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Schlumberger Second Quarter 2021 Results; Q2 Revenue Comparison

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   |    Wednesday,July 28,2021

Schlumberger reported results for the second-quarter 2021.

Highlights:

• Global revenue of $5.6 billion increased 8% sequentially
• International revenue was $4.5 billion and North America revenue was $1.1 billion
• EPS of $0.30 increased 43% sequentially
• Cash flow from operations was $1.2 billion and free cash flow was $869 million
• Board approved quarterly cash dividend of $0.125 per share

Q2 Revenue Comparison

Q2 Revenue by Region

Schlumberger CEO Olivier Le Peuch commented, “Our second-quarter results demonstrate the broad strength of our portfolio, the extent of our market participation—both in North America and internationally—and our enhanced ability to capture and translate activity growth into sustained margin expansion and strong free cash flow. The quarter marks a leap forward in achieving our full-year financial targets with the potential for further upside given the right conditions. As I reflect on the progress we have made since last year, I want to acknowledge the entire Schlumberger team whose exemplary commitment to safety and performance has not wavered despite the challenges. Once again, I am extremely proud of our people for their dedication and resilience, and for delivering a strong quarter, clearly seizing the beginning of the upcycle.

“Second-quarter global revenue grew 8% sequentially, outperforming the rig count growth in both North America and the international markets. All four Divisions grew, resulting in the highest sequential quarterly revenue growth rate since the second quarter of 2017.

“In North America, revenue grew 11% sequentially, representing the highest sequential quarterly growth rate for this area since the third quarter of 2017. This performance was driven by US land revenue, which increased 19% due to higher drilling activity and increased sales of well and surface production systems. Well Construction revenue in US land grew more than 30% sequentially, significantly outperforming the rig count growth of 16%. In addition, Canada land revenue increased despite the spring breakup, due to higher Asset Performance Solutions (APS) project revenue, while North America offshore revenue was slightly higher due to sales of subsea production systems.

“International revenue grew 7% sequentially with all four Divisions registering growth. The revenue growth outpaced the international rig count increase—reflecting the depth and diversity of our portfolio—as activity surpassed the impact of the seasonal recovery in the Northern Hemisphere. Many countries posted double-digit sequential revenue growth.

“Globally, the second-quarter revenue growth was led by Reservoir Performance and Well Construction, where activity intensified beyond the seasonal recovery. Reservoir Performance revenue increased 12% sequentially due to the seasonal activity rebound in the Northern Hemisphere, in addition to higher exploration and appraisal activity. Well Construction revenue increased 9% sequentially from increased drilling activity in US land and broadly across the international markets, particularly offshore. Digital & Integration revenue increased 6% sequentially due to higher sales of digital solutions and higher APS project revenue. Production Systems revenue grew 6%, primarily due to higher sales of well, surface, and subsea production systems.

“Sequentially, second-quarter pretax segment operating income increased 22%. Pretax segment operating margin expanded by 162 basis points (bps) to 14% while adjusted EBITDA margin grew 118 bps to 21%. Adjusted EBITDA margin was the highest since 2018 and pretax segment operating margin reached its highest level since 2015. This performance highlights the impact of our capital stewardship and cost-out measures, which are providing us with significant operating leverage.

“Second-quarter cash flow from operations was $1.2 billion and free cash flow was $869 million. These amounts include a $477 million US federal tax refund. We are very pleased with our cash flow performance which is on track with our full-year target and enabled us to begin deleveraging the balance sheet during the quarter.

“While the rise of the COVID-19 Delta variant and resurgence of related disruptions could impact the pace of economic reopening, industry projections of oil demand reflect the anticipation of a wider vaccine-enabled recovery, improving road mobility, and the impact of various economic stimulus programs. Under this scenario, we believe the momentum of international activity growth that we experienced in the second quarter will continue as the cyclical recovery unfolds. This view is supported by rig count trends, capital spending signals, and customer feedback. In North America, we anticipate the growth rate to moderate; however, drilling activity could still surprise to the upside due to private E&P operator spending.

