Recommitted to the foundations of SLB
The first decade of the new century saw Schlumberger extend its commitment to its core energy industry tools and services. This was accompanied by the relocation of Schlumberger Limited US corporate headquarters from New York to Houston in 2006. Andrew Gould, Schlumberger chairman and chief executive since 2003, said the move would consolidate the company's presence in the community that was instrumental in its development.
The company has made further strides in understanding reservoirs and launched a host of new technologies and products. Integration of its tools has been crucial to the improvement of Schlumberger services. Imaging tools, production logging tools and Scanner 3D tools were integrated with other Schlumberger technologies to achieve superior reservoir characterization from initial acquisition through to reservoir simulation.
The launch of the ABC Analysis Behind Casing suite of services in 2002 provided a valuable new aid in the evaluation of cased wells where openhole logging is too risky, or in old wells where reevaluation can reveal bypassed pay zones. The suite includes technologies to measure porosity, resistivity, lithology, shale content, fluid saturations, and pressure, as well as enabling the recovery of fluid samples.
The commercialization of the Scanner family of downhole rock and fluid characterization services in 2005 provided engineers with access to new-generation nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) tools, as well as sonic, resistivity, pulse-echo impedance, and three phase production logging measurements, reducing uncertainty in reservoir and fluid characterization.
Quicksilver Probe wireline sampling technology, introduced in 2006, provided a way to deliver fluid samples quickly with little or no contamination. This was complemented in 2007 by the arrival of the InSitu Density sensor, the first of the InSitu family of fluid properties measurement tools.
Schlumberger also reinforced its seismic offering. Geco-Prakla was combined with Western Geophysical in 2000 to create WesternGeco, 70%-owned by Schlumberger and 30% by Baker Hughes. Six years later Schlumberger bought Baker Hughes' stake to take full ownership.
A series of acquisitions in the seismic sector over the rest of the decade has built on this platform. Petrel Workflow Tools was acquired in 2003, bringing with it Petrel seismic interpretation software, which increases reservoir performance by helping geophysicists, geologists, and reservoir engineers to develop collaborative workflows and integrate operations to streamline processes.
WesternGeco began its Q-Marine surveys in 2000. WesternGeco and Statoil created the industry's first long-term reservoir monitoring program in 2004. Late in the same year, Petrobras awarded WesternGeco what was then the world's largest-ever 4D seismic project, shooting over the Marlin field offshore Brazil.
Additions were made to the company's global "teleport" network of satellite communications bases with the opening of new facilities in Brazil and Singapore and a second teleport in Aberdeen, Scotland. Schlumberger now has 12 teleports around the world, supporting its full range of VSAT (Very Small Aperture Terminal) communications services.
The Schlumberger-Doll Research Center was relocated from Ridgefield, Connecticut, to Cambridge, Massachusetts in 2007, to take advantage of greater proximity to academic and other institutions working at the forefront of science and technology in that technological hub.
