(BOE Report)– U.S. oilfield providers supplier Halliburton has been slicing workers in current weeks, in keeping with two sources conversant in the matter, marking the newest workforce discount within the U.S. oil business because it faces rising prices and a interval of decrease costs and volatility. World benchmark Brent crude oil costs have dropped greater than 10% this 12 months amid uncertainty over world commerce insurance policies and because the Group of the Petroleum Exporting International locations and allies increase output. U.S. oil firm ConocoPhillips this week introduced it will reduce as much as 25% of its workers to cut back prices.
The scope of Halliburton’s layoffs was not instantly clear.
Halliburton has rolled out the cuts over a number of weeks, in keeping with the sources, who had been straight concerned in layoffs however not approved to talk publicly. Not less than three enterprise divisions had misplaced between 20% and 40% of staff, the sources mentioned.
Halliburton, the third-largest world oilfield providers firm by income, didn’t reply to a request for remark.
Oilfield providers firms present technical experience, gear, and labor, together with drilling, to assist oil and fuel exploration and manufacturing.
Houston, Texas-based Halliburton had 48,395 staff on the finish of 2024, in keeping with its newest annual report.
The corporate in June mentioned it anticipated a pointy decline in full-year income, because it warned of decrease exercise within the oil and fuel sector. It posted a 33% fall in second-quarter revenue this 12 months amid weaker demand.
On a convention name with analysts after reporting second-quarter earnings, CEO Jeff Miller famous the oilfield providers market appeared very totally different than it did 90 days in the past, citing a slowdown in North America and amongst massive nationwide oil firms elsewhere.
“To place it plainly, what I see tells me the oilfield providers market might be softer than I beforehand anticipated over the brief to medium time period,” he mentioned. Brent crude was buying and selling under $66 on Friday, down practically 20% from this 12 months’s peak north of $82 a barrel in mid-January, as buyers braced for the OPEC+ group’s assembly on Sunday. Reuters earlier reported the group will contemplate elevating output additional at that assembly.
(Reporting by Liz Hampton in Denver and Shariq Khan in New York; Further reporting by Arathy Somasekhar and Georgina McCartney in Houston Modifying by Rod Nickel)
