On July 24, 2013, Baker Hughes, Inc., the owner of the third-largest pressure pumping fleet in the United States, disclosed as part of its filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission that it had received a civil investigative demand (CID) from the Department of Justice (DOJ) on May 30, 2013.  The CID requests information and documents relating to U.S. pressure pumping services for the period from May 29, 2011, through May 30, 2013.  

Baker Hughes stated in its filing that it was “not able to predict what action, if any, might be taken in the future by the DOJ or other governmental authorities as a result of the investigation.”

Pressure pumping services generally refers to the process of pumping water and other materials into a well to break apart rock formations and increase the well’s oil or gas production.   Pressure pumping is the main step in the hydraulic fracturing process, and has in recent years become more heavily used for extracting oil and natural gas from rock formations.

The following day, on July 25, 2013, Halliburton Co., the largest provider of pressure pumping services in the United States., confirmed that it had also received a CID from the DOJ regarding pressure pumping services.