HOUSTON, Jan. 14 (UPI) -- Oil services company Halliburton said it was making staff reductions at its Houston headquarters in an effort to adjust to rough market conditions.
International energy companies during the fourth quarter started announcing cuts in capital expenditures as oil prices continued to shed value. More recently, secondary industries have started to show signs of a slowdown.
Halliburton spokeswoman Emily Mir told Fuel Fix, the energy blog for the Houston Chronicle, the company was monitoring capital flow and cutting jobs in an effort to cope.
"While these reductions are difficult, we believe they are necessary to work through this challenging market," she said in remarks published Tuesday.
Layoffs from the Houston office follow a December announcement from the company it was cutting about 1,000 jobs from its operations in the eastern hemisphere. The spokeswoman didn't say how many positions would be eliminated from Houston.
During the third quarter, Halliburton said total revenue in the third quarter was a record $8.7 billion, an 8 percent improvement over the previous period and a 16 percent improvement year-on-year. Fourth quarter results are due out Jan. 20.
The Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas said Tuesday it expects job growth in the state to be moderate for the year as low oil prices drag on the state's labor pools. Drilling and extraction is expected to fall "sharply" if oil prices stay below $50 per barrel, bank research officer Keith Phillips said.
Last week, U.S. Steel Corp., which makes steel pipes for the oil and gas business, announced plans to close two of its plants and lay off 756 workers because of the downturn in oil prices. On Monday, Emirati rig builder Lamprell said Monday it expects the weak market for crude oil will impact its ability to land new contracts in 2015.
