By Arunima Kumar (Reuters) -Oilfield services giants SLB, Halliburton and Baker Hughes are turning to data centers and related artificial intelligence infrastructure work to drive their next phase of growth as they navigate slowing drilling demand and idle rigs across North America. U.S. oil producers have cut exploration budgets as prices hover in the low […]
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Oilfield giants pivot to booming AI infrastructure as drilling demand wanes
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By Arunima Kumar
(Reuters) -Oilfield services giants SLB, Halliburton and Baker Hughes are turning to data centers and related artificial intelligence infrastructure work to drive their next phase of growth as they navigate slowing drilling demand and idle rigs across North America.
U.S. oil producers have cut exploration budgets as prices hover in the low $60s per barrel, pressured by rising production from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies, while power demand has boomed due to surging AI workloads.
The world’s top oilfield contractors have now jumped on the bandwagon of delivering power equipment, turbines and data solutions to feed the growing appetite for computing and electricity.
“These are clear avenues for growth, given the need for power, especially distributed power generation,” said James West, analyst at Melius Research.
“Investors are clamoring for power-generation exposure… these moves are driving valuation upside.”
QUICK OFF THE BLOCKS
Baker Hughes is seeing strong growth in its Industrial & Energy Technology segment, which houses its NovaLT gas turbines, grid systems and digital platforms.
The unit logged more than $4 billion in new orders in the third quarter, pushing backlog to a record $32 billion.
Its turbines are being deployed to hyperscale data centers, while its Cordant Asset Health platform helps monitor uptime and efficiency.
“Baker Hughes has already booked 1.2 gigawatts of data center solutions this year,” analyst West said.
Halliburton is leaning into its partnership with Texas gas-generation provider VoltaGrid, which recently announced a 2.3 gigawatt deployment to support Oracle’s next-gen AI data centers.
“The demand for power and for AI is like nothing I’ve ever seen,” said CEO Jeff Miller.
“This is a long-term growth opportunity for both VoltaGrid and Halliburton.”
The company will co-invest in international projects, starting in the Middle East, combining its reach with VoltaGrid’s distributed power expertise.
SLB has launched a standalone Digital Division, now its fastest-growing business. The unit focuses on cloud and AI-driven software, automation tools for remote operations, seismic data services, and digital consulting to help clients modernize and migrate to the cloud.
SLB reported an 11% quarter-over-quarter growth in Digital revenue for the three months ended September 30, with annual recurring revenue reaching $926 million.
The company is also offering data-center infrastructure solutions.
The unit supports its customers in building faster, more resilient digital infrastructure by offering modular power, cooling, and utility systems that scale AI and cloud capacity while reducing construction risk and cost.
“We experienced strong growth in our data center solutions business, extending our reach with hyperscalers to a new market for SLB,” said CEO Olivier Le Peuch.
(Reporting by Arunima Kumar in Bengaluru; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila)