Weatherford CEO says oil below $50/bbl could hurt offshore investments

By Arathy Somasekhar

HOUSTON, May 5 (Reuters) - Oil prices below $50 a barrel could hurt final investment decisions on offshore projects, oilfield services company Weatherford International's WFRD.O CEO Girish Saligram said on Monday.

Plans by the producer group OPEC+ to raise output and U.S. President Donald Trump's tariff policies have pushed U.S. crude oil prices CLc1 down to over four-year lows to around $57, worrying investors of production shut-ins. O/R

Offshore production has remained a rare bright spot as investments are longer cycle, unlike shale.

"If we see prices sustain below $50 a barrel, I think it could create a little bit of a lull for some of the new final investment decisions," Saligram said on the sidelines of the Offshore Technology Conference in Houston.

Projects that are already underway are unlikely to be impacted as companies have thought through different commodity price scenarios, Saligram added.