Halliburton cuts workforce as oil activity declines, sources claim

Halliburton, a U.S. oilfield service provider, has cut staff in recent months, according to sources who are familiar with the issue. This is the latest reduction of workforce in the U.S. petroleum industry, which faces increasing costs, a period when prices have dropped and there is volatility. The global benchmark Brent crude oil price has dropped by more than 10% in the past year due to uncertainty about trade policies around the world and the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its allies increasing production. ConocoPhillips, a U.S. oil firm, announced this week that it would reduce its costs by cutting up to 25% of staff.

It was not immediately apparent the extent of Halliburton’s layoffs.

Halliburton is rolling out its cuts over a period of several weeks, say sources who have been directly involved with layoffs, but are not authorized to publicly speak. The sources reported that at least three divisions lost between 20 and 40 percent of their employees.

Halliburton did not reply to a comment request. It is the third largest global oilfield service company in terms of revenue.

Oilfield service companies offer

Technical expertise, equipment and labor, including drill,

Support oil and gas exploration, production and development.

According to the company's latest annual report, Halliburton, based in Houston, Texas, will have 48,395 workers by 2024.

In June, the company warned that it would experience a steep decline in revenue for the full year due to lower activity in oil and gas. The company reported a 33% drop in its second-quarter profits this year due to weaker demand.

In a conference with analysts following the release of second-quarter earnings by CEO Jeff Miller, the CEO noted that the oilfield service market looked very different from 90 days earlier, citing a slower pace in North America as well as among other large national oil companies.

He said: "What I see is that the oilfield service market will be weaker than I had anticipated in the short-to-medium term." Brent crude traded below $66 a barrel on Friday. This is down almost 20% from the peak of this year, which was north of $82 a barrel in mid-January. Investors were preparing for Sunday's OPEC+ meeting. Earlier, it was reported that the group would consider increasing output at this meeting.

(source: Reuters)