Year | Event |
2000 | Combines Geco-Prakla with Western Geophysical to create WesternGeco (70% Schlumberger, 30% Baker Hughes) Launches IndigoPool.com acquisition and development (A&D) services company Acquires Aberdeen-based Data Marine Systems Limited, an oilfield communications firm Opens Schlumberger Reservoir Completions Technology Center in Rosharon, Texas Begins conducting Q-Marine surveys |
2001 | Acquires Sema plc, a UK-based IT consultancy Acquires Phoenix, a Scottish-based submersible pump technologies company Acquires Sensa fiber optic temperature sensing solutions based in Southampton, England Deploys Macae remote connectivity teleport in Brazil Forms Schlumberger Information Solutions (SIS) to support real-time reservoir management and E&P business optimization processes Introduces FlexSTONE flexible cementing system |
2002 | Deploys Singapore remote connectivity teleport Introduces proVISION real-time reservoir steering tool for LWD Acquires Inside Reality 3D virtual reality system Acquires Canadian-based A. Comeau and Associates Limited to enhance capabilities in artificially lifted wells Launches ABC Analysis Behind Casing services to support formation evaluation in cased wells |
2003 | Andrew Gould named chairman and chief executive officer of Schlumberger Limited Completes acquisition of Petrel Workflow Tools, provider of collaborative software for the seismic sector Begins conducting Q-Land surveys Launches LiteCRETE lightweight, high-performance cementing system Deploys Aberdeen satellite manufacturing facility and second teleport Acquires Norwegian-based VoxelVision, high-end PC-based visualization and seismic technology company |
2004 | Completes divestiture of SchlumbergerSema to Atos Origin Introduces sonicVISION sonic-while-drilling service Acquires Decision Team (oil and gas software and consulting services firm) and AOA Geomarine Operations (AGO), a pioneer in CSEM (controlled-source electromagnetic) and MMT (marine magnetotelluric) technologies Establishes industry's first long-term reservoir monitoring program, between Statoil and WesternGeco Awarded world's largest-ever 4D seismic project, shooting over the Marlin field offshore Brazil for Petrobras Carries out the first transatlantic remote control of a drilling operation from Cambridge, England, to Cameron, Texas (with M/D Totco) |
2005 | Launches Scope family of while-drilling technology services: StethoScope formation pressure, TeleScope high-speed telemetry, PeriScope deep directional resistivity, and EcoScope multifunction formation evaluation; each represents a step-change in LWD and MWD technology Introduces FiberFRAC technology to improve production rates in tight-gas reservoirs through better proppant distribution and fracture geometry Commissions the 27th Operation Support Center (worldwide facilities that enable real-time monitoring, modeling, and remote control of operations) Commercializes Scanner downhole rock and fluid characterization services: Rt Scanner multiarray triaxial induction, Sonic Scanner acoustic, and MR Scanner new-generation NMR tools Launches cloud computing pilot project between Abingdon Technology Center and IBM’s Montpellier data center |
2006 | Introduces the Quicksilver Probe wireline sampling technology, delivering formation fluid samples quickly with little or no contamination Acquires the 30% minority interest in WesternGeco held by Baker Hughes Acquires Odegaard A/S, a Danish provider of surface seismic data inversion software, and integrates it into WesternGeco Relocates Schlumberger Limited US corporate office from New York to Houston Opens Schlumberger Dhahran Center for Carbonate Research in Saudi Arabia Acquires Terratek, a Salt Lake City-based provider of geomechanics measurements and analysis Acquires Reslink of Norway, an advanced completion solutions company |
2007 | Introduces InSitu Density sensor, the first of the new InSitu Family of reservoir fluid measurements Completes acquisition of Geosystem, a Milan-based land and marine electromagnetics and seismic imaging firm and integrates it into WesternGeco Electromagnetics Acquires Insensys fiber optic stress measurement systems for the subsea integrity surveillance market Acquires V.I.P.S., a UK-based leading reservoir geomechanics software and consulting company Relocates Schlumberger-Doll Research Center from Ridgefield to Cambridge, Massachusetts Inaugurates Schlumberger Middle East and Asia Learning Center in Abu Dhabi, UAE |
2008 | Acquires Staag Imaging, a Houston-based provider of depth imaging technologies for seismic data processing Acquires Extreme Engineering Limited, a Calgary-based supplier of unmanned measurement-while-drilling (MWD) systems Acquired IES, Integrated Exploration Systems, a supplier of petroleum systems modeling software and services based in Aachen, Germany Introduces WellWatcher Flux multizonal reservoir monitoring system Introduces the ACTive live well performance coiled-tubing service based on fiber-optics telemetry SLB and NVIDIA, a key innovator of computer graphics and AI technology, start collaborating with the innovative use of graphics processing units (GPUs) for subsurface imaging and geoscience interpretation |
2009 | Acquires Techsia, a supplier of petrophysical software based in Montpellier, France Forms IntelliServ joint venture with National Oilwell Varco Introduces INTERSECT high-resolution reservoir simulator, a joint product collaboration of Schlumberger, Chevron, and Total |