Investing.com -- A 1970s-style boom may be forming in Middle Eastern oil services, according to a note from Bernstein analyst Guillaume Delaby on Wednesday.

Delaby told investors that current conditions echo the forces that triggered the last major oil-driven supercycle.

Delaby frames the analysis through the metaphor of “the wolf,” referring to oil used as a political weapon via high prices.

Citing historical work, he noted that the 1973 Yom Kippur War “unleashed the wolf,” sending crude prices, which were previously stable for decades, soaring threefold over 1974–75 before reaching $37 per barrel in 1981.

Bernstein said this period delivered windfall gains for sector bellwether SLB, whose revenues, net income and market cap rose “6x, 14x and 20x respectively over 1973-80.”

Bernstein sees parallels today. The firm highlighted that SLB’s EV-to-revenue multiple in 1971–72 was 1.62x, “coincidentally similar” to the aggregated sector’s 1.72x in March 2026.

During the 1970s supercycle, SLB’s average EV/revenue climbed to 3.2x, which is a comparison Bernstein says “may be more than a coincidence.”

Delaby believes a new supercycle “seems likely,” supported by conditions such as already improving sentiment before the Iran crisis, the fact that “90% of current E&P capex” merely maintains production, a renewed need for exploration after 12 years of decline, and new low-cost offshore basins.

Bernstein expects “all our covered companies to benefit – either directly or indirectly.”

In the short term, companies with low Middle East exposure but strong North American leverage, including Tenaris, Vallourec, Viridien and SLB, may benefit most, Bernstein said, as oil-services equities begin to “re-correlate” with oil prices again.