Oil & Gas Field Services
Companies in this industry support oil and gas field operations on a contract basis. Major companies include Baker Hughes, Halliburton, Nabors, National Oilwell Varco, Schlumberger, and Weatherford (all based in the US); as well as China Oilfield Services Limited (China), Saipem (Italy), and Transocean (Switzerland).
Worldwide, the expenditure of oil and gas well drilling and field services industry is forecast to reach about $215 billion by 2025, according to a Westwood Global Energy forecast issued in 2021. Field service locations are determined by oil and gas production and reserves. Some of the largest oil reserves are in Venezuela, Saudi Arabia, Canada, Iran, and Iraq.
The US oil and gas field services industry includes about 10,000 establishments (single-location companies and units of multi-location companies) with combined annual revenue of about $65 billion, according to the most recent Economic Census. Some companies in the industry provide drilling services, but oil and gas well drilling is covered in a separate industry profile.
Competitive Landscape
Demand is driven by oil and gas prices. The profitability of individual companies depends on technical expertise and efficiency of operations. Large companies can offer a broad range of services. Small firms can compete effectively by specializing in a particular type of service or geographic area.
The oil and gas industry has experienced significant upheaval in recent years, partly due to the US shale oil boom and repercussions from supply flooding the market. Oil prices hit a high mark of more than $100 per barrel in mid-2014, and achieving it again in 2022 as a result of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Prices remained in the $50 to $60 range in 2019, but when the COVID-19 pandemic hit in Spring 2020, prices plummeted to below $20 a barrel, creating major industry challenges.
Products, Operations & Technology
Major services include other oil and gas field services which account for about 45% of the industry's revenue, followed by hydraulic fracturing (about
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