Oilfield services provider Halliburton Co ( HAL.N ) reported a 34 percent jump in first-quarter revenue on Monday as North American companies boosted oil and gas production amid rising oil prices. The jump in revenue came despite a $312 million writedown on Halliburton’s remaining assets in Venezuela, and a hit to earnings related to the impact of cold weather earlier in the quarter. Halliburton expects normalized margins of around 20 percent in North America by the end of this year, supported by ongoing tightness in the hydraulic fracturing market, Chief Executive Jeff Miller said on Monday. “We believe the pressure pumping market is undersupplied and will remain tight,” Miller said, pointing to high fracking equipment utilization rates and service intensity that is degrading existing equipment. Some 3.3 million of additional hydraulic horsepower is expected to be added to the U.S. pressure pumping fleet this year, according to […]