2Q26 Preview: Focus Moves to International Drivers of Activity Given Middle East Production and Spare Capacity Ambitions; Buy SLB, HAL, FTI, and XPRO

Research evidence excerpt

2Q26 Preview: Focus Moves to International Drivers of Activity Given Middle East Production and Spare Capacity Ambitions; Buy SLB, HAL, FTI, and XPRO

Goldman Sachs Americas Energy Services

Key Areas of Focus Ahead of 2Q Earnings Season

1. Meaningful potential for activity increases in the Middle East and

exploration/energy security related developments in other regions in 2H26 and into

With incremental clarity on activity additions in the Middle East after the disruption of

the Strait of Hormuz over the last several months, we see increasingly constructive

signals of rigs and crews resuming work in the region, particularly as countries look to

bring production back online. While we see 2Q earnings prints for international services

companies carrying an impact from disrupted operations, we see increasing clarity for

rig and services additions in 2H26, primarily benefiting international OFS names with

high exposure such as SLB. We do not expect increasing activity to materially impact the

OFS sector’s earnings results until 4Q26 into 2027 as we expect the region to continue to

bring activity online through the month of July. As a result, we anticipate the market to

look through impacted 2Q results and focus on 2027, as countries such as Saudi Arabia,

UAE, Kuwait, Iraq and others ramp production to previous levels and potentially look to

new spare capacity targets. We anticipate activity additions in certain offshore regions,

as well we exploration frontiers, such as Latin America, Africa, and offshore Asia as the

market looks to diversify energy supply after the disruption in the Strait of Hormuz. We

continue to estimate ~6%/4% increases in international activity/spending in 2027/2028,

respectively, which we see driving earnings estimates for international and offshore