doing business as
A trade name, trading name, or business name, is a pseudonym used by companies that do not operate under their registered company name. The term for this type of alternative name is a "fictitious" business name. Registering the fictitious name w ...
Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
,
Houston
Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...
,
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
, and
The Hague
The Hague ( ; nl, Den Haag or ) is a city and municipality of the Netherlands, situated on the west coast facing the North Sea. The Hague is the country's administrative centre and its seat of government, and while the official capital of ...
.
Schlumberger is the world's largest offshore drilling company. It is the biggest offshore drilling contractor (in terms of revenue) in the world.
Schlumberger is incorporated in
Willemstad
Willemstad ( , ; ; en, William I of the Netherlands, William Town, italic=yes) is the capital city of Curaçao, an island in the southern Caribbean Sea that forms a Countries of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, constituent country of the Kingdo ...
,
Curaçao
Curaçao ( ; ; pap, Kòrsou, ), officially the Country of Curaçao ( nl, Land Curaçao; pap, Pais Kòrsou), is a Lesser Antilles island country in the southern Caribbean Sea and the Dutch Caribbean region, about north of the Venezuela coast ...
as Schlumberger N.V. and trades on the
New York Stock Exchange
The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE, nicknamed "The Big Board") is an American stock exchange in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It is by far the world's largest stock exchange by market capitalization of its listed c ...
,
Euronext
Euronext N.V. (short for European New Exchange Technology) is a pan-European bourse that offers various trading and post-trade services.
Traded assets include regulated equities, exchange-traded funds (ETF), warrants and certificates, bonds, ...
Paris, the
London Stock Exchange
London Stock Exchange (LSE) is a stock exchange in the City of London, England, United Kingdom. , the total market value of all companies trading on LSE was £3.9 trillion. Its current premises are situated in Paternoster Square close to St Pau ...
Fortune Global 500
The ''Fortune'' Global 500, also known as Global 500, is an annual ranking of the top 500 corporations worldwide as measured by revenue. The list is compiled and published annually by ''Fortune'' magazine.
Methodology
Until 1989, it listed onl ...
company, ranked 287 in 2016, and also listed in Forbes Global 2000, ranked 349 in 2022.
History
Schlumberger was founded in 1926 in Paris as the Electric Prospecting Company (french: Société de prospection électrique) by two brothers
Conrad and Marcel Schlumberger
Conrad Schlumberger (2 October 1878 in Gebweiler ( Alsace-Lorraine) – 9 May 1936 in Stockholm) and Emile Henry Marcel Schlumberger (21 June 1884 in Gebweiler – 9 May 1953 in Val-Richer) were brothers from the region of Alsace-Lorraine, Fran ...
from
Alsace
Alsace (, ; ; Low Alemannic German/ gsw-FR, Elsàss ; german: Elsass ; la, Alsatia) is a cultural region and a territorial collectivity in eastern France, on the west bank of the upper Rhine next to Germany and Switzerland. In 2020, it had ...
. Schlumberger supplies the
petroleum industry
The petroleum industry, also known as the oil industry or the oil patch, includes the global processes of exploration, extraction, refining, transportation (often by oil tankers and pipelines), and marketing of petroleum products. The larges ...
with services such as seismic data processing,
formation evaluation
In petroleum exploration and development, formation evaluation is used to determine the ability of a borehole to produce petroleum. Essentially, it is the process of "recognizing a commercial well when you drill one".
Modern rotary drilling usua ...
directional drilling
Directional drilling (or slant drilling) is the practice of drilling non-vertical bores. It can be broken down into four main groups: oilfield directional drilling, utility installation directional drilling, directional boring (horizontal dire ...
, well cementing and stimulation, artificial lift, well completions, flow assurance and consulting, and software and information management. The company is also involved in the
groundwater
Groundwater is the water present beneath Earth's surface in rock and soil pore spaces and in the fractures of rock formations. About 30 percent of all readily available freshwater in the world is groundwater. A unit of rock or an unconsolidate ...
carbon capture and storage
Carbon capture and storage (CCS) or carbon capture and sequestration is the process of capturing carbon dioxide (CO2) before it enters the atmosphere, transporting it, and storing it (carbon sequestration) for centuries or millennia. Usually th ...
industries.Schlumberger Carbon Services " ''Schlumberger Web site''. Retrieved on January 30, 2011.
