Markets

Mwaa Ha Ha! Fracking Fluid Is So Safe, Halliburton CEO Made a Peon Drink It

By Kirsten Korosec

Updated on: August 23, 2011 / 3:37 PM EDT / MoneyWatch

Halliburton CEO Dave Lesar is so confident in the company's new eco-friendlier fracking fluid that he had one of his minions sip the mixture during his keynote speech at a recent industry conference. What better way to quell public fear over the effects of hydraulic fracturing -- the natural-gas drilling technique dubbed "fracking" -- on water sources than to have someone play the guinea pig?

Of course, Lesar's publicity stunt proved nothing about the safety of either Halliburton's product or fracking itself, in which drillers pump a high-pressure mix of water, sand and chemicals thousands of feet underground, breaking up shale formations to release trapped oil and gas.

But it did illustrate that Lesar -- and the crack team who dreamt up the snake oil salesman trick -- either doesn't care or is woefully unaware of how the public views Halliburton. Lesar ignored marketing rule No. 1: Any PR campaign should improve a company's image, not provide more evil-genius fodder for folks to chew on.

Dr. Evil lives!
The company's ties to former Vice President Dick Cheney, its controversial Iraq contracts, the bribery scandal in Nigeria and its connection to last year's Gulf oil disaster has helped cement its "evil-doer" status among the general public. The fracking fluid stunt simply supported the cynical view folks already have of Halliburton: an uncaring, irresponsible company.

Of course Halliburton's CEO would make some peon drink the fracking fluid! It's a wonder he didn't then press a button to dump the poor guy into a hidden piranha tank.

The chemicals used in fracking make up less than 0.5 percent of the overall mix by volume, but they often include hazardous substances such as benzene -- a known carcinogen. Last November, Halliburton unveiled CleanStim, a fracking fluid made from materials entirely sourced from the food industry.

Halliburton, clearly bracing for stricter regulations, is looking to develop products with fewer hazardous chemicals. And that's exactly what it should be doing because federal regulation will likely create a market for new, more benign fracking products.

Unfortunately, the fracking fluid taste test stunt made a mockery of the product Halliburton wants folks to take seriously.

Photo from Flickr user fox_kiyo, CC 2.0

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