（彭博社）“尽管页岩气业务萎缩，全球最大的水力压裂作业供应商哈里伯顿公司仍公布了十几年来最好的第一季度盈利。

这家帮助全球石油和天然气运营商钻探和完成新井的公司周二在一份声明中表示，不包括某些项目的季度收益为 6.79 亿美元。与去年同期相比，国际销售额增长 12%，而北美收入下降 8%。纽约股市上午 9 点 38 分，该股下跌 1.2%。

首席执行官杰夫·米勒在声明中表示，“我们的客户跨市场和资产类型的多年活动计划证实了我对这一升级周期的强度和持续时间的信心。” “我们的国际业务连续第 11 个季度实现同比增长。”

全球最大的油田雇佣工人正处于多年的转型期，远离曾经繁荣的页岩油田，寻求海外更大的增长。

SLB 是主导国际服务业务的较大竞争对手，上周报告了类似的业绩，总收入增长了 13%，而其北美销售额较去年同期下降了 6%。贝克休斯公司将在周二下午晚些时候公布业绩时公布油田服务收益。

哈里伯顿在所有主要页岩盆地中拥有无与伦比的足迹，是最接近美国生产商活动的指标。在 2023 年产量好于预期之后，由于顶级钻井地点库存减少、天然气价格疲软和行业整合，美国页岩油产量目前正处于放缓之中。巴克莱银行 (Barclays PLC) 预计，今年北美生产商支出总额将下降 1%。

据美国能源情报署称，备受关注的预钻井统计（称为压裂测井）上个月发生了逆转。该报告指出，压裂井数量的增长速度低于钻井数量，这再次表明水力压裂市场正在放缓。

(Bloomberg) – Halliburton Co., the world’s biggest provider of fracking work, posted its best earnings for a first quarter in a dozen years despite a shrinking business in the shale patch.

The company that helps oil and gas operators around the globe drill and complete new wells reported quarterly earnings of $679 million, excluding certain items, it said Tuesday in a statement. International sales grew 12% while North America revenue fell 8% compared to a year earlier. Shares fell 1.2% at 9:38 a.m. in New York trading.

“Our customers’ multi-year activity plans across markets and asset types confirms my confidence in the strength and duration of this upcycle,” Chief Executive Officer Jeff Miller said in the statement. “Our international business delivered its 11th consecutive quarter of year-on-year growth.”

The world’s biggest hired hands of the oil field are in the midst of a multi-year pivot away from the once-booming shale patch in search of greater growth overseas.

SLB, a larger competitor which dominates international services work, reported similar results last week with a 13% jump in total revenues while its North American sales dropped 6% from the same period a year earlier. Baker Hughes Inc. will round out oil field-service earnings when it posts results later Tuesday afternoon.

Halliburton, with its unrivaled footprint in all of the major shale basins, offers the closest proxy to U.S. producer activity. After better-than-expected production in 2023, the U.S. shale patch is now in the midst of slowing down amid dwindling inventory for top-tier drilling locations, weaker natural gas prices and industry consolidation. Total North American producer spending is forecast to drop 1% this year, according to Barclays PLC.

The closely watched tally of pre-drilled wells, known as the fracklog, reversed course last month, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. The report indicated that the number of wells fracked grew slower than those drilled, offering another indication of a slowing hydraulic fracturing market.