Oilfield services providers are accelerating M&A to outlast shrinking...
Oilfield services providers are accelerating M&A to outlast shrinking customer bases, rising costs, and industry headwinds.
A wave of upstream E&P mergers, especially in the Permian Basin, has reduced the number of independent producers, squeezing demand for oilfield services.
The sector also faces macroeconomic uncertainties from tariff and trade volatility, as well as rising production from the OPEC+ cartel, according to Fitch Ratings' June report.
The sector “is experiencing a slowing of activity in 2025, with a decrease in rig counts in both the U.S. and internationally compared to this time last year,” Fitch Ratings Associate Director Brittany DeWilkins wrote.
A slowdown in offshore activity also has several offshore drillers “seeing increased white space” and a softening spot market, according to Fitch.
SLB Closes $7.76B ChampionX Purchase After Prolonged Review
Oilfield services firms SLB and ChampionX closed their multibillion-dollar...
Oilfield services firms SLB and ChampionX closed their multibillion-dollar merger after over a year of regulatory scrutiny.
The two firms have worked to close the $7.76 billion all-stock transaction since it was announced on April 2, 2024.
By acquiring ChampionX, SLB is expanding its footprint in the production and recovery segment, a growth priority for operators seeking to extend the life of aging assets and minimize declines.
The companies also expect to realize at least $400 million per year in savings within three years through revenue gains and cost savings.
SLB aims to distribute $4 billion to shareholders this year.
The president said he’ll send a tariff letter to more than 150 countries
President Trump has already sent out about two dozen letters warning...
President Trump has already sent out about two dozen letters warning of higher tariff rates slated to take effect Aug. 1 if trading partners (like the EU, Japan, and South Korea) don’t reach new deals with the US, and he said yesterday that he plans to send a single letter to another 150 countries. Trump said the rate would be the same for all those countries, explaining, “They’re not big countries, and they don’t do that much business.” Trump said the tariff rate for those countries hadn’t been determined yet, but that it would probably be 10% or 15%.
Trump criticizes his supporters over “Epstein Hoax.” The...
Trump criticizes his supporters over “Epstein Hoax.” The Justice Department’s announcement that there is no “client list” to release from the late financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein has rankled members of the president’s base who expected a bombshell revelation, and yesterday, President Trump expressed frustration on Truth Social with his own supporters for not letting it go. The president posted, “My PAST supporters have bought into this ‘bullshit,’” calling them “weaklings” who were doing the Democrats’ work for them, and saying “I don’t want their support anymore!” The Epstein case has also reportedly led to a rift within the administration, with Deputy FBI Director Dan Bongino taking issue with Attorney General Pam Bondi’s decision not to release more information.
United Airlines issued a new forecast for the year, after previously pulling its old one amid economic uncertainty, with its CEO saying: “The world is less uncertain today than it was during the first six months of 2025.” Delta reinstated its full-year forecast last week.
Scale AI is laying off 14% of its workforce, about a month after Meta made a multibillion-dollar investment in the company and hired its CEO.
Israel launched airstrikes on Syria’s capital, Damascus, amid fighting between the Syrian government and the Druze minority. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio later said all sides had agreed to specific steps to end the violence.
The US deported five migrants it described as violent, convicted criminals to the African nation of Eswatini, as it ramps up deportations to countries that are not migrants’ countries of origin.
Maurene Comey, the daughter of former FBI Director James Comey and a prosecutor on Jeffrey Epstein’s case, was reportedly fired from her position as a federal prosecutor.
EIA Settles Market With Reports of US Oil Inventories Falling
Crude oil inventories in the United States decreased...
Crude oil inventories in the United States decreased by 3.9 million barrels during the week ending July 11, according to new data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) released on Wednesday. The build brings commercial stockpiles to 422.2 million barrels according to government data, which is still 8% below the five-year average for this time of year.
The EIA’s data release follows a rocky Tuesday after conflicting API inventory data shook oil bulls to their core, with initial reports on X suggesting that crude oil inventories had grown by 19.1 million bpd—a figure that would have been the largest recorded inventory build in API’s history. With the markets still reeling, a different, more sober figure emerged, showing an 800,000-barrel build in crude inventories.
