Other stories: Top 10 Middle East oil & gas events in 2010 | World’s 10 largest oilfield technology companies | World’s 10 largest petrochemicals companies | Oil industry giants: ADNOC | Oil industry giants: Saudi Aramco | Top 10 MENA Region mega projects | Top 10 billion dollar oil deals of the summer | 2009’s winners and losers in the oil industry | 10 events in oil’s history that shook the world | Top 10 Gulf mega projects | Top 10 largest publicly traded oil companies | World’s 10 largest oilfield services companies | World’s 10 largest oil and gas contractors
The oilfield services giant Halliburton has announced revenues of US$14.7 billion for 2009, down 20% from the $18.3 billion it enjoyed 2008.
In a statement Halliburton, which has joint headquarters in Houston and Dubai also said that profits for 2009 dropped to $1.2 billion, or $1.28 per diluted share, compared to $2.6 billion for 2008. The company blamed lack of activity and low demand in the North American oilfield services sector for the decline.
“While weak global demand and volatility in the commodity markets negatively impacted the oil service industry, I am pleased that our results reflect the successful execution of our strategy throughout the year,” Dave Lesar, Halliburton chairman, president, and CEO said.
“Guided by the lessons learned from past industry cycles, our strategy focused not only on managing costs but also on aligning our resources to strengthen our market position.”
“We were able to reinforce the long-term health of our global franchise and position the company for growth through the next up cycle,” he added.
The company’s decline in revenues and profits are reflected in the rest of the oilfield services sector, with most of the larger operators in the industry announcing similar reductions.
Halliburton also had cause for cautious optimism as fourth quarter revenue grew 3% from the third quarter, to $3.7 billion from $3.6 billion and Lesar predicted a brighter 2010 for the company.
“Many operators have announced potential increases in upstream spending for 2010 targeted for new frontier developments and ultra-deepwater where we are well positioned,” Lesar said.
“However, we expect operator investment will remain weighted toward the second half of the year.”
“We believe 2010 will be a transition year as the industry seeks to balance supply growth with recovering hydrocarbon demand. We will continue maintaining our financial flexibility, leveraging our strong balance sheet to invest in our broad service portfolio, and strengthening our long-term market position,” he added.
