Oil service companies of the Russian Federation, which were previously part of the global “Big Four,” at the end of last year reduced their profits despite stable or growing revenues. The reason is limited access to technology, declining oil production, high interest rates and pressure on the cost of services. Experts expect the industry’s profitability to recover in the first half of this year, although the conflict in the Middle East could bring additional orders to the sector in the second half of the year.
Burservis, Schlumberger and Weatherford, members of the “Big Four” of the Russian oilfield service market, reduced their net profit in 2025 by 19–80%, according to the companies’ reports. A year earlier, the profit dynamics of Burservice and Weatherford were positive.
The most noticeable deterioration in indicators was in Schlumberger (structure of the American SLB), which reduced net profit by 81% year-on-year, to 823.1 million rubles, revenue by 23.6%, to 20.5 billion rubles, gross profit by 11.3%, to 5.2 billion rubles.
Net profit “Burservice” (a former division of Halliburton) fell by 19%, to 11.4 billion rubles, gross – by 8.2%, to 17 billion rubles, revenue increased by 11.2%, to 53.2 billion rubles. Net profit “Weatherford” (part of the American Weatherford) decreased by 26.9%, to 4.93 billion rubles, gross – by 11.9%, to 8.3 billion rubles, revenue increased by 0.7%, to 25.9 billion rubles.
Fourth player – “OFS Technologies” (a former division of the American Baker Hughes) – did not disclose reports for 2024–2025. According to the managing partner of Kasatkin Consulting, Dmitry Kasatkin, the revenue of OFS Technologies is in the range of 55–65 billion rubles, and net profit in 2025 is highly likely to decrease. The companies did not provide comments.
Advance Capital Managing Partner Karen Dashyan attributes the sharp deterioration in Schlumberger’s performance to the inability to operate in the previous global model: the company has limited access to head office support, updates and technology. Equipment wears out, and replacement requires localization or the search for alternatives, the expert explains.
In addition, Mr. Dashyan continues, production in Russia has dropped, projects with hard-to-recover reserves have been stopped, the sale of Vostok Oil to Rosneft has not yet begun, which has also affected Schlumberger’s load and revenue.
As Bloomberg reported, in 2025, production drilling volumes in Russia decreased by 3.4% year-on-year, to 29.14 thousand km, which was the minimum in three years.
A decrease in profits while oil service companies have stable or growing revenues is the result of simultaneous pressure from several factors, says Dmitry Kasatkin. According to him, the combination of relatively low oil prices and the strengthening of the ruble led to a more conservative approach by oil companies to CAPEX and OPEX and, as a result, tightening contract conditions for contractors. An additional factor was the cost of financing: the average annual key rate of about 19% is critical for the capital-intensive oilfield services industry. For companies with revenue of 20–50 billion rubles. additional interest expenses may amount to RUB 1–3 billion. per year, Mr. Kasatkin calculated.
Karen Dashyan notes that the oilfield services sector has been operating under stressful conditions in recent years: oil companies are optimizing investment programs and putting pressure on the cost of services, while contractors’ costs for personnel, repairs, logistics, equipment and components are increasing. As a result, the expert notes, even with the same or slight increase in revenue, net profit may decline or stagnate.
According to Mr. Dashyan’s forecast, a rapid recovery of net profit in the sector should not be expected in the first half of this year. The revenue of individual companies may remain stable due to work at mature fields and maintaining production, but margins are likely to remain under pressure, the expert believes. According to Dmitry Kasatkin, despite all the restrictions, the Middle East conflict continues to play into the hands of all players in the oil and gas market. But, he adds, most likely, the positive environment will be reflected in the growth of orders in the second half of the year.
