Range Resources Corp. is close to taking the next step into an electric hydraulic fracturing fleet, a cheaper and more environmentally friendly system that is starting to gain traction in the natural gas industry.
“We see exciting potential with this technology,” said Range Resources COO Dennis Degner during the company’s third-quarter conference call with financial analysts.
Dennis Degner, COO of Range Resources Corp. (NYSE: RRC)
Range has been testing an all-electric frack unit, which uses natural gas from the well pad to save significant amount of money, cut back drastically on truck traffic to and from the pad, and also be quieter and more environmentally friendly than the traditional diesel units.
Range (NYSE: RRC) announced Thursday that it had completed its second test with the unit on a dry-gas pad in southwestern Pennsylvania. The three-month test run saved $1.2 million in fuel costs, Degner said.
CNX Resources Corp. (NYSE: CNX) is the only Marcellus Shale natural gas producer that has signed on the dotted line with an electric hydraulic fracturing crew, with an electric frack unit from Evolution Well Services. But other operators have been looking at whether they would move to all-electric frac units for at least some of its units in the Marcellus Shale.
EQT CEO Toby Z. Rice told the Shale Insight 2019 industry conference on Wednesday that EQT (NYSE: EQT) was considering all-electric frac fleets.
Range hasn’t committed officially to hiring an all-electric frac unit although another test with the unit is going to occur through the end of the year. Degner said Range was evaluating all-electric vs. conventional fleets.
