Permian Fracking Tumbles on Trade, OPEC Uncertainty, CEO Says

Fracking in the Permian Basin is throttling back faster than expected amid tariff uncertainty and OPEC+ production hikes, according to one of the biggest pressure pumpers in North America’s most-prolific oil region.

There are now about 70 hydraulic fracturing crews working in the world’s largest shale patch, down from as many as 100 at the start of the year, Sam Sledge, chief executive officer at ProPetro Holding Corp., told analysts and investors Wednesday on a conference call.

After shale wells are drilled, specialized crews frack them by pumping high-pressure jets of water and other substances deep underground to ...