Halliburton and the other oilfield services giants such as SLB and Baker Hughes have already flagged there would be lower revenues and profits this year amid a decline in oil prices and increased uncertainties about demand, drilling activity, production and drilling costs.
Whenever we hear that more wells are going to be developed, the first thing we think of is the number of wells we can receive for testing, and how we must grow our operations.
Well testing is a per-unit business. You have to send a separator to each well to test the units, and the more wells there are, the larger the investment, as you have to procure more equipment and hire more people, which means more cost. This is where AI can kick in; there are technologies that we have to start pursuing aggressively to gain in efficiency and keep up with all the new business.
Oilfield services companies are among the biggest winners as demand soars on a favorable mix of exploration and offshore activity.