The Schlumberger brothers had experience conducting geophysical surveys in countries such as
Romania
Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...
,
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
,
Serbia
Serbia (, ; Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe, Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Bas ...
,
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...
, the
Democratic Republic of the Congo
The Democratic Republic of the Congo (french: République démocratique du Congo (RDC), colloquially "La RDC" ), informally Congo-Kinshasa, DR Congo, the DRC, the DROC, or the Congo, and formerly and also colloquially Zaire, is a country in ...
, and the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
. The new company sold electrical-measurement mapping services, and recorded the first-ever
electrical resistivity
Electrical resistivity (also called specific electrical resistance or volume resistivity) is a fundamental property of a material that measures how strongly it resists electric current. A low resistivity indicates a material that readily allows ...
well log
Well logging, also known as borehole logging is the practice of making a detailed record (a ''well log'') of the geologic formations penetrated by a borehole. The log may be based either on visual inspection of samples brought to the surface (' ...
in
Merkwiller-Pechelbronn
Merkwiller-Pechelbronn () is a commune in the Bas-Rhin department in Grand Est in north-eastern France.
It is notable as the original home of oil sands mining.
Oil sands were mined from 1745 in Merkwiller-Pechelbronn, initially under the direc ...
, France, in 1927. The company quickly expanded, logging its first well in the U.S. in 1929 in
Kern County
Kern County is a county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 909,235. Its county seat is Bakersfield.
Kern County comprises the Bakersfield, California, Metropolitan statistical area. The county sp ...
,
California
California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
. In 1934, the Schlumberger Well Surveying Corporation was founded in
Houston
Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...
, later evolving into Schlumberger Well Services, and finally Schlumberger Wireline and Testing. Schlumberger invested heavily in research, inaugurating the Schlumberger-Doll Research Center in
Ridgefield, Connecticut
Ridgefield is a town in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. Situated in the foothills of the Berkshire Mountains, the 300-year-old community had a population of 25,033 at the 2020 census. The town center, which was formerly a borough ...
in 1948, contributing to the development of a number of new logging tools. In 1956, Schlumberger Limited was incorporated as a
holding company
A holding company is a company whose primary business is holding a controlling interest in the securities of other companies. A holding company usually does not produce goods or services itself. Its purpose is to own shares of other companies ...
for all Schlumberger Limited businesses, which by now included American testing and production company Johnston Testers.
Over the years, Schlumberger continued to expand its operations and acquisitions. In 1960, Dowell Schlumberger (50% Schlumberger, 50% Dow Chemical), which specialized in pumping services for the oil industry, was formed. On February 2, 1962, Schlumberger Limited became listed on the
New York Stock Exchange
The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE, nicknamed "The Big Board") is an American stock exchange in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It is by far the world's largest stock exchange by market capitalization of its listed c ...
.Listings Directory Schlumberger Limited " ''NYSE web site''. Retrieved on September 02, 2013. That same year, Schlumberger purchased Daystrom, an electronic instruments manufacturer in
South Boston, Virginia
South Boston, formerly Boyd's Ferry, is a town in Halifax County, Virginia, United States. The population was 8,142 at the 2010 census, down from 8,491 at the 2000 census. It is the most populous town in Halifax County.
History
On December ...
which was making furniture by the time the division was sold to Sperry & Hutchinson in 1971. Schlumberger purchased 50% of Forex in 1964 and merged it with 50% of Languedocienne to create the Neptune Drilling Company. The first computerized reservoir analysis, SARABAND, was introduced in 1970. The remaining 50% of Forex was acquired the following year; Neptune was renamed Forex Neptune Drilling Company. In 1979,
Fairchild Camera and Instrument
Fairchild Camera and Instrument Corporation was a company founded by Sherman Fairchild. It was based on the East Coast of the United States, and provided research and development for flash photography equipment. The technology was primarily use ...
(including Fairchild Semiconductor) became a subsidiary of Schlumberger Limited.
In 1981, Schlumberger established the first international data links with e-mail. In 1983, Schlumberger opened its Cambridge Research Center in
Cambridge, England
Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge became ...
.
In 1984, the SEDCO drilling rig company and half of Dowell of North America were acquired, resulting in the creation of the Anadrill drilling segment, a combination of Dowell and The Analysts' drilling segments. Forex Neptune was merged with SEDCO to create the Sedco Forex Drilling Company the following year, when Schlumberger purchased Merlin and 50% of GECO.
