China Oilfield Services Limited (COSL) is beginning to experience operational impacts from the Middle East conflict, particularly from mid- to late March, though its first-quarter financial performance was not materially affected. Chief Financial Officer Qie Ji reported that while jack-up and semi-submersible rigs in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait remain operational and revenue-generating, land rigs in Iraq are progressively entering standby status due to Iraq's production cuts. These cuts stem from conflict-related restrictions on vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz, which have prevented crude exports and filled storage facilities to capacity.

Despite these challenges, COSL remains committed to expanding its Middle East business, having recently secured a long-term, high-value well services contract and an engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) contract for drilling services in Iraq. To partially offset the disruption, the company is actively pursuing EPC contractor opportunities in Southeast Asia and the Americas, where it has already seen progress. Qie emphasized that COSL will continue monitoring the Middle East situation and remain prepared to resume operations when clients decide to do so, while also seeking new opportunities.

Financially, COSL reported first-quarter operating revenue of 11.3 billion yuan (US$1.7 billion), a 4.6% increase year-on-year, but net profit attributable to shareholders fell 3.6% to 855.7 million yuan. Rig utilization showed mixed results: calendar day utilization for jack-up drilling rigs decreased by 3.9 percentage points to 87.3%, while semi-submersible rig utilization increased by 5.5 percentage points to 89.3%.