Schlumberger Ltd, the world's No.1 oilfield services provider, reported a bigger-than-expected quarterly profit as its cost-cutting efforts helped soften the impact of reduced global drilling activity.
Shares of Schlumberger, which provides drilling technology and equipment to oil and gas companies, rose 1.3% to $85 in extended trading.
Schlumberger under Chief Executive Paal Kibsgaard has cut 20,000 jobs in 2015 and scaled back spending in response to weak crude prices.
"We believe that the North American rig count may now be touching the bottom, and that a slow increase in both land drilling and completion activity could occur in the second half of the year," Kibsgaard said in a statement on Thursday.
The company said it now expects E&P investment in North America to fall by more than 35%. The company in April forecast North American E&P spending to drop more than 30%.
Cost of revenue fell 23% to $7.12 billion in the second quarter ended June 30, from a year earlier.
The company earned 88 cents per share, handily beating the average analyst estimate of 79 cents per share, according to Thomson Reuters.
Recommended Reading
EQT’s Toby Rice: US NatGas is a Global ‘Decarbonizing Force’
2024-03-21 - The shale revolution has unlocked an amazing resource but it is far from reaching full potential as a lot more opportunities exist, EQT Corp. President and CEO Toby Rice said in a plenary session during CERAWeek by S&P Global.
Watson: Implications of LNG Pause
2024-03-07 - Critical questions remain for LNG on the heels of the Biden administration's pause on LNG export permits to non-Free Trade Agreement countries.
Venture Global Seeks FERC Actions on LNG Projects with Sense of Urgency
2024-02-21 - Venture Global files requests with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission for Calcasieu Pass 1 and 2 before a potential vacancy on the commission brings approvals to a standstill.
Belcher: Election Year LNG ‘Pause’ Will Have Huge Negative Impacts
2024-03-01 - The Biden administration’s decision to pause permitting of LNG projects has damaged the U.S.’ reputation in ways impossible to calculate.
Despite LNG Permitting Risks, Cheniere Expansions Continue
2024-02-28 - U.S.-based Cheniere Energy expects the U.S. market, which exported 86 million tonnes per annum (mtpa) of LNG in 2023, will be the first to surpass the 200 mtpa mark—even taking into account a recent pause on approvals related to new U.S. LNG projects.