Natural gas and oil operators are likely to report a return to normalcy — but not growth — when they unveil their third quarter results in the coming weeks, and demand forecasts may be hazy amid a historic hurricane season and the expanded wave of damaging Covid-19 infections. 

Schlumberger Ltd., the world’s largest oilfield services (OFS) operator, led off the earnings season last Friday, and CEO Olivier Le Peuch said the company is doing better, but the pandemic’s lingering effects offer no clear path forward. Halliburton Co. CEO Jeff Miller in discussing the quarter on Monday said North American completions activity has begun to slowly pick up, but it won’t be a quick reset into 2021.

After shutting in oil and gas wells during the second quarter, most Lower 48...