Baker Hughes: US Rig Count May Stabilize in 2016

Oilfield services provider Baker Hughes Inc said on Wednesday that U.S. rig count will likely stabilize in the second half of the year after falling in the current quarter.

The company, which also reported a bigger quarterly loss, said it expected the North American rig count to fall 30 percent in the second quarter from the prior quarter.

The results from Baker Hughes, which is to be bought by bigger rival Halliburton Co, come three days ahead of a deadline set by the companies to get regulatory approval for the deal.

However, Baker Hughes said it did not expect drilling activity to increase meaningfully this year, even if the rig count held steady.

Globally, rig count is expected to drop steadily through the end of the year due to limited new projects in the pipeline, Baker Hughes said on Wednesday.

Net loss attributable to Baker Hughes widened to $981 million, or $2.22 per share, in the first quarter ended March 31 from $589 million, or $1.35 per share, a year earlier.

Revenue fell 41.9 percent to $2.67 billion.

"During the quarter, the industry faced another precipitous decline in activity, exceeding even the most pessimistic predictions, as E&P companies further cut spending in an effort to protect cash flows," Chief Executive Martin Craighead said in a statement. (Reporting by Amrutha Gayathri in Bengaluru