Halliburton said this morning a pricing downturn that’s been plaguing the oilfield services sector is bottoming out, as it reported modestly higher activity levels in North America in the first quarter from a year earlier, CNBC reports.
Oilfield services providers have been struggling with a tightening of spending by U.S. oil producers as they rein in new drilling in response to shareholder pressure for greater returns after a period of heavy investment.
In contrast to comments from top oilfield services provider Schlumberger last week, Halliburton said activity in North America, its largest market, was modestly higher, adding that it expects demand for its services to progress modestly for the next couple of quarters.
Schlumberger last week blamed a 3% decline in quarterly North America revenue on softer pricing and lower activity for its hydraulic fracking and drilling businesses. Read the full story.
