National Oilwell Varco, the largest US oilfield equipment provider, said demand rose for some of its products and services in North America in recent weeks, as drillers put rigs back to work.

Shares of the company, which also reported a smaller-than-expected quarterly loss, rose as much as 5.9 pct to $33.10 in morning trading.

"Like others in our space, we believe we are seeing some isolated green shoots of activity," chief executive Clay Williams said on a post-earnings call.

A 60 per cent fall in global oil prices since mid-2014 has forced producers to scale back drilling and idle rigs, weighing on demand for equipment manufactured by companies such as National Oilwell.

But some producers have begun to return rigs to work, encouraged by US crude prices touching $50 in late May. US drillers have since added about 55 oil rigs.

The company was in discussions with customers in North America, Middle East and other markets about equipment upgrades and new field opportunities, Chief Financial Officer Jose Bayardo said on the call.

These talks centered around land activity, with offshore opportunities expected to remain limited for the foreseeable future, he said.

"We believe our land business will bottom in Q3 and begin to recover as we enter 2017."