Liberty Energy Targets 3 GW Data Center Power Buildout While Defending Frac Growth

Liberty Energy is expanding into data-center power generation, targeting 3 gigawatts of capacity by 2029 and expecting to announce more than 500 megawatts of Energy Service Agreements before year-end. Initial projects will use natural-gas-fired generation, supported by partnerships including Vantage, PowerBridge, SLB, Oklo and Fervo. Hydraulic fracturing remains Liberty’s core business despite the expansion.

CEO Ron Gusek said North America is producing record oil and gas volumes with fewer frac crews and drilling rigs, supporting a long-term runway for the company’s specialized oilfield services. Liberty is applying artificial intelligence to improve operations, including logistics, equipment maintenance and frac execution. Its AI systems have cut sand-delivery truck needs by 35% and may extend the life of certain equipment components by as much as 100%.

Liberty Energy NYSE: LBRT President and Chief Executive Officer Ron Gusek outlined the company’s expansion into power generation for data centers while reaffirming its long-term commitment to oilfield services during a keynote presentation at the 31st EnerCom Denver Energy Investment Conference. Gusek said Liberty, which marks its 15th anniversary this year, has grown from a company founded in North Dakota into an organization employing about 6,000 people across North America. He said the company’s original objective was to build “the best damn frack company,” a goal that has since broadened into building “the best damn energy company.”

Liberty’s stated mission, he said, is to better human lives for its employees, communities and people globally. Gusek linked that mission to the company’s view that abundant, affordable and reliable energy remains essential to economic development and improved living standards.

Gusek discussed the reported interruption of energy flows through the Strait of Hormuz, saying the route had carried 25% of global liquefied natural gas supply as well as meaningful volumes of crude oil. He estimated that roughly 2.5 billion barrels of oil had been removed from the global market during the preceding six months. He said the disruption had not caused oil prices to reach “astronomical” levels because the market entered the year with substantial oversupply and floating storage, while China demonstrated an ability to reduce crude demand. However, he argued that disruptions in Asian refining supply had affected California, which he described as heavily dependent on imported refined products despite receiving 75% of its primary energy from oil and natural gas.

Gusek also highlighted U.S. oil and natural gas production growth over the past two decades, describing the shale revolution as an example of technological innovation and private investment unlocking previously difficult-to-recover resources. He said the United States had moved from being the world’s largest oil importer in 2006 to the largest crude producer today. On the longer-term energy outlook, Gusek argued that the world is experiencing an “energy addition” rather than an energy transition. He said oil, natural gas and coal represented roughly 85% of global energy supply when he was born in 1971 and still account for about 85% today. Since 2010, he said fossil fuels have supplied about 75% of incremental global energy demand. He cited rising per-capita energy consumption in South Korea and China as evidence that economic d...