“Consequently, absent any further setback in the recovery, we continue to see our international revenue growing in the second half of 2021 by double-digits when compared to the second half of last year. This translates into full-year 2021 international revenue growth, setting the stage for a strong baseline as we move into 2022 and beyond.

“During the quarter, we also continued to execute our long-term strategy with advances in Digital and New Energy through our technology and unique partnerships. In addition, we accelerated our commitment to sustainability and decarbonization of our industry. In particular, we took definitive climate change action during the quarter and launched our Transition Technologies portfolio which will aid our clients in meeting their climate change ambitions. Finally, I am very proud that we announced our commitment to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050. Our net-zero emissions target is based on a verifiable, science-based approach that is aligned with the 1.5 degrees Celsius target of the Paris Agreement and includes our Scope 3 emissions.

“Overall, the second-quarter performance and the progress we made on our strategic targets align very well with our long-term financial ambition. We will seize the industry upcycle with strength in our core, will leverage the accretive impact of digital, and will continue building our portfolio of low-carbon energy ventures.

“I am truly excited about Schlumberger in the new industry landscape and our commitment to higher value and lower carbon for our people, our customers, our shareholders, and the global community.””

Other Events

On June 28, 2021, Schlumberger repurchased $665 million of its outstanding 3.300% Senior Notes due September 2021.

On July 22, 2021, Schlumberger’s Board of Directors approved a quarterly cash dividend of $0.125 per share of outstanding common stock, payable on October 7, 2021 to stockholders of record on September 1, 2021.

Revenue by Geographical Area

North America

North America revenue of $1.1 billion increased 11% sequentially, with US land revenue growing 19% due to higher drilling activity and increased sales of well and surface production systems. The North America revenue increase represented the highest sequential quarterly growth rate since the third quarter of 2017. Well Construction revenue in US land grew more than 30% sequentially, outperforming the rig count growth of 16%. In addition, Canada land revenue increased despite the spring breakup due to higher APS project revenue, while offshore revenue was slightly higher due to sales of subsea production systems.

International

International revenue of $4.5 billion grew 7% sequentially outperforming the rig count growth. The revenue increases that all four Divisions experienced was driven by activity that strengthened beyond the impact of the seasonal recovery in the Northern Hemisphere, leading to double-digit sequential revenue growth in several countries.

Revenue in Latin America of $1.1 billion increased 2% sequentially due to double-digit sequential revenue growth in both Argentina and Guyana from higher Reservoir Performance intervention activity. In addition, Ecuador revenue increased due to higher Well Construction activity, partially offset by reduced drilling in Mexico and lower Production Systems revenue in Brazil following strong sales in the previous quarter.

Europe/CIS/Africa revenue of $1.5 billion increased 16% sequentially. This significant growth was driven by activity that strengthened beyond the impact of the seasonal recovery in the Northern Hemisphere, leading to double-digit sequential growth in most of the countries in the area. All four Divisions posted double-digit sequential revenue growth in the area, primarily from higher activity in digital solutions, stimulation, wireline, wellbore drilling including measurements, and fluids.

Revenue in the Middle East & Asia of $2.0 billion increased 4% sequentially. Growth was posted across all countries in the area except for India, which was impacted by COVID-related disruption. Double-digit sequential revenue growth was posted in Qatar, United Arab Emirates (UAE), and East Asia from higher Reservoir Performance and Well Construction activity. The revenue growth was driven by higher activity in wireline, intervention, stimulation, wellbore drilling including measurements, and fluids.

Results by Division

Digital & Integration

 Digital & Integration revenue of $817 million increased 6% sequentially due to strong sales of digital solutions and higher APS project revenue partially offset by lower sales of multiclient seismic data licenses. Growth was led by Canada land from higher APS revenue in addition to higher digital solutions sales in Europe/CIS/Africa.

