Halliburton expands fracking holdings

Halliburton Co. expects continued improvement in the North American hydraulic fracturing market and is “immediately” adding crews to begin work later this year.

The world’s largest provider of the service that blasts water, sand and chemicals underground to free trapped hydrocarbons, expects third-quarter operating profit margins in the region to be near 20 percent, the company said Monday in a statement. Second-quarter earnings were 32 percent above the results from the same period last year. Sales climbed 10 percent to $8.1 billion.

After two years of a falling market for fracking services from a glut in equipment, prices in the U.S. are expected to increase 2 percent this year and another 4 percent in 2015, according to a May 16 report by PacWest Consulting Partners LLC.

“You’re seeing tightening in overall frack capacity,” said Luke Lemoine, an analyst at Capital One Southcoast in New Orleans. “People are going to like this, coupled with the large North America beat.”

The average number of drilling rigs active on land rose 5.6 percent in the U.S. to 1,781 in the quarter as producers seek to increase output from shale formations, according to Baker Hughes Inc.

Halliburton shares rose 7 cents to close Monday at $71 in New York. The shares have gained 58 percent in the past year.