Liberty Energy CEO Ron Gusek takes a pragmatic view of market volatility that drove some producers to begin reducing spending plans and rig counts during the first quarter.
“I don't know how steep that's going to be,” he said during a presentation at Hart Energy’s SUPER DUG 2025 Conference & Expo on May 14.
“I'm certainly not in the camp of a hundred rig count reduction or anything like that.”
Ultimately, he expects the count may decline this year by up to 40 rigs, translating into a reduction of 10 to 15 frac crews.
“So I don't view that as catastrophic by any stretch of the imagination, but I do think we're going to see a wind down and certainly by the time we get out into Q4, where capital programs are normally winding down for the year, I think we're going to see a real taper off,” he said. “It’s too early to say what 2026 holds, and we'll have to be ready.”
Growing into the space
Liberty Energy started as a frac company in 2011 as Liberty Oilfield Services and grew its offerings from within the sector.
Chris Wright, Liberty’s founder and former CEO—now, the U.S. Energy Secretary—had a clear vision for the company that went further.
“Our mission was a very straightforward one and that was to better human lives, and in Liberty's case, [it was] to better human lives through access to energy,” Gusek said. “That had always been our broader goal: to find ways that, as an organization, we could contribute to the bettering of humanity through provision of energy access to abundant, affordable, reliable energy.”
Ultimately, Liberty built a skillset, expertise and footprint beyond oilfield services, and its name needed to change to reflect the direction.
“We made that very conscious decision to become Liberty Energy,” Gusek said. “We are still very, very focused on the energy space, but now we are looking at things a lot more broadly than when we first started the company 12, 13 years ago.”
The firm is a major provider to the oil and gas industry in North America: frac equipment and technology, wireline services, integrated alternative fuel and distribution, proppant, patented containerized solutions and software.
Gusek was named Wright’s successor to the CEO role in November, effective with Wright’s Senate confirmation, which was made official in February.
Tuning out the noise
The first months of his tenure have been “a little noisier than I might’ve hoped for,” he said.
“That’s the biggest challenge. There has been uncertainty. We've had a lot of volatility in oil prices, a little in gas as well,” Gusek said. “But specific to the crude side of things, I think we have our customers running a range of scenarios trying to understand what the plausible paths could be and ultimately some programs that might fit any one of those paths.”
Some E&Ps have revealed plans to reduce capital spending and their rig counts, but there remains some uncertainty.
“I think we've gotten to a place where the tariff question is getting a little better. I think we're starting to get a little more comfort around the idea that we're going to land in a reasonable spot from a trade standpoint,” he said. “And so that takes away some of the recessionary concerns, maybe the impact on the demand side of the picture. As far as oil goes globally, I think that maybe strengthens the floor price.”
For the most part, Liberty’s second-quarter plans remain intact. Some activity may taper off during the second half of the year, as the picture for oil prices comes into view and tariff questions are settled.
“My guess is we have some more clarity around where WTI is going to land and ultimately what that'll mean for budgets for our customers,” he said.
“On the direct side of things, of course there is an impact to us, much like the E&Ps, there are parts of our supply chain that originate overseas.”
An example is Liberty’s electric pump equipment. One version generates electricity and ultimately will drive the pump with electric motors. Those come from China today, Gusek said.
“And so maybe a week ago they were about to get 155% more expensive and now they're only going to get modestly more expensive, only 30% more. Those things impact our ability to carry on with this program around building next generation assets or at least the cost that's attached.”