Schlumberger beat expectations with a rise in fourth-quarter profit on Friday as higher crude and natural gas prices drove demand for the world’s largest oilfield services company.
Oil prices surged about 50 percent last year and are trading at seven-year highs on a COVID-19 vaccine-fueled demand recovery and tight supplies. The global rig count was 1,563 at the end of the fourth quarter, up around 42 percent from a year ago, Baker Hughes data shows.
