NEW YORK (AP) — Schlumberger said Friday that it expects energy demand will increase, but slowly, as countries slowly recover from a recession that slashed its third-quarter profits by 48 percent.
The Houston-based oil field services company was hit hard this year as crude prices sagged and drilling companies idled half of all rigs in the United States.
But Schlumberger Chairman and CEO Andrew Gould said that government stimulus money has hastened the recovery of a number of industries.
“The worst, provided the economy continues to show signs of recovery, is behind us,” Gould said.
Schlumberger Ltd. reported net income of $787 million, or 65 cents per share, for the third quarter. Schlumberger rival Halliburton Co. reported a 61 percent drop in third-quarter profits last week.
The company said demand for oil and gas will be limited by high unemployment and a worldwide glut in oil and natural gas. Gas drilling in North America has increased slightly, but Schlumberger warned that recovery is “fragile,” and that service activity and prices won’t improve very much until late 2010.
Schlumberger’s revenue fell 25 percent compared with the year-ago quarter, to $5.43 billion. That missed analyst estimates of $5.48 billion.
However, the company said its results held steady compared with the second quarter of 2009 as rising oil prices led to sustained drilling. Oil field service revenue ticked down to $4.95 billion from $4.96 billion. Most of the increase in gas drilling came from Canada.
North American revenue was unchanged at $823 million, while revenue from Europe, Russia and Africa held steady and $1.78 billion. Latin American revenue and Middle East and Africa revenue both slipped 6 percent, to $1.07 billion and $1.23 billion respectively.
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