Halliburton Warns of Earnings Hit Due to Delays in Sand Delivery
February 15 2018 - 11:53AM
Dow Jones News
By Christopher M. Matthews
Halliburton Co. warned Thursday that its first quarter earnings
would take a hit due to delays on delivery of a key ingredient used
to hydraulically fracture shale wells: sand.
Trading in shares of the oil-field services giant was briefly
halted Thursday morning before Chris Weber, Halliburton's chief
financial officer, said the company expected an impact of 10 cents
per share on its first-quarter earnings due to railway delays that
would slow sand delivery.
Trading resumed minutes after Mr. Weber made the announcement
during remarks at the Credit Suisse Energy Summit, and the
company's stock was down 1.8% to $47.
Oil-field services companies like Halliburton use millions of
pounds of sand in each shale well to help producers prop open rocks
cracked during hydraulic fracturing, to help oil and gas seep
out.
Any delays in sand delivery could slow the uptick in production
in oil-rich regions like Texas' Permian basin.
Companies have traditionally hauled sand from mines in the
Midwest by rail to shale sites across the country, from Texas to
North Dakota.
Mr. Weber said that despite the delays, the company is still on
track for normalized margins of around 20% in North America in
2018, following years of steep pricing cuts in the industry due to
low oil prices.
Write to Christopher M. Matthews at
christopher.matthews@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
February 15, 2018 11:38 ET (16:38 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2018 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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