At Tuesday’s Cowen & Company Energy and Natural Resources Conference, a Schlumberger oilfield services executive warned fourth quarter expectations could weaken the company’s profitability due to weaker than expected demand for hydraulic fracturing services in North America.
Patrick Schorn, Executive Vice President of Wells, said Houston-based Schlumberger saw a larger than expected drop in activity and pricing for the company’s North American hydraulic fracturing services during the fourth quarter.
“This is resulting in a sequential reduction in our total North America revenue in the range of 15 percent,” said Schorn. “We continue to see the weakening of the hydraulic fracturing market as temporary, with the expectation of a gradual recovery taking place over the first half of 2019.”
With more than 100,000 employees in 85 nations, Schlumberger reported a $644 million profit on $8.5 billion of revenue during the third quarter.