US Keane Group buying new fracking fleets

Houston’s Keane Group said it is spending $115 million to order three new fracking fleets to prepare for a busy 2018, especially in West Texas’ booming Permian Basin.

The hydraulic fracturing company, said the new fleets will add about 150,000 hydraulic horsepower to give Keane about 1.3 million horsepower, including 800,000 dedicated to the Permian.

Keane, which trades under the stock ticker “FRAC” on the New York Stock Exchange, focuses on well completion and pressure pumping services, especially the fracturing, or fracking, of underground shale rock to release oil and gas.

“Supply-and-demand fundamentals for U.S. oil and gas well completions remain highly constructive for quality completions service providers,” said Keane Chairman and CEO James Stewart. “Favorable conditions have continued to improve throughout the year, and robust 2018 capital budgets announced by producers in recent weeks have amplified and validated the growing demand for our services, which remains in excess of supply.”

Keane redeployed all of its idled fracking fleets this year after the end of a more than two-year bust in oil prices. Now, Keane is expanding its fleet to prepare for growing activity levels.

Keane went public early this year after expanding in 2016 through the acquisition of Calgary-based Trican Well Services’ pressure pumping business.