![](\"https:\/\/fortune.com\/img-assets\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/GettyImages-74912689-e1745352304672.jpg?w=2048\")
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
The U.S. oil sector has entered the \u201cearly innings\u201d of a rebound with more growth to come, Halliburton chairman and CEO Jeff Miller said Tuesday, explaining that the Iran war is forcing countries to prioritize energy security by capturing more barrels both domestically and from other regions outside the Middle East.<\/p>\n
Amid the pain of higher prices at the pump and in supply chains, there are bright spots for oilfield services companies like Halliburton, which conducts drilling and fracking work (hydraulic fracturing), as oil production ramps up around the world to make up for disruptions caused by the war and the stand-off over the pivotal Strait of Hormuz, through which some 20% of global energy supplies flow. <\/p>\n
Miller kicked off the first earnings season for the industry since the war began by arguing that the sector has fundamentally shifted\u2014at least for a \u201cfew solid years\u201d\u2014with elevated prices and a push to rely less on the Middle East. This is the case even if a deal is reached soon to re-open the Strait of Hormuz chokepoint, Miller said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn North America, we already see the early signs of recovery. Outside of the Middle East, we expect our international business to grow,\u201d Miller said, specifically citing growth in South America and Africa. \u201cEqually important is the view that that energy security is no longer [just] a talking point. That\u2019s going to drive activity, and I think that change is not temporal.\u201d<\/p>\n
Indications that a ramp up of the U.S. oil supply is ahead<\/p>\n
U.S. oil production hit a record high of more than 13.8 million barrels last year, but the volumes plateaued and even decreased slightly amid a global glut of crude oil before the Iran war.<\/p>\n
Commodity prices are expected to remain higher\u2014even if they come down from their current levels\u2014into 2027 and maybe beyond because of the supply chain shocks, logistical problems, heightened geopolitical and insurance risks, and the prolonged timelines for Middle Eastern nations to repair infrastructure and restart their oil and gas supplies.<\/p>\n
While drilling activity and production volumes have not yet ramped up in the U.S., there\u2019s an early indicator that they will: Smaller oil producers\u2014the typical first movers\u2014already are hiring more fracking fleets and keeping drilling rigs contracted for longer.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re in the early innings, and big public companies typically would come later in that cycle,\u201d Miller said. \u201cThe early movers are the smaller companies, but that\u2019s an important move because that early move by small operators is what takes [fleet] capacity out of the market and creates [equipment] tightness.\u201d<\/p>\n
As the world entered 2026 expecting an oversupply of oil, more companies were expected to cut back on their contracted drilling rigs and fracking fleets. Instead, they\u2019ve largely held steady. And Halliburton, which feared less work\u2014more \u201cwhite space\u201d on the calendar\u2014is now virtually fully booked through the second quarter, and the back half of the year is quickly filling up, said Halliburton chief operating officer Shannon Slocum.<\/p>\n
\u201cI am excited about North America. We see a recovery in progress,\u201d Slocum said. \u201cThere are just really constructive conversations about getting back to work and grabbing the value that\u2019s out there, not only now but for the future.\u201d<\/p>\n
The global impact of the Iran war<\/p>\n
Since the beginning of the war, the world has cumulatively lost more than 600 million barrels of oil and is \u201ctrending towards 1 billion,\u201d Miller said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis represents several years of meaningful, incremental demand to replace strategic reserves on top of what I believe will be continued structural demand growth,\u201d Miller argued.<\/p>\n
Halliburton specifically highlighted major growth prospects in South America in Argentina, Brazil, Suriname, and Guyana, as well as in Africa, including Namibia and Nigeria. Miller expressed bullishness on a rebound in Venezuela as well, which is in the process of opening back up to more international investment again after the U.S. arrest of former leader Nicol\u00e1s Maduro.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re making progress in Venezuela. I spent some time there,\u201d Miller said. \u201cWe\u2019re having great discussions with customers. We\u2019re talking about commercial terms. Our facilities there are in better shape than I expected. Clearly, that is an opportunity. There\u2019s work to do without question. I think some of that work comes faster than others, but we\u2019re really, really pleased to be back in Venezuela and have Venezuela back in business.\u201d<\/p>\n
Halliburton reported first-quarter net income of $461 million, up from $204 million year-over-year. The company touted that it\u2019s growth outpaced losses from Middle East disruptions in March.<\/p>\n
Halliburton\u2019s operations were hit the hardest in Iraq and Qatar, although operations also were impacted in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and the United Arab Emirates, Slocum said.<\/p>\n
\u201cHalliburton\u2019s operational footprint is intact. Most of our business is working today,\u201d Slocum said of the Middle East. \u201cWe\u2019re in constant contact with our customers and there to support them when they\u2019re ready and able to go back to work.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe thing you\u2019ll start seeing first moving is probably just turning back on wells,\u201d Slocum said. \u201cThat would be a well-by-well situation of how they produce and how they flow. The longer they get shut in, the more complex that gets. But we\u2019re ready, and it will just take time to figure that out.\u201d<\/p>\n
#Halliburton #U.S #oil #rebound #enters #early #innings #Iran #war #triggers #longlasting #global #shift<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The U.S. oil sector has entered the \u201cearly innings\u201d of a rebound with more growth…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[245],"tags":[517,518,451,3093,7780,423,9475,9476,376,1879,303,3718,1953,7229,722,684],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/stock999.top\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4475"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/stock999.top\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/stock999.top\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stock999.top\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stock999.top\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4475"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/stock999.top\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4475\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/stock999.top\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4475"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stock999.top\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4475"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stock999.top\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4475"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}