Halliburton Profit Rises 50%

Dick Cheney's old company is now thriving under President Obama:

The second-largest oilfield service company after Schlumberger Ltd. SLB +0.53% Halliburton is the top seller of hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, services in North America. That service is essential in cracking open deeply buried oil-and-gas-bearing rocks, including shale, an area where energy companies have been making big bets for future growth.

[...]In the latest quarter, Halliburton’s North American revenue was up 56% and profit rose 77%. The company said Monday it expects strength in the segment to persist into 2012, with continued improvements in drilling and completion efficiency, as well as higher demand for services. In its international business, revenue rose 17%, while profit was up 9.5%, aided by growth in Latin America.

And, of course, they are up to no good:

Safety First, Fracking Second, The Editors, Scientific American: A decade ago layers of shale lying deep underground supplied only 1 percent of America’s natural gas. Today they provide 30 percent. Drillers are rushing to hydraulically fracture, or “frack,” shales in a growing list of U.S. states. ... The benefits come with risks, however, that state and federal governments have yet to grapple with.

    Public fears are growing about contamination of drinking-water supplies from the chemicals used in fracking and from the methane gas itself. Field tests show that those worries are not unfounded. ... Yet states have let companies proceed without adequate regulations. They must begin to provide more effective oversight, and the federal government should step in, too.