Eastern Hemisphere holds best growth prospects

Gary Park

Petroleum News Calgary correspondent

Europe and the former Soviet satellites have bounced Canada from second place behind the United States in purchases of oil and gas drilling equipment and services from Weatherford International.

The Bermuda-domiciled, Houston-based company sees a major shift in the global balance, with drilling and completions now accounting for 60 percent of the industry’s total spending, Chief Executive Officer Bernard Duroc-Danner told a third-quarter conference call.

He said business in the Eastern Hemisphere, with the Middle East, West Africa, Russia and the Caspian setting the pace, increased by 7.7 percent and the fourth-quarter is likely to be a repeat.

For Weatherford, there is a three-pronged strategy to capture industry spending: Growing its share of Eastern Hemisphere business; aggressively cutting costs; and consolidating the U.S. offshore market.

But for now, Duroc-Danner, said U.S. interest is “stubbornly” land-based, with no gains in the Gulf of Mexico.

He expects the U.S. market will drop to only 25 percent of industry-wide spending, while Canada will settle below 10 percent.

Weatherford’s total revenue for the latest quarter was $660.8 million, compared with $584.93 million in the same period of 2002.