Oilfield service companies, the well servicing, workover, roustabout, wireline, hot-oiling and site-support contractors that work for oil and gas operators, took 107 SBA 7(a) loans between October 2023 and June 2026, $97,561,500 from 47 lenders. The median loan was $400,000, far above the national $150,300, and 27.1% of loans reached $1 million. The median rate was 9.75%, below the national 10.25%. Lenders underwrite these companies across the commodity cycle, weigh their dependence on a few operators, and discount equipment whose value falls when drilling does.
| Measure | Support Activities for Oil and Gas Operations | All industries |
|---|---|---|
| SBA 7(a) loans approved | 107 | 162,355 |
| Median loan | $400,000 | $150,300 |
| Middle half of loans | $113,250 – $1,058,050 | $50,000 – $500,000 |
| Loans of $1 million or more | 27.1% | 12.9% |
| Median rate at approval | 9.75% | 10.25% |
| Middle half of rates | 8.74% – 10.75% | 9.3% – 11.25% |
| Acquisitions (change of ownership) | 9 (8.4%) | 16,849 (10.4%) |
| Median acquisition loan | $1,917,000 | $693,000 |
| Lenders that made these loans | 47 | 1,648 |
| SBA 504 loans (real estate, equipment) | 9 | 16,714 |
Approvals FY2024 – FY2026 to date (1 Oct 2023 – 30 Jun 2026), cancelled loans excluded. Source: SBA 7(a) and 504 FOIA loan records, as of June 30, 2026.
- SBA 7(a) loans approved
- 107 (Oct 2023 – Jun 2026), from 47 lenders
- Median loan
- $400,000 (national $150,300)
- Loans of $1 million or more
- 29 (27.1%)
- Median rate at approval
- 9.75% (national 10.25%)
- Acquisitions
- 9 loans (8.4%), median $1,917,000 at 9.5%
- Start-ups
- 4.7% of loans
Big loans, from lenders who know energy
NAICS 213112 covers contractors that support oil and gas wells without owning them: well servicing and workover rigs, roustabout and lease-maintenance crews, wireline and slickline services, hot oiling, cementing and pressure services, and site preparation and cleanup. From FY2024 through June 2026 they took 107 SBA 7(a) loans worth $97,561,500.
These are large loans for SBA lending. The median of $400,000 is well over double the national median, the middle half ran from $113,250 to $1,058,050, and the 90th percentile reached $2,811,600. Twenty-nine loans, 27.1%, were $1 million or more. The rate reflects it: a median of 9.75%, with the middle half between 8.74% and 10.75%. SBA caps variable rates at the base rate plus 3% on loans above $350,000, and more than half of this industry's loans are above that line.
| Figure | Oilfield services | National |
|---|---|---|
| Median loan | $400,000 | $150,300 |
| Middle half of loans | $113,250 to $1,058,050 | – |
| 90th percentile | $2,811,600 | – |
| Loans of $1 million or more | 29 (27.1%) | – |
| Median rate at approval | 9.75% (middle half 8.74% to 10.75%) | 10.25% |
| Fixed-rate share | 13.1% | – |
| Acquisition share | 8.4%, median $1,917,000 at 9.5% | 10.4% |
| Start-ups | 4.7% of loans | – |
| SBA Express | 27.1% of loans | – |
Who borrows, and from whom, is the other signal: 47 lenders made these 107 loans, and start-ups took just 4.7%. Energy exposure is something some SBA lenders limit by policy. The ones who lend here tend to know the basins and the operators, and they want an established company with a record through at least one downturn. Transparent's book holds 278 lenders that write SBA 7(a) and 504, and finding the ones with an appetite for energy is much of the work on these files.
Underwriting across the cycle
An oilfield service company's revenue follows its customers' spending, which follows oil and gas prices. A company can double its revenue in two good years and lose much of it in one bad one, without anything changing in how well it is run. Lenders therefore look at results over several years, and they size the loan so that it can be paid in a weak year, not just the most recent one.
A simple example. A company earns 1,600 in its best year and 1,000 in its weakest, and the proposed loan payments are 800 a year. At the peak the payments are covered easily; at the trough coverage is 1.25x. SBA requires debt service coverage of at least 1.15x, and many conventional banks look for at least 1.25x. A lender that believes the trough is repeatable will size the loan to it. A lender that only sees the peak year will be asked by its credit committee why.
Show at least one down year in the file, with what the company did to cut costs and keep paying its debts. Few things persuade an energy lender more.
For a purchase, the rule tightens: from 1 October 2026 a change of ownership must show 1.25x on historical results under SOP 50 10 8.1. Buying at the top of a cycle on the strength of the latest year is where these files get into trouble; see financing an acquisition with declining earnings and refinancing after a down year.
A handful of operators, and their receivables
Most oilfield service companies work for a small number of operators under master service agreements. An MSA sets terms and insurance requirements, but it rarely commits the operator to any volume. The operator can stop calling tomorrow. Lenders therefore read the customer list closely: how much revenue each operator represents, how long the relationship has run, and whether the company has replaced a lost customer before. See customer concentration and debt.
