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Fracking Giants Warn Shale Crash Will Be Faster This Time

  • ‘Wall Street is shut to the industry,’ Halliburton CFO says
  • Schlumberger to cut spending by 30% in 2020 versus last year
A pumpjack in Midland, Texas.

A pumpjack in Midland, Texas.

Photographer: Callaghan O'Hare/Bloomberg
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Two of the world’s biggest oilfield service companies are warning of a bigger shale crash than the one that hit the U.S. and Canada just five years ago.

While the decline in North American drilling rigs could approach the lows seen in 2016, the drop could be much faster this time around, Schlumberger Ltd. told analysts and investors Tuesday on a webcast hosted by Scotia Howard Weil. And as the most financially troubled oilfield service providers seek to stay afloat, there’s not much help this time around, Halliburton Co. said on the same webcast.