DENVER (Reuters) - A Colorado environmental group dropped plans to place an anti-fracking measure on the state’s November ballot citing the COVID-19 pandemic, the second state initiative to be put off this year over virus worries. The group, Colorado Rising, had been exploring several ballot initiatives to place more stringent regulations on oil and gas drilling in Colorado, the fifth-largest U.S. oil-producing state, after its 2018 effort failed. A California initiative seeking to raise the...

(Reuters) - Oilfield services provider Schlumberger NV (SLB.N) expects to book a charge to earnings of up to $1.4 billion for an accelerated restructuring and new job cuts, Chief Executive Officer Olivier Le Peuch said at a energy conference on Tuesday. Le Peuch said the restructuring will include cuts in the company’s product lines and focus the company’s operations on five key oil basins. It is expected to save about $1.5 billion in annual costs. The restructuring comes as oil prices have...

(Reuters) - Oilfield service provider ProPetro Holding Corp (PUMP.N) on Monday said a lengthy audit committee review revealed multiple financial and internal control weaknesses, but none severe enough to restate prior results. The company, which is being investigated by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), said in a regulatory filing that the board’s investigation also found a failure to elevate whistleblower complaints and inaccurate business expense reporting. Former Chief...

DENVER/OSLO (Reuters) - The companies that operate offshore drilling rigs for major oil producers face a second wave of bankruptcies in four years amid a historic drop in energy prices that likely will leave surviving drillers more closely tied to big oil firms. A collapse of the offshore industry will have broad impact. Drillers and their suppliers have driven innovation that has helped shale and offshore wind companies by pioneering remote monitoring and control, and last year directly...

(Reuters) – Schlumberger, the world’s largest oilfield services firm, will reshuffle top executives and operations in coming months to deal with this year’s historic decline in the oil industry, according to a memo to employees. The changes will be implemented in phases and are designed to forge “a leaner, simplified and more responsive organization,” Chief Executive Olivier Le Peuch said in the memo dated on Wednesday and reviewed by Reuters. A spokesman did not immediately reply to a...