Uche Cecil Izuora
The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Baker Hughes, Lorenzo Simonelli, has made a forecast suggesting that investment in oil and gas production is set to rise as disruptions from the Iran war spur a global push for energy security.
The company, one of the world’s largest oilfield service providers, anticipates a rebound in upstream investment in the second half of 2026 and into 2027, Simonelli said during an interview on Bloomberg Television.
“Think of Latin America, also North America, Southeast Asia, Africa — the diversity of supply is there,” Simonelli said. “Also, with a resolution of the conflict, we see the Middle East starting to come back. The demand is out there.”
The comments come after rival Halliburton Co. said it saw demand picking up from oil firms in North America in early signs of a resurgence in activity. The industry projects fresh opportunity as domestic crude benchmark prices hover above $90 a barrel.
Baker Hughes rose as much as 6 per cent to $68.36, the highest since 2016, after reporting first-quarter earnings that beat analyst estimates Thursday. Strong performance from its segment that manufactures natural gas turbines used in liquefied natural gas production and data centers added to the gains