In 1987, Schlumberger completed its purchases of Neptune (North America), Bosco and Cori (Italy), and Allmess (Germany). That same year,
National Semiconductor
National Semiconductor was an American semiconductor manufacturer which specialized in analog devices and subsystems, formerly with headquarters in Santa Clara, California. The company produced power management integrated circuits, display dr ...
acquired Fairchild Semiconductor from Schlumberger for $122 million.
In 1991, Schlumberger acquired PRAKLA-SEISMOS, and pioneered the use of
geosteering Geosteering is the optimal placement of a wellbore based on the results of realtime downhole geological and geophysical logging measurements rather than three-dimensional targets in space. The objective is usually to keep a directional wellbore with ...
to plan the drill path in horizontal wells.
In 1992, Schlumberger acquired software company GeoQuest Systems. With the purchase came the conversion of SINet to
TCP/IP
The Internet protocol suite, commonly known as TCP/IP, is a framework for organizing the set of communication protocols used in the Internet and similar computer networks according to functional criteria. The foundational protocols in the suit ...
and thus internet capable. In the 1990s Schlumberger bought out the petroleum division, AEG meter, and ECLIPSE reservoir study team Intera Technologies Corp. A joint venture between Schlumberger and Cable & Wireless resulted with the creation of Omnes, which then handled all of the company's internal IT business. Oilphase and Camco International were also purchased.
In 1999, Schlumberger and
Smith International
Smith International was a Fortune 500 company headquartered in the Greenspoint district and in unincorporated Harris County, Texas.
created a joint venture, M-I L.L.C., the world's largest drilling fluids (mud) company. The company consists of 60% Smith International, and 40% by Schlumberger. Since the joint venture was prohibited by a 1994 antitrust consent decree barring Smith from selling or combining their fluids business with certain other companies, including Schlumberger, the U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C. found Smith International Inc. and Schlumberger Ltd. guilty of criminal contempt and fined each company $750,000 and placed each company on five years probation. Both companies also agreed to pay a total of $13.1 million, representing a full disgorgement of all of the joint venture's profits during the time the companies were in contempt.
In 2000, the
Geco-Prakla
Geco (Geophysical Company of Norway) was a European geophysical service company specializing in seismic surveys for petroleum exploration. Starting operating in the North Sea from 1972, the company expanded to operate in most marine areas open for ...
division was merged with
Western Geophysical
Western Geophysical was an international oil exploration company founded in California in 1933 by Henry Salvatori for the purpose of using reflection seismology to explore for petroleum.
The company prospered and was sold by Salvatori to Litt ...
to create the seismic data acquisition and processing contracting company
WesternGeco
WesternGeco is a geophysical services company. It is headquartered in Schlumberger House on the property of London Gatwick Airport in Crawley, West Sussex, in Greater London.
__NOTOC__
Background
The company provides reservoir imaging, moni ...
, of which Schlumberger held a 70% stake, the remaining 30% belonging to competitor Baker Hughes. Sedco Forex was spun off, and merged with Transocean Drilling company in 2000.
In 2001, Schlumberger acquired the IT consultancy company Sema plc for $5.2 billion. The company was an Athens 2004 Summer Olympics partner, but the venture into IT consultancy did not pay off, and divestiture of Sema to
Atos Origin
Atos is a European multinational information technology (IT) service and consulting company headquartered in Bezons, France and offices worldwide. It specialises in hi-tech transactional services, unified communications, cloud, big data and ...
was completed that year for $1.5 billion. The cards division was divested through an IPO to form
Axalto
{{Infobox company ,
name = Axalto ,
logo = ,
type = Public ,
founded = 2004 (IPO) ,
location = Paris, FranceBeijing, ChinaSingapore ,
key_people = Olivier Piou, CEO ,
products = Smart Cards ,
...
, which later merged with
Gemplus
Gemalto was an international digital security company providing software applications, secure personal devices such as smart cards and tokens, and managed services. It was formed in June 2006 by the merger of two companies, Axalto and Gemplus I ...
to form
Gemalto
Gemalto was an international digital security company providing software applications, secure personal devices such as smart cards and tokens, and managed services. It was formed in June 2006 by the merger of two companies, Axalto and Gemplus In ...
