Oilfield service providers Baker Hughes and Halliburton today posted better than expected quarterly profits on resilient demand.
But both firms warned that a fall in drilling activity due to weak oil prices would hurt results in 2015.
Global oil prices have tumbled almost 60% since June, hitting five-year lows as growing production and tepid global demand caused a supply glut, prompting oil producers to scale back spending.
Halliburton, which is buying Baker Hughes in a $35 billion deal, said it took a $129m restructuring charge in the fourth quarter ended December to "temper the impact of anticipated activity declines".
The number of rigs drilling for oil in the US fell by 55 to 1,366 last week, the second-sharpest weekly drop in 24 years, according to recent data released by Baker Hughes.
But strong year-end sales and previously signed contracts at both the companies shielded fourth-quarter results from impact of the slowdown in drilling activity.
"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," Baker Hughes' chief executive Martin Craighead said.
Oilfield services leader Schlumberger said last week it would lay off 9,000 workers worldwide and warned that the oil price drop was likely to have a "significantly more dramatic" impact on North America than on the rest of the world.
The company, like Halliburton and Baker Hughes, reported a better than expected profit last Thursday, largely helped by an 18.5% jump in revenue from North America.
Baker Hughes said today that revenue from North America rose 20% to account for half of overall sales.
Halliburton said revenue from North America rose 24%, making up for more than half of fourth-quarter revenue.
Baker Hughes's total revenue rose 13% to $6.64 billion, while Halliburton's revenue rose about 15% to $8.77 billion.
