Fracking with natural gas could trim fuel costs by as much as 40%

Apache Corp. this month is set to become the first company to power an entire hydraulic fracturing job with engines running on natural gas, cutting fuel costs by about 40%, an executive tells The Houston Chronicle. The Houston-based oil and gas company has been working in recent months with Schlumberger, Halliburton and Caterpillar to advance its use of natural gas in oil field operations, says Mike Bahorich, Apache’s executive vice president of technology. The goal is to reduce costs, while increasing use of the domestically produced fossil fuel and cutting emissions, Bahorich adds. Other companies have fueled part of their fracking projects with natural gas, but Apache plans to be the first to run a full spread of 12 hydraulic fracturing pumps on the fuel this month. “I would challenge you to think of an idea that could generate more value for our economy and our environment than switching from oil to natural gas,” Bahorich says. The full story can be found here.