Oilfield services firms Schlumberger, Halliburton, Baker Hughes (now a GE subsidiary) and Weatherford saw their revenues fall by a combined $1bn in 1Q 2018 versus 4Q 2017. Their CEOs remain cautious. Despite oil prices recently topping $70/B for the first time since 2014, the upstream and integrated oil firms on whom services firms rely for contracts remain in ‘economy mode’ – a return to record revenue and profits seen in 2013 and 2014 looks highly unlikely.
Global number one services firm Schlumberger is unique among its peers to have consistently posted profits throughout the lean years. But its profits and revenue for Q1 were down on the second half of 2017, and this despite the continued rise in oil prices (see chart). Of the ‘big three’ Schlumberger’s revenue fell 4% quarter-on-quarter, Haliburton’s by 3% and Baker Hughes’ by 6% (see table). (CONTINUED - 1643 WORDS)
