New York, January 5, 2026, 18:26 EST — After-hours
- SLB closed up 8.96% at $43.80 as oilfield services rallied with broader energy shares.
- The move followed U.S. signals on Venezuela that investors see as a potential catalyst for new upstream spending.
- Next focus: Washington’s talks with oil executives later this week and SLB’s Jan. 23 results.
SLB Ltd NYSE:SLB shares jumped nearly 9% on Monday, riding a broad rally in energy stocks tied to fast-moving developments in Venezuela.
The move matters because oilfield services companies tend to be first in line when producers start planning new drilling, well work and field repairs — the kind of spending needed to restart a long-neglected basin.
Investors also latched onto the idea that U.S. policy shifts could eventually reopen a large oil province to outside capital, even if the path is messy and slow. The Trump administration plans to meet with executives from U.S. oil companies later this week to discuss boosting Venezuelan production, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters, while Trump has said an embargo on Venezuelan oil exports remains in place for now.
SLB ended the regular session up $3.63, or 8.96%, at $43.80. The stock traded between $42.56 and $45.14 and was last at $43.80 in after-hours dealings.
Oil prices also firmed, a tailwind for the sector as traders weighed uncertainty around crude flows from an OPEC producer with large reserves but limited ability to lift output quickly. Venezuela’s output averaged about 1 million barrels per day (bpd) last year, roughly 1% of global production, Reuters reported.
“It will take some time for Venezuela to increase production,” said Simon Wong, a portfolio manager at Gabelli Funds. Brent settled at $61.76 a barrel and U.S. WTI at $58.32, both about $1 higher on the day. Reuters
SLB’s move tracked gains across the oilfield services group. Halliburton rose 7.84% and Baker Hughes climbed 4.09% in Monday’s regular session, MarketWatch data showed.
For SLB investors, the near-term question is whether Washington’s talks with oil executives produce a clearer timeline for how — or if — activity in Venezuela can scale up under U.S. rules, and what that means for service demand outside the United States.
A key watchpoint is the signal from oil prices: if crude holds its gains, producers have more room to commit capital to international work that typically carries longer lead times and steadier margins than short-cycle drilling.
But the downside case is straightforward. Political risk, sanctions and degraded infrastructure can delay projects for quarters or years, and a sharp pullback in crude prices would likely curb spending plans across SLB’s customer base.
The next company-specific catalyst is SLB’s fourth-quarter and full-year 2025 results on Jan. 23, when it is scheduled to issue earnings at 7:00 a.m. ET and host a conference call at 9:30 a.m. ET.