Digital & Integration pretax operating margin of 33% expanded 147 bps sequentially due to increased high-margin digital solutions sales and improved profitability from APS projects.

Reservoir Performance

 Reservoir Performance revenue of $1.1 billion increased 12% sequentially due to higher activity that surpassed the impact of the seasonal rebound in the Northern Hemisphere, resulting in double-digit sequential revenue growth internationally. Growth was driven by seasonal rebound of activity in Russia, China, and Europe and higher offshore exploration in Guyana and Angola, benefiting wireline and testing activity. Higher activity was also posted in Argentina, Qatar, and the UAE.

Reservoir Performance pretax operating margin of 14% expanded 373 bps sequentially. Profitability was boosted by the seasonal recovery in the Northern Hemisphere, higher offshore and exploration activity, and favorable technology mix in wireline activity in Africa and in the Middle East.

Well Construction

Well Construction revenue of $2.1 billion increased 9% sequentially. Stronger North America and international activity beyond the seasonal rebound in the Northern Hemisphere was supported by the rig count increase. North America revenue growth was driven by US land revenue growth of more than 30%, outpacing the US land rig count increase of 16%, but partially offset by the decline in Canada land revenue due to the spring breakup. International growth was led by double-digit growth in Ecuador, the United Kingdom, Algeria, Angola, Gabon, Nigeria, Russia, Qatar, Iraq, East Asia, and Australia.

Sequentially, Well Construction pretax operating margin of 13% improved by 209 bps due to higher drilling activity following the seasonal recovery in the Northern Hemisphere, higher drilling in US land, increased volume of activity in Europe & Africa and the Middle East, and increased higher-margin offshore exploration activity in Africa.

Production Systems

Production Systems revenue of $1.7 billion increased 6% sequentially. The revenue increase was led by double-digit revenue growth in Russia, the United Kingdom, Norway, Kazakhstan, Turkey, Algeria, China, Kuwait, Qatar, UAE, and Mexico. US land also posted double-digit revenue growth on strong sales of surface and well production systems, outpacing the increase in drilling and completed well counts. Overall revenue growth was driven by higher sales of surface, subsea, and well production systems.

Sequentially, Production Systems pretax operating margin of 10% expanded 146 bps, due to improved profitability from higher sales of surface, well, and subsea production systems.

Quarterly Highlights

Schlumberger’s technology integration, with deep domain knowledge and performance differentiation, continues to earn the confidence of our customers globally. This is reflected in a considerable pipeline of new contract awards across geographies that will drive future growth in Well Construction and Reservoir Performance. Some notable contract awards during the quarter include:

• In Norway, Equinor ASA awarded Schlumberger an integrated contract for up to 23 wells in its Breidablikk development in the North Sea. Schlumberger will supply drilling services, well construction fluids, cementing, electric wireline logging, and completions. Due to the complexity of the reservoir and Equinor’s focus on maximizing the potential of people and assets, the project will implement digital well planning, automation, and advanced remote operations. In addition, a cloud-enabled 3D workflow—developed jointly with Equinor using data from the GeoSphere HD* reservoir mapping-while-drilling service—will be used to optimize well placement in real time. The contract also includes 18 PhaseWatcher* subsea multiphase flowmeters from OneSubsea®, with an option for eight additional units. Work will commence in the spring of 2022.
  
  
• In Iraq, Schlumberger was awarded a contract, valued at USD 480 million, to drill 96 wells in southern Iraq for ExxonMobil, which operates the giant West Qurna 1 Field owned by Basra Oil Company. Building on a track record of integrated well construction performance in Iraq, Schlumberger will drill these wells over a period of 4.5 years, with well designs varying from laterals exceeding 2,000 m, upsized big-bore wells, and barefoot completions. In addition to vast project management experience and state-of-the-art technologies, Schlumberger digital capabilities will further enhance overall project execution, supporting operational safety and optimized drilling efficiency.
  
  
• In the Kingdom of Bahrain, Schlumberger has been awarded a three-year, production enhancement contract—valued at USD 150 million—in the Bahrain Field. This project, which follows a successful pilot phase, will be conducted jointly with Tatweer Petroleum and will integrate fit-for-purpose technologies, including advanced logging and core analysis, extreme extended-reach drilling, and fracture stimulation techniques, to unlock the potential of a key reservoir in the field.
  
  
• ADNOC Offshore awarded Schlumberger a large, five-year contract, valued at USD 381 million, for integrated rigless services for the artificial islands offshore UAE. This is the first contract awarded by ADNOC to integrate all rigless services, including high-rate stimulation, production logging, surface testing, and coiled tubing. Schlumberger will introduce the latest technologies and high-specification equipment to overcome the unique challenges of increasing production from extended-reach laterals.
  
  
• Shell has awarded Schlumberger a contract for the provision of well services including well construction, evaluation, and pumping for a number of their activities in the Gulf of Mexico, Trinidad, and West Africa. Under the multiple year contract, a Schlumberger joint team comprising drilling, evaluation, and completions will provide integration, reliability, and efficiency improvement opportunities in Shell deepwater operations using a combination of unique, fit-for-basin technologies, standard work platforms, and advanced remote operations.

In the offshore markets, Schlumberger Production Systems is positioned to benefit significantly from the recovery by leveraging our subsea technologies, in-country value creation, domain support, and integration capabilities. This differentiated approach is being recognized with increasing awards, resulting in a notable step up in book-to-bill ratio during the quarter. Awards include:

• Petrobras awarded OneSubsea an engineering, procurement, construction, and installation (EPCI) contract, valued at more than USD 180 million, for the provision of subsea production systems equipment and associated services for four development phases of the deepwater Buzios Field offshore Brazil. The project scope includes 21 fit-for-purpose vertical subsea trees, controls systems, and seven subsea power distribution units, as well as installation, commissioning, and services for the life of field. The project will be supported by the OneSubsea Brazil Center of Excellence for Subsea Production Systems (SPS), which will drive in-country value across both equipment and service scopes. Located in the pre-salt area of the Santos Basin, Buzios is one of world’s largest deepwater oil fields.
  
  
• Equinor has awarded a large contract to Subsea Integration Alliance—a non-incorporated strategic global alliance between Subsea 7 and OneSubsea, the subsea technologies, production, and processing systems business of Schlumberger—for its project in the Bacalhau Field, which lies 185 km offshore Brazil in a water depth of 2,050 m. The SPS development includes 19 subsea trees as well as associated subsea equipment, including subsea wellheads, subsea controls and connection systems, and a full completion workover riser.
  
  
• OKEA awarded Subsea Integration Alliance a significant contract for development of the Hasselmus Field in the southern Norwegian Sea. The award scope includes EPCI of the SPS—including the installation of a subsea wellhead, subsea controls, completions installation system, and completion installation tooling. The development—which is expected to add more than 4,400 bbl/d of oil equivalent production at peak—will benefit from the OneSubsea configurable vertical tree platform and rental tooling suite that decouples tooling design from rig-specific interfaces, enabling quicker first oil, which is expected in Q4 2023.
  
  
• OneSubsea has been awarded the second contract under the previously announced 20-year subsea equipment and services master contract—covering the Gulf of Mexico—with Chevron U.S.A. Inc. (Chevron). The contract scope includes the supply of four production trees, a production manifold, flowline connection system, and subsea controls and distribution. Chevron and OneSubsea are taking a collaborative approach by leveraging a preapproved catalog of standard subsea equipment with the goal of increasing contracting efficiencies and lowering costs, while enhancing subsea performance.

