In position for global shale boom
From China to Europe and Argentina, international services firms will be at the centre of new unconventional output
Hundreds of thousands of shale gas wells have been drilled in the US since the sector started booming in the middle of the past decade. If just a handful of the fledgling shale plays around the world now being touted as the next big thing can emulate that success, international services firms and contractors are set for another bonanza. Already, Halliburton, Schlumberger, Baker Hughes, Weatherford International and their rivals are finding increasingly rich pickings in markets such as China, Argentina, Australia and Europe. They are providing the gamut of products and services from drilling and fracturing proppants to water treatment equipment and well completions – and most importantly,

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