Environmental groups have for years been concerned that the hazardous chemicals in fracking fluid, which are injected deep into the ground, have the possibility to contaminate drinking water. Halliburton said its new nontoxic fracking fluid, called CleanStim, will provide "an extra margin of safety to people, animals and the environment in the unlikely occurrence of an incident" at a drilling site, the AP reported.

The new fracking fluid is more expensive to make than traditional fluids, the article stated. The source also said environmental groups welcome the new development of the frack fluid, but still have questions about the drilling process.

Halliburton has made numerous attempts in the past to ease environmental concerns of fracturing. In August 2011, a Halliburton executive took a sip of the company's fracking fluid to show how safe it was. The year before, it announced it would disclose the list of chemicals included in its fluid.

PennEnergy's research area offers more details on natural gas exploration in the United States.