Schlumberger Wins Part of $3.2 Billion Drilling Project in Venezuela

Schlumberger Ltd, the world’s largest oil driller by market value, said Wednesday it has won a large project in Venezuela, just months after the company shut down some operations and fired hundreds of workers because of payment delays from the government. The Houston-based company will drill 80 wells in an extra-heavy oil field in the Orinoco Belt, said company spokesman Joao Felix. Terms of the deal, which are still being negotiated, will ensure payment from the government. Schlumberger was the only large publicly traded company among the three winners of a drilling tender for 480 Orinoco Belt wells, which were announced by state-run Petróleos de Venezuela SA earlier Wednesday. PdVSA, as the Venezuelan oil firm is also known, said the project is worth some $3.2 billion. More…