quarter 2022 conference call. Capital expenditures are expected to increase by $60 million to $320 million to $360 million. Source: Valaris Join our mailing list here We are #1 on Google and Bing for the "Largest Mobile Energy Network" Come join our community! Download the Rig Lynx app here  

Rig Lynx
Mar 09, 2023

  Seadrill Limited announced that the West Neptune has executed approximately six months of term extensions with LLOG Exploration Offshore, L.L.C in the US Gulf of Mexico.   The extensions will commence in direct continuation of the existing term, and will keep the rig busy until Q3 2024, furthering Seadrill and LLOG’s long-term association. Total contract value for the extension is approximately $79 million. Source: Seadrill   Join our mailing list here We are #1 on Google and Bing for the "Largest Mobile Energy Network" Come join our community! Download the Rig Lynx app here  

Rig Lynx
Mar 09, 2023

  Semisub rig owner Dolphin Drilling has inked a new contract with Peak Petroleum in Nigeria for its 1974-built Blackford Dolphin.   The firm contract, which follows the letter of award in January, gives the Euronext Growth-listed owner of three rigs the potential to extend the unit’s backlog by a minimum of 120 days and up to 485 days. The deal adds to and will be a direct continuation of the previously announced 12-month contract with General Hydrocarbon Limited (GHL).   Øystein Stray Spetalen-backed company said the effective dayrate associated with the minimum firm period of the contract is $325,000, including the mobilisation fee.   “The final award of the contract for Blackford Dolphin shows the opportunities in Nigeria at a strong dayrate, in addition to building on the backlog for the rig. It also underlines the attractiveness of our assets, and we look forward to returning to revenue-generating operations in 2023,” noted Bjørnar Iversen, CEO of Dolphin Drilling.   Source: Dolphin   Join our mailing list here We are #1 on Google and Bing for the "Largest Mobile Energy Network" Come join our community! Download the Rig Lynx app here