, and the Messaging Solutions unit was spun off and merged with Taral Networks to form
Airwide Solutions
Airwide Solutions was a privately held (majority shareholder smac, partners Germany), but United States–based mobile messaging and wireless internet infrastructure company. It was acquired by Mavenir Systems in May 2011.
The company was founde ...
. In 2003, the Automated Test Equipment group, part of the 1979 Fairchild Semiconductor acquisition, was spun off to NPTest Holding, which later sold it to Credence.
In 2004, Schlumberger Business Consulting was launched and a decade later was acquired by Accenture.
In 2005, Schlumberger purchased
Waterloo Hydrogeologic
Waterloo Hydrogeologic is a company that specializes with groundwater modelling software, training, and consulting services. The company was started by Nilson Guiguer and Thomas Franz, who were developing software for their research at the Universi ...
, which was followed by several other
groundwater
Groundwater is the water present beneath Earth's surface in rock and soil pore spaces and in the fractures of rock formations. About 30 percent of all readily available freshwater in the world is groundwater. A unit of rock or an unconsolidate ...
industry related companies, such as Westbay Instruments, and Van Essen Instruments. Also that year, Schlumberger relocated its U.S. corporate offices from New York to Houston.
In 2006, Schlumberger purchased the remaining 30% of WesternGeco from Baker Hughes for US$2.4 billion. Also that year, the Schlumberger-Doll Research Center was relocated to a newly built research facility in
Cambridge, Massachusetts
Cambridge ( ) is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. As part of the Boston metropolitan area, the cities population of the 2020 U.S. census was 118,403, making it the fourth most populous city in the state, behind Boston, ...
to replace the
Ridgefield, Connecticut
Ridgefield is a town in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. Situated in the foothills of the Berkshire Mountains, the 300-year-old community had a population of 25,033 at the 2020 census. The town center, which was formerly a borough ...
research center. The facility joins the other research centers operated by the company in
Cambridge, England
Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge became ...
;
Moscow, Russia
Moscow ( , American English, US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia. The city stands on t ...
;
Stavanger, Norway
Stavanger (, , US usually , ) is a city and municipality in Norway. It is the fourth largest city and third largest metropolitan area in Norway (through conurbation with neighboring Sandnes) and the administrative center of Rogaland county. T ...
; and Dhahran, Saudi Arabia.Schlumberger Research " ''Schlumberger''. Retrieved on January 30, 2011. In March 2022, Schlumberger stopped investing in its projects in Russia because of
International sanctions during the Russo-Ukrainian War
International sanctions have been imposed against Russia and Crimea during the Russo-Ukrainian War by a large number of countries, including the United States, Canada, the European Union, and international organisations following the Russi ...
Smith International
Smith International was a Fortune 500 company headquartered in the Greenspoint district and in unincorporated Harris County, Texas.
in an all-stock deal valued at $11.3 billion was announced. The sale price is 45.84-a-share price was 37.5 percent higher than Smith closing price on 18 February 2010. The deal is the biggest acquisition in Schlumberger history. The merger was completed on August 27, 2010. Also announced in 2010 were Schlumberger plans to acquire Geoservices, a French-based company specializing in energy services, in a deal valued at $1.1 billion, including debt.
In 2014, Schlumberger announced the purchase of the remaining shares of SES Holdings Limited ("Saxon"), a Calgary-based provider of international land drilling services, from First Reserve and certain members of Saxon management. The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions, including the receipt of regulatory approvals. Schlumberger had a minority share in Saxon previously.
In 2015, Schlumberger was indicted by the US Department of Justice for sanction violations of conducting business in Iran and Sudan; the company was fined $233 million, amounting to the largest fine for sanctions to date.
In 2015, due to a downturn in the global oil and gas industry, Schlumberger announced 21,000 layoffs accounting for 15% of the company's total workforce.
In 2015, Schlumberger agreed to acquire oilfield equipment manufacturer Cameron International for $14.8 billion.
In 2018, Schlumberger announced that WesternGeco would be exiting the seismic data acquisition business, both onshore and offshore, while retaining its multiclient data processing and interpretation segments. This decision followed the bankruptcy filings of several competitors in the seismic services sector.
In 2020, Schlumberger cut more than 21,000 jobs during the global
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
.