Schlumberger’s technology innovation continues to unlock potential for our customers around the world as they increasingly focus on extracting higher value from their assets. During the second quarter, Schlumberger new technologies were adopted at an increasing pace. For example, notable first-time deployments include:

• In China, Schlumberger deployed the CMR-MagniPHI* high-definition NMR service for the first time in the country, completing a logging campaign in Daqing Oilfield on the country’s biggest shale oil exploration project for PetroChina Company Limited. CMR-MagniPHI service porosity and fluids mapping data, combined with FMI-HD* high-definition formation microimager and Litho Scanner* high-definition spectroscopy service data, enabled PetroChina to determine the presence of moveable oil, which is key in shale oil evaluation. As a result, PetroChina was able to book reserves and will be able to maximize production with a stimulation plan optimized for the formation.
  
  
• In Indonesia, Schlumberger used fiber-optic distributed acoustic sensing (DAS) technology for the first time in the country, acquiring high-quality seismic data while saving 20 hours of deepwater rig time for Eni. Using the unique, high-strength fiber-optic wireline conveyance, Eni was able to eliminate the need for a standalone seismic descent by acquiring vertical seismic profile data during the petrophysics logging run. In addition, fiber optic technology acquired high-frequency data across the reservoir section, delivering a higher resolution image while improving efficiency compared to a conventional seismic solution. These results provide a higher level of reservoir definition and improve field appraisal and development plans.
  
  
• Offshore Malaysia, Schlumberger installed a ZEiTECS Shuttle* rigless electrical submersible pump (ESP) replacement system in the world-first dump flood water injection application to increase production efficiency for Repsol. This technology—designed for in situ pumping of water produced from upper aquifer sands downwards for reservoir pressure support—improves efficiency, reduces operating cost, and minimizes production deferment from months to days. By retrieving and redeploying a standard ESP assembly on wireline using the ZEiTECS Shuttle system, Repsol will be able to increase production efficiency while significantly reducing intervention costs and production deferment when compared to previous installations using either a hydraulic workover unit or a coiled tubing barge.

In North America, Well Construction technology, market access, and digital enablement continue to support our broad customer base to achieve new performance benchmarks across multiple basins. These benchmark performances include new drilling records, increased reservoir contact, and higher efficiency. Examples during the quarter include:

• In the Midland Basin, Oxy and Schlumberger teams collaborated to achieve a new drilling milestone using Performance Live* digitally connected service and PowerDrive Orbit* rotary steerable system, drilling 9,506 ft in a 24-hour period. The drilling of this lateral section set a new company-wide 24-hour footage record for any section, and reflects a step change in performance, eclipsing the previous record by more than 20% while keeping the entire lateral in the target zone. This achievement was safely accomplished through cooperation across customer development, asset, and operations teams and Schlumberger drilling and remote operations experts.
  
  
• In East Texas, Schlumberger delivered the fastest one-mile curve and lateral production well in KJ Energy history in the challenging Cotton Valley Formation. One bottomhole assembly comprising all Schlumberger technology—including PowerDrive Orbit G2* rotary steerable system, xBolt G2* accelerated drilling service, and AxeBlade* ridged diamond element bit as a fit-for-basin solution—remotely drilled the 6.75-in curve and lateral in 10.6 days with Performance Live digitally connected service. This performance helped the customer beat their average performance by 28% and previous well record by 24 hours.

Schlumberger continues to scale its digital platform strategy with best-in-class partners, removing barriers to adoption, and providing access to every customer in every basin. Examples from the quarter include:

• Qatar Petroleum Development Company Limited (Japan), also known as QPD, awarded Schlumberger a contract for the provision of on-demand reservoir simulation capabilities covering the Al-Karkara, A-North, and A-South oil fields offshore Qatar. Leveraging the DELFI* cognitive E&P environment, QPD will have access to scalable, cloud-based reservoir simulation resources that will reduce process runtimes and capital costs by eliminating the need for additional infrastructure and software licenses to accommodate peak simulation demand.
  
