SLB (SLB) CEO Olivier Le Peuch said Friday the company is well-positioned to quickly expand its business in Venezuela, given its role as the only international oilfield services provider that has maintained an active operating presence in the country, delivering services for Chevron under the oil producer’s license.
“With appropriate licensing, safety parameters and compliance measures in place, we can rapidly ramp up activities,” Le Peuch said on the company’s earnings conference call. “We’re already receiving a lot of incoming calls to explore options.”
“We have the track record” in Venezuela and a significant set of assets ready to be deployed, the CEO said, noting SLB (SLB) a decade ago employed more than 3K workers in the country and recorded more than $1B in annual revenues.
Rival oilfield services firm Halliburton said earlier this week that it aims to quickly grow its business in Venezuela as soon as it secures U.S. government approval and certainty over payments.
Stifel analyst Stephen Gengaro has said SLB (SLB) and Halliburton are among the best-positioned companies to benefit from any new investment that flows into Venezuela.
SLB (SLB) shares closed -0.3% on Friday after the company beat Wall Street estimates for Q4 adjusted earnings while revenues rose 5% to $9.75B, also above expectations, and net income fell to $824M, or $0.55/share, from $1.1B, or $0.77/share, in the year-earlier quarter.
The company said it expects a decline in adjusted EBITDA and revenues during the current quarter, in part due to outsized product sales at the end of last year, but revenues are seen rising for the full year, guiding for $36.9B-$37.7B in revenues, up from $35.7B in FY 2025, helped by the ChampionX acquisition, strong international activity, and faster than expected growth across its data center solutions business.