New York (Platts)--6Sep2011/321 pm EDT/1921 GMT

Concerns about water and chemicals used in fracking fluids are driving Halliburton to develop more environmentally sensitive fluids and reduce fresh-water use, the company's CEO said Tuesday.

"We know water is an emotional issue," Dave Lesar, Halliburton's CEO and board chairman, said at an energy and power conference in New York, which was also webcast. Investment bank Barclays hosted the event.

"If we can convert some wastewater" into water used for fracking then Halliburton will need less fresh water, Lesar said.

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The issue of chemicals in fracking fluids "is a hot topic today, there is no doubt about it," Lesar said.

"We are disclosing the chemicals that go into the ground," he said. But Halliburton is also working to develop a new fracking fluid that contains no petroleum products, he said.

One new Halliburton "fracturing formulation" is called CleanStim, with "ingredients sourced exclusively from the food industry," the company said in a conference slide. One ingredient goes into cake mixes, Lesar said.

"Who can argue against these chemicals if they go into our food every day?" Lesar said.

At the event, Halliburton CFO Mark McCollum took a sip of CleanStim, saying afterward that it "tastes like beer."

Barclays analyst James West later followed up, saying "I can tell you it doesn't taste like beer."

--Leslie Moore Mira, leslie_moore@platts.com