Operators also pay slowly, and they dispute invoices over field tickets. That matters when a company wants a line of credit alongside the term loan. Asset-based lenders typically advance 80% to 90% of eligible receivables, but receivables more than 90 days past invoice are typically ineligible, and borrowing bases commonly cap any single customer at 20% to 25% of eligible receivables. A company whose largest operator is half its receivables will find much of that balance excluded.
| Receivables issue | Effect on a borrowing base |
|---|---|
| Invoices more than 90 days past invoice | Typically ineligible |
| One operator above the concentration limit | The excess is excluded |
| Disputed field tickets | Reserved or excluded until resolved |
| Retainage or pay-when-paid terms | Often ineligible until due |
| Invoices to operators in financial distress | Lender may exclude the whole account |
The pages on how a borrowing base works and what lenders look for in an AR aging go further.
Rigs, trucks and a collateral value that moves with the cycle
The equipment is substantial: workover and well-servicing rigs, pump trucks, wireline units, vacuum and hot-oil trucks, cranes and support vehicles. It has a resale market, but that market moves with the same cycle as the company's revenue. When activity falls, used rigs flood the market and prices drop, exactly when a lender would need to sell. Lenders account for this with a conservative orderly liquidation value appraisal and by matching the term to the equipment's remaining life; SBA allows up to 10 years for equipment, or 15 if its useful life supports it.
Real estate is less central here than in most industries. There were 9 SBA 504 projects, with a median of $514,000, usually a yard and shop in the basin. Lenders also ask about safety records and insurance, because operators require both and can drop a contractor that falls short, and about how concentrated the company is in one basin. A company working in two basins, or for operators on both oil and gas, has more ways to ride out a downturn.
Buying an oilfield service company
Nine loans, 8.4% of the total, financed a change of ownership, a little below the national 10.4%. The median acquisition loan was $1,917,000 at 9.5%, a sign that buyers here are purchasing substantial fleets and crews. SBA 7(a) loans go up to $5 million, with SBA's guaranty to one borrower capped at $3.75 million, and larger purchases need a conventional or blended structure; see acquisitions above the SBA limit.
At these sizes the SBA's diligence rules bite. Where the amount financed, less appraised real estate and equipment, exceeds $250,000, SBA requires an independent business valuation, and the loan for the purchase cannot exceed it; a fleet that appraises well reduces the goodwill to be justified. From 1 October 2026, SOP 50 10 8.1 requires financial due diligence on every change of ownership and a quality of earnings report on acquisitions of $3 million or more excluding real estate. The buyer needs an equity injection of at least 10% of total project costs; seller financing counts for up to half of it only on full standby for the life of the SBA loan, and SBA prohibits an earnout. The MSAs themselves may need the operators' consent to a change of control.
Preparing an oilfield service company's file
Transparent's SBA checklist is the base: two to three years of business and personal tax returns, a P&L and balance sheet with a year-to-date P&L, a debt schedule with copies of the notes being refinanced, and a personal financial statement for each owner of 20% or more, all of whom guarantee the loan. For this industry, add:
- Revenue by operator for every year in the file, and the MSAs with the largest ones.
- An AR aging by customer, with days outstanding, and a note on any disputed tickets.
- A fleet list with year, hours and condition, and any recent appraisal.
- Safety record and insurance certificates as the operators require them.
- Results for at least one weaker year, with the cost actions taken.
- For a purchase, the letter of intent and the target's latest full year of figures.
Once the documents are in, Transparent builds the full lender package in a day and takes it to the lenders in its book that finance energy services, SBA and conventional. For a related code, see industrial equipment rental and leasing.
Common questions
- Do SBA lenders finance oilfield service companies?
- Yes, though fewer of them do. Between October 2023 and June 2026, 47 lenders approved 107 SBA 7(a) loans in this code, with a median of $400,000. Some SBA lenders limit energy exposure by policy, so the file needs to reach the ones that do not.
- Will a lender use my best year to size the loan?
- Rarely. Lenders to oilfield services look across the cycle and want the loan to be payable in a weak year. A file that shows a past downturn, and how the company managed it, is more convincing than one that shows only a strong year.
- Can I get a line of credit against my receivables from operators?
- Often, but expect exclusions. Receivables more than 90 days past invoice are typically ineligible, and any one customer is commonly capped at 20% to 25% of eligible receivables, which bites when a single operator dominates.
- How large can an SBA loan be to buy an oilfield service company?
- SBA 7(a) loans go up to $5 million, and SBA's guaranty to one borrower is capped at $3.75 million. The nine acquisition loans in this period had a median of $1,917,000. Larger purchases usually combine SBA and conventional debt or go conventional.
- Why do lenders discount rig and truck values so heavily?
- Because the resale market for oilfield equipment falls when drilling falls, which is when a lender would need to sell. An orderly liquidation value appraisal gives the lender a conservative number to lend against.