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The billowing compute and data demands that spurred the oil and gas industry to be the largest commercial users of high-performance computing are now propelling the competitive sector to deploy the latest AI technologies. Beyond the requirement for accurate and speedy seismic and reservoir simulation, oil and gas operations face torrents of sensor, geolocation, weather, drilling and seismic data. Just the sensor data alone from one off-shore rig can accrue to hundreds of terabytes of data annually, but most of this remains unanalyzed, dark data. Why? Because there just isn't enough compute capacity to crunch it all. A collaboration between...

Baker Hughes Inc., one of the world's largest oil and gas service companies, said it will increase job cuts worldwide to 10,500, or about 17 percent of its total workforce. The Houston-based company said the cuts are necessary in order to weather a crash in North American drilling prompted by low oil prices. Baker Hughes announced the additional cuts Tuesday (April 21) after reporting a $32 million loss for the first quarter this year. The company's first-quarter revenue was down 20 percent compared to the same period a year ago. Earlier this year, Baker Hughes said it planned to cut...

Falling gasoline prices may be great for consumers, but they’re tough on energy firms and their workers. The latest layoffs announcement comes from the oilfield services firm Baker Hughes, which plans to cut 7,000 employees — 11 percent of its workforce. Global oil prices have plunged 60 percent since last June, making some drilling operations unprofitable. “While market demand ended up being more resilient in the fourth quarter than many had predicted, the recent declines seen in rig counts will clearly affect results in 2015,” said company CEO Martin Craighead. Speaking to analysts about the layoffs, he said, “This is...

HOUSTON — Baker Hughes said Tuesday it will lay off 7,000 mostly in the first quarter of 2015, amid a crude oil price slump and drilling slowdown it expects to worsen in the next quarter. The announcement came shortly after the oil service company reported that its net income for the three months ending Dec. 30 rose to a record high of $663 million, or $1.52 a share. After adjustments to exclude deconsolidation of a joint venture, the company reported an earnings per-share of $1.44. In the same period of 2013, Baker Hughes reported $248 million in profit. The layoffs...

Oilfield services provider Baker Hughes Inc said it expects to lay off about 7,000 employees, days after industry leader Schlumberger Ltd said it would cut jobs as drilling activity slows due to a steep fall in oil prices. Global oil prices have tumbled almost 60 percent since June, hitting five-year lows as growing production and tepid global demand has caused a supply glut and prompted oil producers to scale back spending. Schlumberger said last week it would cut 9,000 jobs, or about 7 percent of its workforce.

Following Schlumberger's 9,000 lay-offs announced last week and Baker Hughes' 7,000 earlier this morning, Halliburton said today that it will execute workforce reductions similar to its peers during the first quarter. Halliburton COO Jeff Miller said: "We have already taken the initial steps on headcount internationally. As North America (NAM) activity falls, we will make adjustments in the US as well. We expect our headcount reductions to be in-line with our primary competitors. We will minimize discretionary spending. There is likely to be more restructuring in first quarter as we put initiatives in place to temper the impact of the...

As fracking accelerates in North American shale fields, oilfield services providers Halliburton Co and Baker Hughes Inc are stockpiling sand to protect themselves against rising costs and are buying more railcars to transport the haul.

2:11pm 12/17/04 Baker Hughes: SEC wants info on role in Oil-for-Food (BHI) By Carolyn Pritchard SAN FRANCISCO (CBS.MW) -- Baker Hughes (BHI) was recently asked to provide a written statement and certain information regarding its participation in the United Nations Oil-for-Food Program to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, according to a filing Friday with the regulatory agency. The company previously disclosed that it had been subpoenaed by a grand jury in the Southern District of New York regarding goods and services delivered to Iraq through the program from 1995 through 2003.