  
• In Malaysia, Schlumberger announced an agreement for enterprise-scale deployment of advanced digital solutions for PETRONAS enabled by the DELFI cognitive E&P environment and integrated with the OSDU™ Data Platform. This agreement follows the successful deployment of PETRONAS’ LiveFDP program in Malaysia, which leveraged the DELFI Petrotechnical Suite—Schlumberger’s collection of digital solutions for petrotechnical workflows—and the FDPlan* agile field development planning solution. This deployment enabled PETRONAS’ teams to rapidly generate competitive development scenarios across multiple data and functional domains, accelerate its field development planning, and optimize production performance of its assets.
  
  
• Qatar Petroleum (QP) awarded Schlumberger a three-year contract for the provision of digital real-time drilling optimization services. Under the contract, real-time drilling data will be sent from the rig site to QP’s state-of-the-art real-time operations center, where drilling optimization specialists will visualize drilling data in real time and automate QP’s drilling and completions using the latest Schlumberger technology, including the Techlog* wellbore software platform. This project is a key milestone in QP’s Intelligent Oil Field program, which aims to increase production while reducing costs.

Schlumberger’s Transition Technology portfolio of solutions can help customers decarbonize operations by eliminating flaring, reducing fugitive emissions, minimizing CO₂ footprint, and expanding electrification. In addition, Schlumberger technology is increasingly being applied to adjacent, low-carbon and zero-carbon energy opportunities.

• In West Texas, a Schlumberger CO₂ capture technology—the CYNARA* acid gas removal membrane system—has enabled the separation of more than 200 megatons of CO₂ from natural gas for Kinder Morgan, one of the largest midstream operators in North America. Kinder Morgan’s SACROC facility is the world’s first commercial CO₂ plant for enhanced oil recovery applications, in which CO₂ is captured for reinjection into producing reservoirs, avoiding gas flaring and vented emissions. The CYNARA system has a proprietary membrane design with the most efficient surface area in the market, which is critical for scaling CO₂ separation and capture. This provides higher efficiency CO₂ separation without chemicals, reducing cost and environmental impact, while delivering a track record of 99.5% uptime throughout more than 35 years of facility operations.
  
  
• In Russia, Schlumberger helped Rosneft accelerate time to first production by applying a world-first combination of Ora* intelligent wireline formation testing platform sampling and deep transient testing services on wireline with surface testing. This fit-for-basin approach enabled the Rosneft team to effectively and efficiently test multizone reservoirs in remote fields, avoiding more than 7,104 metric tons of CO₂ equivalent emissions and reducing operational time while gathering data to guide faster field development. This new reservoir testing approach incorporating the Ora platform enables earlier gas production by reducing exploration well construction time and optimizing the field appraisal life cycle.
  
  
• Offshore Angola, Eni was able to confirm minimum hydrocarbons in place and reservoir deliverability in just six weeks on its first 2021 well without flaring, using a combination of Schlumberger’s Quanta Geo* photorealistic reservoir geology service and the deep transient testing capability of the Ora platform. Compared to traditional methods, this completely eliminated flaring-related greenhouse gas emissions.
  
  
• In the United Kingdom, a Schlumberger high-temperature geothermal ESP using REDA* pump technology has been deployed for the proof-of-concept power plant well test of the United Downs Deep Geothermal Power Project—the first geothermal power plant in the UK—located in Cornwall. This geothermal ESP technology deployment is producing heated water which will later be converted by the power plant into electricity for the grid, while direct heat will be sent to a new real estate development that will house 10,000 people. The application of REDA pump technology on this project will help demonstrate the potential of the deep geothermal resources in the UK to produce both zero-carbon electricity and heat. REDA Thermal* power-efficient geothermal pumps are engineered to produce with minimal parasitic power load under challenging well conditions in geothermal energy systems, addressing increasing geothermal ESP applications that produce both zero-carbon electricity and heat worldwide.