News Breakbulk & Project Cargo
Reconstruction and resupply
Oilfield services majors bank on flood of war-linked oil, gas projects
SLB estimates the Iran war has cut global oil and gas supply by over 500 million barrels. Suphanat Khumsap / Getty Images
By Autumn Cafiero Giusti
Despite supply chain disruptions and logistics cost increases caused by the US-Israeli war with Iran and the subsequent closure of the Strait of Hormuz, the world’ s three largest oilfield services providers are forecasting a windfall of oil and gas projects in the coming years. Should they materialize, the projects would result in a flood of orders for industrial project cargo and breakbulk steel shipments globally.
Executives with Baker Hughes, Halliburton and SLB echoed one another’ s market outlook that came in their latest quarterly earnings statements, all of which were released in late April. The three Houston-based companies, key drivers of oil and gas project cargoes, face significant exposure to market volatility in the Middle East.
During SLB’ s first-quarter earnings call April 24, CEO Olivier Le Peuch said global oil and gas supply has lost over 500 million barrels of oil production because of the war in Iran.
“ In this environment, energy security remains at the forefront.”
“ In this environment, energy security remains at the forefront,” Le Peuch said.“ We expect many countries to accelerate efforts to diversify supply, strengthen domestic resource development and rebuild strategic and commercial inventories that have been drawn down during the conflict.”
War-related disruptions in the Middle East— including energy infrastructure shutdowns in Qatar and Iraq and operational interruptions throughout the region— took a toll on SLB in the first quarter, with net income sliding 6 % year over year.
Le Peuch cited three primary drivers of global energy projects for 2027 and 2028: the replenishment of depleted oil and gas inventories, the diversification of supply, and countries investing in local oil and gas projects to support long-term energy independence.
“ The fragility of the global energy complex we are witnessing today demonstrates the strategic importance and long-term value of oil and gas,” he said.
‘ A solid few years’
Halliburton expects the Middle East conflict to drive long-term growth from countries seeking energy security through investments in their own oil and gas projects. The company’ s first-quarter net income shot up 126 % year over year, but executives say rising logistics and fuel costs will drag on profits in the second quarter.
“ The closure of the Strait [ of Hormuz ] has resulted in our use of alternative supply chain routes, which has increased logistics costs,” Halliburton COO Shannon Slocum said during the company’ s April 21 first-quarter earnings call.“ We have also seen price increases in purchased materials and supplies related to the conflict.”
Halliburton CEO Jeffrey Miller said the conflict has eliminated the supply overhang for global oil and gas markets. With that, energy security has become a core priority fueling project investments and oilfield services activity.
“ The world is fundamentally tighter in oil and gas than it was 60 days ago,” Miller said on the earnings call.
He said the market trend supports a stronger environment for countries to invest in localized oil and gas projects to ensure a reliable energy supply while reducing dependency on shipments from the Middle East. The recent geopolitical disruptions are also creating an urgency to diversify in countries without their own oil and gas resources.
“ Energy security is no longer a talking point,” Miller said.“ That is going to drive activity, and I think that change is not temporal, but a solid few years.”
18 Journal of Commerce | June 2026 www. joc. com