Jan 30, 2020 2 min read

The all-electric fracking fleet that Range Resources Corp. was testing at an Allegheny County well site is now under contract.

Range, a top 10 natural gas producer nationwide, announced Wednesday that it has partnered with U.S. Well Services Inc. for its Clean Fleet technology. The contract states the agreement will run on a “dedicated basis into 2021,” meaning at least one year.

“This new fleet is 100% powered by our own natural gas,” said Mark Windle, spokesman for Range, which is based in Fort Worth, Texas, and has regional headquarters at Southpointe.

In recent months, the driller has been trying out this technology at the Ziolkowski Pad in Imperial. Electric fracking is a fairly new innovation, one that is being hailed as more cost effective and less intrusive environmentally than the diesel-powered systems usually employed for hydraulic fracturing – or fracking. Range Resources said it saved more than $2 million in fuel costs at the first two pads where it used the electric fleets.

CNX Corp. last year became the first oil and gas company in the Appalachian Basin go all electric at a well site, and estimated that it cut fuel costs by 80%, increased fracking efficiency by 30% and requires a 60% smaller footprint.

Jeff Ventura, chief executive officer and president of Range Resources, said in a statement: “(This) state-of-the-art fleet will help support our peer-leading emission reductions goals, realize significant fuel savings and reduce associated sound levels, all while utilizing clean-burning natural gas to power our operations.”