Page 16 - NorthAmOil Week 30
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NorthAmOil PERFORMANCE NorthAmOil
Schlumberger posts weakest
sales in 14 years
US OILFIELD services giant Schlumberger has executive vice-president and chief financial
reported a $3.4bn net loss for the second quar- officer, Stephane Biguet, said on the company’s
ter of 2020, down from a profit of $492mn in the earnings call that about 40% of this target had
same quarter a year ago. The company’s revenue, been achieved in the second quarter. Schlum-
meanwhile, fell to $5.4bn from $8.3bn a year ago. berger is aiming to complete the majority of the
This represented the company’s weakest sales in remainder of the cuts by the end of the year.
14 years – though analysts praised it for the dra- The company said its total capital investment
matic steps taken to ensure its performance was budget for 2020 – encompassing capital expendi-
not even worse. tures, multi-client and Asset Performance Solu-
“Hefty cost reduction efforts drove much tions (APS) – had been cut by 45% year on year
Schlumberger saw healthier than anticipated [adjusted] earnings to around $1.5bn. Capex for the year has been
its North American results,” investment bank Tudor, Pickering, Holt cut to $1.1bn, compared with $1.7bn in 2019.
business hit particularly & Co. (TPH) analysts wrote in a note. Like other leading services providers,
hard as shale drilling Schlumberger reported that it had $1bn of Schlumberger saw its North American busi-
fell dramatically. severance charges in the second quarter, associ- ness hit particularly hard in the second quarter
ated with reducing its workforce by more than as shale drillers dramatically scaled back oper-
21,000 employees – or roughly one-fifth of the ations. The company’s North America revenue
total. fell 48% to $1.2bn from $2.8bn a year ago.
In addition to cutting jobs, the firm is in the “The conditions are set in the third quarter
process of permanently removing $1.5bn of for a modest frack completion activity increase
fixed costs, more than half of which are related in North America, though from a very low base,”
to its international business. Schlumberger’s Schlumberger’s CEO, Olivier Le Peuch, stated.
PROJECTS & COMPANIES
Okra Energy subsidiary to deliver
LNG to Mexico’s Énestas
US-MEXICO A subsidiary of US-based Okra Energy has though, that the supply agreement was in line
announced plans to deliver LNG to a customer with its efforts to make LNG and gas liquefac-
in Mexico. tion technology more widely available in Latin
According to a company statement, Okra America.
Energy Alabama (USA) has signed an LNG The deal will benefit Énestas, which uses vir-
supply agreement with Énestas Energy & Gas, tual pipelines to deliver gas to industrial parks,
a privately owned Mexican firm. The deal has a transport operators, greenhouses, mines, ther-
term of five years and may be renewed, and Okra mal power plants (TPPs) and other commer-
Energy Alabama (USA) will source the LNG cial users in Mexico. Caio Zapata, the Mexican
from the 100,000 gallon per day (gpd) gas lique- firm’s CEO, said: “This supply contract with
faction plant that it is now building in McIntosh, Okra Energy Alabama will allow us to continue
Alabama, about 45 miles (72 km) away from the [to] improve our distribution capabilities in
port of Mobile. Mexico.”
Presumably Énestas will take delivery of the Okra Energy Alabama has also hailed the
LNG at its recently completed terminal on Mex- agreement, saying it was pleased to be involved
ico’s Gulf coast. The terminal, which is the first in the delivery of cleaner-burning natural gas to
dual LNG/ethane import facility in Mexico, is Mexico. “We’re proud to bring new technologies
outfitted with automated storage facilities and an and enhanced energy sector jobs to Washing-
unloading system that can handle mid-size ves- ton County through our supply contract with
sels with a capacity of up to 22,000 cubic metres. Énestas Energy & Gas, [which shares] our belief
The US company has not revealed the value that access to natural gas is a basic asset for the
of the deal or the volume of LNG it intends to development of any country,” said Mark Clark,
deliver to Énestas. It did say in the statement, the company’s CEO.
P16 www. NEWSBASE .com Week 30 30•July•2020
