Halliburton’s third-quarter results showed steady growth overall, but one detail stood out — cementing activity in U.S. Land declined.

Halliburton, one of the world’s largest oilfield services providers, is the latest to announce staff reductions as the U.S. oil industry faces rising costs, falling prices, and heightened volatility. According to sources familiar with the matter, the company has quietly rolled out workforce cuts over the past several weeks, with at least three business divisions losing between 20% and 40% of employees.

Halliburton, a name synonymous with oilfield services, is charting new territory—this time in the world of battery metals. The company has been awarded a contract by GeoFrame Energy to lead planning and design for a geothermally-powered lithium extraction project in Mt. Vernon, Texas.

Halliburton suffered a ransomware attack on August 23, 2024, leading to partial system shutdowns and operational disruptions.

The jury in Waco, Texas, agreed with ProFrac’s U.S. Well Services that the company’s “Clean Fleet” technology did not work in the same way as Halliburton’s patented technology for electric fracking, or “e-frac,” which has a smaller carbon footprint than traditional fracking.