In 2021, Schlumberger New Energy announced the signature of pilot project agreements between the French state, Genvia and critical-industry leaders on the pathway to net zero in the cement and steel industries. Through these agreements, the goal is to scale up the next generation of electrolyzer technology, developed over the last two decades, to produce clean hydrogen without CO2 emissions, accelerating the decarbonization of multiple industrial sectors.
In 2022, Schlumberger completed a corporate rebranding to be known as SLB. According to media statements, the company's CEO said the corporate rebranding is not a shift away from fossil fuels.
Corporate affairs
France
The company has offices in multiple cities and regions in France: Abbeville, Beziers, Clamart, Montpellier, Pau and Paris.
Such sites and entities are as well at the forefront of the SLB New Energy strategy and development. (example: Geothermal with Celsius Energy and Hydrogen with Genvia)
United States
Schlumberger maintains a campus at the northeast corner of U.S. Highway 90A and Gillingham Lane in
Sugar Land, Texas
Sugar Land is the largest city in Fort Bend County, Texas, United States, located in the southwestern part of the metropolitan area. Located about southwest of downtown Houston, Sugar Land is a populous suburban municipality centered around th ...
; as of 2017 Schlumberger is the third largest employer in the city. In 2015, Schlumberger announced that it was moving its U.S. corporate headquarters to the Sugar Land facility from its Houston office building. The company plans to build new buildings with a scheduled completion time of late 2017. They include a total of of Class A office space and an "amenities" building with of space.
In the 1930s, the North American headquarters were established in Houston. In the 1970s, the company's top executives in North America were relocated to
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
. By 2006, the head office had 50 executives and support staff. By that year the company was moving that office to a building near the
Houston Chronicle
The ''Houston Chronicle'' is the largest daily newspaper in Houston, Texas, United States. , it is the third-largest newspaper by Sunday circulation in the United States, behind only ''The New York Times'' and the ''Los Angeles Times''. With it ...
''. Friday September 29, 2006. Business 1. Retrieved on January 13, 2009.
The company moved its Houston-area offices from 5000
Gulf Freeway
Interstate 45 (I-45) is a major Interstate Highway located entirely within the US state of Texas. While most Interstate routes which have numbers ending in "5" are cross-country north–south routes, I-45 is comparatively short, with the ...
Houston Business Journal
American City Business Journals, Inc. (ACBJ) is an American newspaper publisher based in Charlotte, North Carolina. ACBJ publishes The Business Journals, which contains local business news for 44 markets in the United States, Hemmings Motor New ...
''. Wednesday October 26, 2005. Retrieved on January 13, 2009.
Recognition
In 2009, ''
Newsweek
''Newsweek'' is an American weekly online news magazine co-owned 50 percent each by Dev Pragad, its president and CEO, and Johnathan Davis (businessman), Johnathan Davis, who has no operational role at ''Newsweek''. Founded as a weekly print m ...
'' released their "Green Rankings", a ranking of the 500 largest corporations on track records on a number of environmental issues. Schlumberger was ranked 118th out of 500 overall, and 3rd out of 31 in their industry. ''Newsweek'' remarked that to mitigate global warming Schlumberger has invested in
carbon sequestration
Carbon sequestration is the process of storing carbon in a carbon pool. Carbon dioxide () is naturally captured from the atmosphere through biological, chemical, and physical processes. These changes can be accelerated through changes in land ...
which involves long-term storage of and that the company's seismic survey ships are 20% to 25% more fuel-efficient than those of other seismic contractors from using fuels that emit less pollution and towing equipment that creates less drag on the vessels.
Controversies
Radioactive sources
In 2006, a radioactive canister imported by Schlumberger was recovered in the
Western Australia
Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...
n outback desert. The canister had been lost
by the company's transport partner, when the improperly secured container fell off the trailer on which it was being transported.
In 2010, the
Aberdeen
Aberdeen (; sco, Aiberdeen ; gd, Obar Dheathain ; la, Aberdonia) is a city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous city in the country. Aberdeen is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas (as Aberdeen City), and ...
Sheriff court fined Schlumberger Oilfield UK £300,000 for losing a radioactive source on the rig floor on the Ensco 101 mobile drilling rig in the North Sea for 4 hours.
