HOUSTON (Bloomberg) –Halliburton Co. sees the pace of the rebound in overseas demand for oilfield services picking up through the rest of the year after the recovery in global crude prices.
“I expect international activity growth to accelerate, and the early positive momentum in North America gives me confidence in the activity cadence for the rest of the year,” CEO Jeff Miller said Wednesday in a statement. “I am optimistic about how this transition year is shaping up.”
Halliburton, the market leader in fracking, and its rival, Baker Hughes Co., both reported better-than-expected first-quarter earnings on a per-share basis, excluding one-time items on Wednesday. The companies forecast growth in global oil markets for the rest of this year. Halliburton fell 2.8% to $19.25 a share at 9:37 a.m. in New York, while Baker Hughes dropped 1.2% amid lower oil prices on Wednesday.
Along with the world’s top oilfield contractor Schlumberger, Baker Hughes and Halliburton are attempting to pivot to overseas markets and away from the North American shale sector, which experienced an historic crash in activity in the past year after the pandemic triggered a crash in oil prices. Halliburton’s results come three months after Miller called for a bottom in international activity in the first quarter.
