Halliburton DLE Projects, Geo Frame Energy Deal, 400 MW Data Center Power Plan, and 2 Key Contracts (2025)

Energy Transition Services: Halliburton Applies O&G Expertise to DLE and CCUS

In 2025, Halliburton executed a calculated strategic pivot by repurposing its formidable oil and gas service capabilities for new energy markets, specifically focusing on service-based models in Direct Lithium Extraction (DLE) and Carbon Capture, Utilization, and Storage (CCUS). This approach allows the company to penetrate high-growth sectors by leveraging its core competencies in subsurface modeling, drilling, and well completions, effectively positioning itself as a critical technology enabler rather than a capital-intensive asset owner. The strategy mitigates market entry risk by applying a proven industrial playbook to the nascent supply chains of the energy transition, a path also being navigated by peers like [Saudi Aramco] and [Eni].

Halliburton’s DLE Entry with Geo Frame Energy

The cornerstone of Halliburton’s battery supply chain strategy materialized on June 23, 2025, with a contract award from Geo Frame Energy. This project involves designing and executing the first demonstration wells for a combined geothermal and DLE project in the Smackover Formation in East Texas. By applying its advanced drilling, completions, and subsurface analysis technologies, Halliburton aims to enable the production of battery-grade lithium from geothermal brines, directly addressing the urgent demand for a domestic U.S. lithium supply chain.

Halliburton’s CCUS Contract with NEP

In August 2025, Halliburton secured a significant contract for the UK’s first offshore CCS project from the Northern Endurance Partnership (NEP), a joint venture of BP, Equinor, and Total Energies. Halliburton will supply completions and advanced downhole monitoring technology to ensure the safe and permanent sequestration of CO 2. This contract demonstrates the direct applicability of its oilfield service expertise to decarbonization infrastructure, providing a critical service for large-scale industrial emitters.

Halliburton Powering AI Data Centers

Expanding beyond the subsurface, Halliburton formed a strategic collaboration with Volta Grid, announced on October 20, 2025, to deliver distributed power solutions for the global data center industry. Highlighted by a partnership with Oracle to power its next-generation AI data centers and a joint 400 MW power commitment, this move taps into the immense energy demand of the digital economy. As data centers increasingly rely on large-scale Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) for power stability, this venture positions Halliburton as a key service provider to a major BESS end-market.

Halliburton’s 4 Strategic Alliances in DLE, Power, and CCUS (2025)

In 2025, Halliburton pursued a partnership-centric model to de-risk its entry into new energy verticals, systematically combining its industrial scale and subsurface expertise with the specialized technologies and market access of its partners. This approach bypasses the need for developing new technologies from the ground up, instead focusing on accelerating commercialization by providing proven, at-scale execution capabilities to innovators like Geo Frame Energy and Volta Grid. This contrasts with the direct asset ownership models pursued by utility leaders like [Next Era Energy] and [Xcel Energy].

Geo Frame Energy DLE Partnership

The alliance with Geo Frame Energy is foundational to Halliburton’s move into the battery materials supply chain. By providing well design, drilling, and completion services for the Smackover Formation DLE project, Halliburton acts as the execution arm, enabling Geo Frame to test and scale its resource extraction. This symbiotic relationship allows Halliburton to generate service revenue from the burgeoning lithium market without taking on direct commodity price risk.

Volta Grid and Oracle Data Center Collaboration

The three-way collaboration between Halliburton, Volta Grid, and Oracle addresses the critical power infrastructure bottleneck facing the AI industry. Halliburton contributes its expertise in large-scale project management and logistics to support Volta Grid’s deployment of distributed power generation. This partnership is driving tangible economic activity, including an expansion of manufacturing capabilities in Dallas and Houston that is expected to create over 400 jobs.

NEP CCUS Alliance with BP and Equinor

The contract with the Northern Endurance Partnership places Halliburton at the center of one of Europe’s most significant decarbonization projects. The company’s role is to provide the critical well completion and monitoring technologies necessary for safe, long-term CO 2 storage. This partnership validates its technology for a new application and solidifies relationships with energy supermajors who are themselves leading the energy transition.

Table: Halliburton 2025 Strategic Partnerships in New Energy

US and UK Project Focus for Halliburton’s New Energy Services

Halliburton’s 2025 new energy initiatives are geographically concentrated in the United States and the United Kingdom, reflecting a strategy to target regions with a combination of favorable geology, established industrial infrastructure, and supportive regulatory frameworks. This focused approach allows the company to deploy its resources efficiently and build regional expertise in nascent markets before expanding globally.

