Jan 30 (Reuters) - U.S. oilfield technology firm Baker

Hughes ( BKR ) beat Wall Street estimates for fourth-quarter

profit on Thursday, as robust demand for natural gas equipment

and services helped offset weak sales of its drilling gear in

North America.

Oilfield service companies are grappling with lower demand

as extraction technologies get more efficient and higher

supplies deter more drilling by energy companies.

Baker Hughes ( BKR ) said revenue in its oilfield services segment

fell 5% in North America, while it dropped 1% in its

international markets unit.

Larger rivals SLB and Halliburton ( HAL ) earlier

this month flagged a flattish revenue in 2025 as customers

limited their activity and spending due to a glut.

However, orders in Baker Hughes' ( BKR ) gas technology equipment

business jumped 44%, lifting revenue in its industrial and

energy technology (IET) segment to $3.5 billion.

IET booked $3.8 billion of orders in the quarter, supported

by strong LNG orders and another gas infrastructure award, CEO

Lorenzo Simonelli said.

The Houston-based company provides compressors, turbines,

valves and other modular systems to customers for gas

processing.

President Donald Trump earlier this month said the United

States would guarantee supplies of liquefied natural gas to

Europe, even amid worries that the booming export industry could

boost prices of gas for U.S. consumers.

Baker Hughes ( BKR ) posted an adjusted profit of 70 cents per share

for the three months ended Dec. 31, compared with analysts'

average expectation of 63 cents, according to estimates compiled

by LSEG.

(Reporting by Seher Dareen and Mrinalika Roy in Bengaluru;

Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila)