NESR To Deliver Saudi Arabia's First Direct Lithium Extraction Project

National Energy Services Reunited Corp. (NASDAQ:NESR) shares are trading higher by almost 3% during Thursday’s premarket session. The company’s NESR Environmental and Decarbonization Applications (NEDA) business penned an agreement with Saudi Arabia’s Aramco. Under the agreement, NESR will deliver the region’s first direct lithium extraction project through a five-year contract valued at approximately $200 million. The project is expected to produce 2,000 tons per annum (tpa) of battery-grade lithium carbonate, with commissioning and production targeted for late 2027. NESR, Aramco Partner On Direct Lithium Extraction Project The project combines Aramco’s decades of subsurface exploration and operational expertise with NEDA’s pre-treatment, direct lithium extraction (DLE) and carbonation technologies under NESR’s LiThara platform. The modular LiThara system integrates brine conditioning and lithium extraction into a single process, aiming to enable faster, scalable deployment and competitive operating costs while producing battery-grade lithium carbonate. The initiative also leverages NESR’s regional subsurface and field operations experience across Saudi Arabia. The scope includes pre-treatment, direct lithium extraction, and carbonation technology, with the release noting the project could scale to "up to five" units. NESR Technical Outlook After Premarket Bounce With the stock at $24.30, the chart is still in "damage control" mode despite the premarket bounce: shares are trading 18.4% below the 20-day SMA ($29.78) and 23% below the 50-day SMA ($31.56). Price is also sitting 3.5% below the 200-day SMA ($25.17), which often acts like a line in the sand for longer-term trend followers. Momentum is the bigger tell right now, with RSI at 22.84—deep in oversold territory—showing selling pressure has been stretched and conditions are set up for sharp snapback rallies if buyers follow through. The near-term trend structure remains bearish (20-day SMA below the 50-day SMA), even though the longer-term backdrop is still constructive with the 50-day SMA above the 200-day SMA. Key Resistance: $27.50 — a nearby ceiling where rebounds can stall, and it sits in the gap below the 200-day area the stock is trying to reclaim Key Support: $23.50 — a nearby floor that lines up with the current price zone and a logical spot for dip-buyers to defend if weakness returns What National Energy Services Reunited Does National Energy Services is an oilfield services provider in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region serving oil and natural gas companies. It provides upstream and midstream services spanning hydraulic fracturing, coiled tubing, stimulation and pumping, cementing, and a range of drilling and evaluation offerings like rigs, directional drilling, fluids, pressure control, and well testing. Its two main segments are Production Services (the largest revenue contributor, tied to completion/production work) and Drilling and Evaluation Services (tied to well construction). In that context, a lithium project with Aramco reads as an adjacent technology/services expansion that could broaden the company’s opportunity set beyond traditional oilfield work in its core MENA footprint. NESR Analyst Consensus & Recent Actions The stock carries a Buy rating with an average price forecast of $41.80. Recent analyst moves include: Piper Sandler: Overweight (Lowers Target to $39.00) (Oct. 2) BMO Capital: Initiated with Outperform (Target $39.00) (Oct. 1) UBS: Buy (Lowers Target to $46.00) (Sept. 29) NESR Stock Price Activity: National Energy Services shares were up 2.83% at $24.30 during premarket trading on Thursday, according to Benzinga Pro data. Photo via Shutterstock