PE Live: OFSE sector being reshaped by downturn

Oilfield services and equipment companies that survive the era of low prices are likely to emerge leaner, more innovative and with a greater focus on green energy

The dramatic fall in demand and prices for oil and gas due to the Covid-19 pandemic is forcing oilfield services and equipment (OFSE) companies to reinvent their business models, participants in the fourth PE Live webcast heard today. “In more than 20 years, I cannot remember fundamentals deteriorating so quickly. And there is still plenty of uncertainty to how markets will develop, whether demand will ever go back to pre-crisis levels and what it all means for the OFSE sector,” says Celine Delacroix, global head of oilfield services at professional services firm EY. This OFSE sector was still recovering from the 2014-15 oil price crash when the pandemic started but “it is sad to say that th