A turning point for the shale industry as the world’s biggest oilfield servicer abandons the work that spawned the past decade’s North American oil boom. The company based in Houston and Paris said Tuesday its OneStim unit will be combined with Liberty Oilfield Services Inc. in exchange for a 37% stake in the smaller operator. The holding has a value of about $448 million. The combination, which is expected to close in the final three months of this year, will make Denver-based Liberty the second-biggest U.S. fracker with 2.3 million horsepower.
The transaction is consistent with CEO Olivier Le Peuch’s comments about not needing to own frac assets, his strategy for SLB to become asset light and licensing SLB technology to other companies. Liberty rose 28% to $8.27 at 9:59 a.m. in New York for the biggest intraday climb in four months, while Schlumberger fell as much as 2.9%.