Halliburton says it could move quickly to Venezuela if it meets its quarterly profit expectations
Halliburton exceeded analysts' expectations for fourth-quarter profits on Wednesday. This was due to the steady demand of its equipment and services in international markets. The company also announced that it will re-enter Venezuela once commercial and legal issues, such as payment certainty, are resolved.
Houston-based Halliburton, which launched the earnings season of U.S. oilfield service providers, focused on international markets. This included Latin America, Europe, and Africa. North America drilling activity and production has been tepid. Halliburton, one of the oil companies who met with the White House in the first week of January to discuss investment opportunities in Venezuela following the U.S. removal President Nicolas Maduro from office in early January, was present at the meeting. Jeff Miller, CEO of Halliburton, said on a conference call following the company's earnings that "I believe we could scale up fairly quickly" (in Venezuela). He added that the company is working to obtain?licenses that will allow it to operate within the country. Halliburton claimed that it could quickly move equipment into Venezuela and said it would be "fairly simple" to become operational.
"We are assessing what would we do and where would we start (in Venezuela). "My phone is ringing non-stop with interest about Halliburton's presence in Venezuela. We are confident and excited that we can move quickly and efficiently in Venezuela," Miller said.
Miller stated that the Venezuelan market is small compared to what it was a decade earlier, when Halliburton made a half billion-dollar profit.
Early trading saw shares of the oilfield service company rise 4.3% to $33.44.
GROWING INTERNATIONAL?REVENUE, NORTH AMERICAN FLOAT
Halliburton said that the international division's revenue rose by 2.9% in the third quarter to $3.5 billion. This was due to increased completion tool sales, particularly in Brazil, North Sea, and the Caribbean as well as in Mexico. Earnings were also boosted by improved well construction in Africa and increased stimulation activity in Angola.
The company expects that international activity will remain the same or even increase modestly over the next few years.
North America revenue was also flat at $2.2 Billion. Halliburton said that they expect North America revenues to drop by high single-digits in 2026 compared to the 2025 figures.
According to LSEG estimates, the company reported an adjusted profit per share of 69?cents for the three-month period ended December 31. This compares with analyst expectations of 55?cents.
It recorded a pretax charge of 83 million dollars, which was partly due to an impairment of assets that were held for sale as well as severance expenses.
(source: Reuters)
