More oilfield service companies dismissed workers this week and law firms braced for an onslaught of coming bankruptcies in an industry slammed by slumping fuel demand and crashing prices during the coronavirus pandemic. Firms that provide oilfield services and equipment had barely recovered from the 2014-2016 downturn before crude oil prices last month plunged to near two-decade lows.
More oilfield service companies dismissed workers this week after oil prices collapsed to near two-decade lows amid a price war among top producers and falling demand from the spread of the novel coronavirus. Houston, Texas-based NCS Multistage Holdings (NCSM) is cutting about 80 employees, or 20% of its workforce, according to a filing.
Azerbaijan's economy will take a serious hit from decline in global oil prices and the coronavirus pandemic, but economists and officials say reforms undertaken since a financial crisis in 2014 will help to mitigate the impact.
* Graphic: World FX rates in 2020 https://tmsnrt.rs/2RBWI5E. The dollar lost ground on Tuesday as riskier currencies rebounded on tentative hopes that lockdowns may be slowing the spread of the coronavirus in some countries. Bets that the world's biggest crude producers may cut supply to support oil prices also boosted market sentiment.
Oil was little changed on Tuesday as hopes that the world's biggest producers would agree to cut output were tempered by a worsening crude oil glut and the threat of a deeper-than-expected global recession. Brent crude was up 1 cent at $33.06 a barrel by 12:33 p.m. EDT, while West Texas Intermediate crude was up 19 cents to $26.27 a barrel.
The bank best known for asking' what's in your wallet' had some complex trades in its own. After a risky bet on the oil industry went the wrong way last month, Capital One Financial Corporation (COF) sought relief from regulators, a step that raised eyebrows among public watchdogs and Wall Street analysts. On Friday the bank told MarketWatch that it intends to withdraw the request, saying it is not needed.
Oilfield services giant Halliburton (HAL) on Monday said it will lay off an estimated 350 employees in Oklahoma, according to a filing with the state, as the spread of coronavirus and a price war between Russia and Saudi Arabia sent energy prices reeling. The layoffs are anticipated to begin this week at its Duncan, Oklahoma facility, the filing said, and will be permanent.
Texas had one of the best economic records of any U.S. state after the 2008 financial crisis. In this crisis, it faces the prospect of a deep and prolonged downturn. The Lone Star State is exposed to many of the pandemic and shutdown's economic ill consequences, with three cities-- Austin, Houston and Dallas-- home to an abundance of service-sector jobs, especially at risk.
A union official accused Exxon Mobil Corp on Friday of using "scare" tactics and exploiting economic uncertainty caused by the coronavirus pandemic in negotiations with workers at its Baytown, Texas, refinery, allegations the company denied.
By Timothy Puko and Christopher M. Matthews. WASHINGTON-- President Trump promised oil-industry leaders the government would help revive the sector during a much anticipated White House meeting Friday. Chief executives of Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM) and Chevron Corp. (CVX) and leaders of seven other energy companies joined the president as the new coronavirus pandemic slows the economy and ravages the energy business.
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