Oil field services giant Schlumberger expects drilling and completions in North America to begin to climb through the second half of 2015 but the global supply/demand balance to remain tight.
The first signs that North American production is flattening after more than a year of significantly lower crude prices are finally beginning to show, the company said in its second quarter earnings release.
The rig count may have finally touched bottom, but the company expects to see a slow increase in both land drilling and completion activity for the rest of 2015.
But the prospect of continued activity from the US shale fields, combined with growing Opec output, should be offset by growing global demand. That could mean upward pressure on prices.
"The latest supply data together with a strong outlook for global oil demand point to a tightening of the global supply-demand balance even with additional supply from Iran," the company said, referring to the expected surge of Iranian crude early next year if a deal to lift sanctions against the country is ratified.
The company reported second quarter profit of $1.12bn on $9bn in revenue, a nearly 30pc drop from the $1.59bn profit in the same quarter in 2014, when revenue was $12.bn.
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