• In the United States, Halliburton’s primary focus is the DLE project with Geo Frame Energy in the Smackover Formation of East Texas, a region well-known to the oil and gas industry for its subsurface characteristics.
• The U.S. is also the center for the Volta Grid data center power collaboration, with initial manufacturing expansion taking place in the Dallas and Houston areas to support the build-out.
• In the United Kingdom, the company’s efforts are centered on the North Sea through the Northern Endurance Partnership CCUS project, leveraging decades of offshore operational experience in the region.

Commercial Scale Application: Halliburton Deploys Proven O&G Tech in DLE

Halliburton is accelerating the path to commercial viability for new energy projects not by developing novel technologies from scratch, but by applying its mature, globally-scaled portfolio of oil and gas technologies to new problems. The core innovation in 2025 is the application of proven, de-risked solutions for drilling, completions, and subsurface characterization to adjacent sectors like DLE and CCUS, reducing execution risk and shortening development timelines for its partners.

• The DLE project with Geo Frame Energy relies on Halliburton’s established expertise in designing and drilling wells in complex geological formations, a capability honed over a century in the oil and gas industry.
• For the NEP’s CCUS project, Halliburton is deploying its existing advanced well completions and downhole monitoring tools, which are critical for ensuring the long-term integrity and safety of CO 2 storage reservoirs.
• The company’s use of digital twins and AI-driven monitoring, originally developed to optimize oilfield operations, is being repurposed to enhance the efficiency, safety, and reliability of these new energy projects.

SWOT Analysis: Halliburton’s Execution Risk in New Energy Markets

Halliburton’s strategic pivot leverages its profound strengths in industrial-scale engineering and project execution but concurrently exposes the company to new market risks and competitive dynamics outside its traditional oil and gas stronghold. Success will depend on its ability to adapt its operational and commercial models to the distinct requirements of the energy storage and decarbonization sectors.

• Strengths in subsurface expertise and technology are being validated as directly transferable to DLE and CCUS projects, providing a significant competitive advantage over new entrants.
• Opportunities are vast, with the BESS market projected to grow to $105.9 billion by 2030 and massive investment flowing into domestic battery supply chains and AI infrastructure.
• Weaknesses may arise from a reliance on partners for market access and specialized technology, while Threats include competition from agile DLE-focused startups and potential project delays that could impact market confidence.

Table: SWOT Analysis for Halliburton’s Energy Storage and Battery Initiatives

Massive Market Validation for Grid-Scale Energy Storage
This rapid expansion signals a robust market for grid-scale energy storage, driven by renewable integration and grid stabilization needs. It de-risks investments in battery technology and infrastructure, making it a pivotal area for sustained growth and innovation, especially as utilities seek to enhance resilience.

(Source: CANARY MEDIA — via Energy Storage Industry's 2024 Annual Strategy – SmartPropel Lithium Battery)

Scenario Modelling: Halliburton’s Geo Frame DLE Project as a Key Catalyst

The successful execution and performance of the Geo Frame Energy DLE demonstration project, set to begin in late 2025, represents the most critical near-term validation point for Halliburton’s entire energy transition service strategy. The outcome of this single project will serve as a powerful market signal, either accelerating or impeding its ambitions in the battery supply chain.

• If the demonstration wells drilled and completed by Halliburton enable Geo Frame Energy to produce battery-grade lithium efficiently and economically from the Smackover Formation brines…
• Watch for a rapid succession of similar DLE service contract announcements from other resource holders in the Smackover and other lithium-rich brine deposits across North America and Europe throughout 2026.
• This could be happening: Halliburton could solidify a dominant “picks and shovels” market position in the DLE sector, analogous to its role in unconventional oil and gas, creating a durable, high-margin revenue stream independent of oil price cycles. Conversely, significant delays or technical failures would create a major setback, ceding ground to smaller, more specialized competitors.

The questions your competitors are already asking

This report covers one angle of Halliburton’s commercial pivot into new energy markets. The questions that matter most depend on your work.

• Other oil service companies entering lithium extraction
• Lithium projects in Texas and Arkansas
• Power contracts for new AI data centers
• Carbon capture projects in the North Sea

This report does not answer these. Enki Brief Pro does.

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