Oilfield services companies have lost approximately 49% of their market capitalization since the beginning of this year.

the U.S. the number of yet-to-be-fracked wells hit 8,289 in May, up 22% in a year, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

"Oilfield services companies will no longer be able to generate the high operating margins they did in 2014," Carin Dehne-Kiley, an analyst at S&P, wrote Friday in a report to investors. "The oilfield services industry has fundamentally changed due to permanent efficiency and productivity gains realized by E&P companies as well as investor sentiment calling for E&P companies to live within cash flow and limit production growth."

MEOG - An expected $210bn will be spent on offshore oilfield services globally next year, according to Rystad Energy’s latest project sanctioning report. Offshore contractors have experienced four consecutive years of declining revenues, but those still standing can expect revenues to start growing again next year.

The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced that oil services company Weatherford International has agreed to pay a $140 million penalty to settle charges that it inflated earnings by using deceptive income tax accounting. Two of the company’s senior accounting executives at the time have agreed to settle charges that they were behind the scheme.

The deficit rose to $44.5 billion in June, 8.7 percent higher than a revised May deficit of $41 billion, the Commerce Department reported Friday. It was the biggest gap between what America sells abroad and what the country imports since a $44.6 billion deficit last August.

Even if E&P clients are able to negotiate more favorable terms for their debt, the industry’s overextended balance sheets will put a cap on activity — even if oil prices rise. On the producer side, companies will most likely de-lever before they drill should some extra cash come in the door. For OFS, building all the new equipment such as walking rigs and big frac spreads to meet strong client demand has some players in this sector significantly over-levered.

Amidst the gloomy days of August when Brent Crude bottomed out at $42/bbl, the acquisition of Cameron by Schlumberger ($14.8 billion) took place as one of the largest mergers in the oil patch, following the tie-up of Halliburton and Baker Hughes ($32 billion) in November 2014. This consolidation has resulted in an integrated service & equipment provider covering the full oil & gas lifecycle from reservoir to first flow.

In a keynote speech to attendees of the 2015 Coiled Tubing & Well Intervention Conference & Exhibition, Richard B. Spears, an oil field services market researcher, says the worst may be yet to come for that market, but a partial recovery also could come sooner than expected.

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