Spills
In 2009, the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection fined Chesapeake Appalachia LLC and Schlumberger Technology Corp. more than $15,500 each for a hydrochloric acid spill in February 2009 at Chesapeake's Chancellor natural gas well site in Asylum Township,
Bradford County, Pennsylvania
Bradford County is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. It is part of Northeastern Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, its population was 59,967. Its county seat is Towanda. The county was created on February 21, 1810, from parts ...
. Officials said the leak did not contaminate groundwater.
PCB contamination
In 2006, as the current owner of a facility in
Pickens, South Carolina
Pickens, formerly called Pickens Courthouse, is a city in Pickens County, South Carolina, United States. The population was 3,126 at the 2010 census. Pickens changed its classification from a town to a city in 1998, but it was not reported to the ...
, Schlumberger agreed to pay $11.8 million to federal and state agencies for a problem caused by the previous owner, Sangamo-Weston, a capacitor manufacturing plant. The cause of the problem was from
polychlorinated biphenyls
Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) are highly carcinogenic chemical compounds, formerly used in industrial and consumer products, whose production was banned in the United States by the Toxic Substances Control Act in 1979 and internationally by ...
(PCB) released into the environment by Sangamo-Weston from 1955 to 1987. According to the Justice Department's Environment and Natural Resources Division, an additional agreement by Schlumberger to purchase and remove dams will directly improve the Twelvemile Creek, South Carolina
ecosystem
An ecosystem (or ecological system) consists of all the organisms and the physical environment with which they interact. These biotic and abiotic components are linked together through nutrient cycles and energy flows. Energy enters the syste ...
and provide significant environmental benefits for the affected communities.
Deepwater Horizon
In 2010, Schlumberger was contracted to perform
wireline logging
Well logging, also known as borehole logging is the practice of making a detailed record (a ''well log'') of the geologic formations penetrated by a borehole. The log may be based either on visual inspection of samples brought to the surface (' ...
on the ''
Deepwater Horizon
''Deepwater Horizon'' was an ultra-deepwater, dynamically positioned, semi-submersible offshore drilling rig owned by Transocean and operated by BP. On 20 April 2010, while drilling at the Macondo Prospect, a blowout caused an explosion ...
'' oil rig in the
Gulf of Mexico
The Gulf of Mexico ( es, Golfo de México) is an oceanic basin, ocean basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, largely surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of ...
. On the day of the explosion, the Schlumberger crew was supposed to perform a cement evaluation test, but the test was cancelled and the crew was released by BP to leave the rig on the same day. The cost-cutting decision to cancel the test is dramatized in the subsequent
film
A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...
by Peter Berg.
Business with Iran and Sudan
In 2015, Schlumberger pled guilty to violating U.S. sanctions related to Iran and Sudan and agreed to pay a $237 million penalty.
Sexual harassment
In 2020, a class action lawsuit was filed against Schlumberger, alleging a culture of sexual harassment, discrimination, and retaliation. According to the company's pay-gap report for 2018, women composed a mere 5.4% of field roles and 16.2% of roles in the full company. The lawsuit alleges that males regularly documented female co-workers and flaunted them on public forums. Male colleagues would also encourage other men to break into the plaintiff's room at night and stonewall her if she did not consent to sexual activity. The lawsuit also outlines instances of "sexist and hostile comments," and one instance in which the plaintiff was groped. Women who complain to HR are told it's all just "oil field talk" and are subsequently ignored. When the plaintiff kept complaining, Schlumberger allegedly terminated the plaintiff. Women who spoke with the Texas Observer describe a culture of silence, where women stay silent for fear of being fired in the high turnover company.
Russia
In October 2022, it was reported that some of Schlumberger's more than 9,000 Russian employees based in Russia received military draft notices through the company. Human rights groups such as Business & Human Rights Resource Centre are watching how the company responds to the concerns. About a week later, the company said it was evaluating unspecified options for its thousands of Russian employees. According to a list maintained by the Chief Executive Leadership Institute at
Yale University
Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wo ...
which tracks company responses about operating in Russia, Schlumberger is noted as "buying time" while it continues to carry out the bulk of its business in the country.
See also
*
List of oilfield service companies
This is a list of oilfield service companies – notable companies that provide services to the petroleum exploration and production industry but do not typically produce petroleum. In the list, notable subsidiary companies and divisions are list ...