Alamo City lures energy giants
(6/14/2011)
SAN ANTONIO - Two oil field services companies are establishing bases in the Alamo City to serve clients drilling in the Eagle Ford shale in South Texas.
Halliburton recently purchased 150 acres in southern Bexar County in the northeast quadrant of the intersection of Loop 1604 and I-37, according to county land records. Company officials say no plans have been finalized for the site.
Halliburton’s land is made up of five parcels of unequal size for which the company paid an undetermined sum. The company held a job fair recently to fill 100 positions in the area.
Weatherford International will build a facility near Loop 1604 and I-37. The company is hiring about 100 people for its planned Bexar County location, which will include offices and bays to house and service the company’s hydraulic fracturing equipment.
The 400-mile-long Eagle Ford shale formation lies under 24 counties and sweeps west from East Texas to Webb County and the border. Drilling there has boomed in the last three years, with 1,912 drilling permits issued through June 2 of this year, compared with just 33 permits issued in 2008.
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