Pure-play completions expert FTS International Inc. is off to a hot start in 2021, with 13 fracture fleets now in operation, versus 10.5 in the fourth quarter.

In reporting results for 4Q2020 and last year, CEO Michael Doss said prices for the U.S. hydraulic fracturing (fracking) services are stagnant, but there are signs of a stronger recovery ahead.

“While market pricing for frack services remains low, we are seeing modest improvements,” Doss said. 

The company saw fracking activity slump sharply last month during the severe winter weather, and it lost about 760 frack stages that had been planned. However, the Fort Worth-based operator is “optimistic for the remainder of the year and expects activity levels and pricing to continue increasing,” the CEO...