As oilfield services firms begin releasing their first-quarter results, leading players are highlighting the impact of the conflict in the Middle East. They are also voicing their expectations for how it will continue to affect their operations in the coming months.

SLB, the world’s largest oilfield services company by market share, posted first-quarter revenue of $8.72bn, representing an increase of 3% year on year (y/y) and net income attributable to the company of $752mn, down 6% y/y. Meanwhile, revenue from the company’s Middle East and Asia segment came in at $2.69bn for the first quarter, representing a 13% decline y/y and a 17% decrease on the fourth quarter of 2025. Indeed, the Middle East accounted for all of this decline, with SLB noting that both onshore and offshore revenue had grown in Asia.

On top of seasonally lower activity in the region, SLB pointed to disruptions relating to the conflict, including in Qatar owing to the declaration of force majeure and in Iraq and offshore operations across the region owing to production shut-in constraints and security conditions.

“It was a challenging start to the year as widespread disruptions in the Middle East impacted our business,” stated SLB’s CEO, Olivier Le Peuch. “The impact was most pronounced in Well Construction and Reservoir Performance, as SLB demobilised operations in a number of countries in response to customer actions to safeguard personnel and facilities.”

On the company’s earnings call, Le Peuch added that SLB expected “many countries to accelerate efforts to diversify supply, strengthen domestic resource development and rebuild strategic and commercial inventories that have been drawn down during the conflict”.

This is expected to translate into a “constructive macro environment for upstream investment over the coming years”, according to Le Peuch. In the near term, SLB expects activity to be led by restoration of flows and capacity in the Middle East. Beyond the region, it anticipated that short-cycle activity will strengthen first, particularly in North America and parts of Latin America, where operators can respond quickly to higher prices. At the same time, the company expects renewed momentum in long-cycle developments, especially in deepwater markets, “as customers look to secure durable, large-scale sources of supply”.

Meanwhile, Halliburton posted first-quarter net income of $461mn, up from $204mn a year ago but down from $589mn in the fourth quarter of 2025. The company’s first-quarter revenue came in at $5.4bn, unchanged y/y. However, Halliburton’s Middle East/Asia revenue was $1.3bn, down 13% y/y, with the decrease primarily driven by lower activity across multiple product service lines in Saudi Arabia and decreased drilling-related services in Qatar.

“I believe the situation in the Middle East will have meaningful and long-lasting implications for the global energy sector,” Halliburton’s chairman, president and CEO, Jeff Miller, said on the company’s earnings call.

Miller went on to echo similar expectations to Le Peuch as far as the impact on the oil and gas industry goes.

“First, energy security is no longer simply a talking point. It demands action by every nation to ensure a reliable supply of oil and gas,” Miller said. “I expect we will see increased investment in localised oil and gas developments and urgency to diversify sources of oil and gas for those countries without their own resources. Second, recovery of oil and gas production and inventories will not be a quick or simple process. Cumulative production deficits are in the several hundreds of millions of barrels and trending towards a billion. This represents several years of meaningful incremental demand to replace strategic reserves on top of what I believe will be continued structural demand growth.”