The collapse in oil prices from the second half of 2014 led majors to take an ax to what they acknowledge had been bloated capex budgets. From $196bn in 2013 and $175bn in 2014, the five supermajors’ collective capex had fallen to just $97bn for 2017, with only a slight uptick planned for this year (MEES, 9 February).
Key oilfield services firms have felt the heat. Collective profits for the biggest two, Schlumberger and Halliburton, collapsed from $9bn for 2013 and 2014 to less than $2bn for 2017 (and a combined loss for 2016 – see chart). They notched up a relatively strong first nine months of 2018 on the back of booming output from US shale formations. But a recent sharp downturn here means it is far from clear that their 2018 full-year figures will mark a sharp improvement on 2017 (MEES, 26 October). (CONTINUED - 2541 WORDS)
