Middle East success pumps up Halliburton results

Reuters

• Region strong for oil company
• $1.5bn in Middle East in Q4
• ‘Fundamentals remain strong’

US oilfield services company Halliburton has predicted a strong increase in its Middle East activity, and believes the region is set to be one of its best performing international markets in 2024.

During its latest earnings call the energy company revealed $661 million in net income for the last quarter of 2023, down from $716 million in the previous quarter. Its total revenue for the fourth quarter remained flat at $5.7 billion. 

Total 2023 revenue was 13 percent up from 2022 to $23 billion.

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All the company’s divisions achieved their highest operating margins in more than a decade last year. Chairman and CEO Jeff Miller said: “2023 was a great year for Halliburton.”

Halliburton’s international revenue rose 4 percent to $3.3 billion in the fourth quarter of 2023, boosted by activity in the Middle East.

Middle East and Asia revenue amounted to $1.5 billion in the final quarter of 2023, increasing 7 percent sequentially, mainly as a result of improved activity in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Oman, and higher UAE sales of completion tools – used for making drilled wells ready for extraction.

“We believe the Middle East Asia region will likely experience the greatest increases in activity [in 2024], with other regions closely behind as we look out to 2025,” Miller said.

“The fundamentals for oilfield services remain strong,” he added. “I expect oil and gas to remain a critical component of the global energy mix, with demand growth well into the future.

“We see an active tender pipeline with work scopes extending through the end of the decade, which gives me confidence.”

Halliburton expects AI to have a significant impact on its business in the next three to five years.

The Houston-based company partnered with Abu Dhabi state oil company Adnoc to launch RoboWell, an AI-enabled well control operation which enables wells to self-adjust to maximise production.

Miller also envisages strong demand for carbon capture and storage services, for which he is targeting markets such as the Middle East and Latin America.