-- Leading oilfield services company, Halliburton (HAL), said it was seeing "early signs" of a recovery in North American shale activity, with tightening capacity in the hydraulic fracturing market pointing to improving demand conditions.
During the company's Q1 2026 earnings call on Tuesday, President and CEO Jeffrey Allen Miller noted that the frac calendar, which was filled with "white space" during the first few months of the year, was now filled, amid soaring industry-wide demand.
Entering the year, Miller said that the company was worried about drops and delays in completion work, but that is "no longer a concern," he said.
The company also flagged an uptick in inbound requests for spot work, particularly from smaller operators, as an early indicator of rising demand.
Helliburton's COO, Shannon Slocum, said that while this might still be "early innings," in her view, "the setup for North America is constructive."
The company also added that the premium equipment market was already tightening, with the industry just "a handful of fleets" away from being sold out entirely.
Management, however, noted that it remains focused on maximizing returns, over gaining market share, prioritizing pricing and utilization of exiting fleets.