By Lisa Beilfuss
Baker Hughes Inc. has suspended the quarterly publication of the
U.S. onshore well count as it seeks to cut costs and continue
publishing its closely watched weekly rig count reports.
As oil markets have been increasingly volatile this year,
industry watchers have paid extra attention to Baker Hughes' weekly
oil rig count, which has fallen sharply since prices headed south
last year.
Those declines haven't yet translated into a drop in actual
output, which is running at multiyear highs, even though they have
squelched production capacity.
The number of U.S. oil drilling rigs--a proxy for activity in
the oil industry--has dropped about 50% from a peak of 1,609 in
October.
Baker Hughes said the suspension of the quarterly well count
report is effective immediately and is in response to the market
downturn that has many oil companies under pressure and looking for
ways to reduce costs.
The company struck a deal in November to be acquired by larger
rival Halliburton Co. for almost $35 billion, underscoring the new
realities for energy companies in a world suddenly awash with
oil.
Oil-field services companies like Baker Hughes and Halliburton,
which are hired to drill and pump wells, are facing less demand for
their services and pressure to cut prices.
Baker Hughes Chief Executive Martin Craighead warned in January
that results in 2015 would be pressured by the drop in oil prices
as the company outlined plans to cut about 7,000 workers--or about
12% of its workforce--mostly during the first quarter.
Write to Lisa Beilfuss at lisa.beilfuss@wsj.com
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