Schlumberger profit rises, fueled by higher oilfield services demand

(Reuters) – Schlumberger NV’s (N:) third-quarter profit rose 18.2 percent on higher oilfield services demand and the company said it expects the current pipeline bottlenecks in the Permian basin to be addressed within the next 12 to 18 months.

U.S. crude prices () are up about 40 percent from a year ago, but service companies which help operators drill and finish wells, have seen demand for their work cool as producers clamp down on spending and delay completions due to pipeline bottlenecks.

Schlumberger said on Friday that sequential growth in North America slowed from the rates of previous quarters as supply constraints in the Permian impacted hydraulic fracturing activity.

The company’s international revenue rose 1.3 percent to $5.22 billion, while revenue from its North America business rose about 23 percent to $3.20 billion.

Sequential revenue growth in the international business outpaced that of North America for the first time since the second quarter of 2014, Chief Executive Officer Paal Kibsgaard said in a statement on Friday.

The world’s largest oilfield services company said net income rose to $644 million, or 46 cents per share, in the third-quarter ended Sept 30, from $545 million, or 39 cents per share, a year earlier.

The Houston-based company’s revenue rose to $8.5 billion from $7.91 billion.

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