THE DUKE OF YORK VISITS THE SCHLUMBERGER DRILLING TECHNOLOGY CENTER

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THE DUKE OF YORK VISITS THE SCHLUMBERGER DRILLING TECHNOLOGY CENTER
21 January 2004 - Schlumberger

Schlumberger Oilfield Services today hosted His Royal Highness The Duke of York at its Global Drilling Technology Center in Stonehouse, Gloucestershire. The Duke of York visited the facility in his capacity as the UK's Special Representative for International Trade and Investment. Last year, Schlumberger designated the Stonehouse Drilling Technology Center as its main production facility for downhole drilling systems and power sources. Since then the facility on the Stroudwater Industrial Estate has rapidly expanded, from 80 employees in late 2002 to 140 employees currently. In June 2003, Schlumberger commissioned a new plant at the site to design and manufacture state-of-the-art downhole power sources for drilling tools. Expansion continues, with a further 27,000-square-foot facility scheduled to open later this year, bringing an additional 80 jobs to the Stonehouse site.

The Duke of York visited the facility in his capacity as the UK's Special Representative for International Trade and Investment. Last year, Schlumberger designated the Stonehouse Drilling Technology Center as its main production facility for downhole drilling systems and power sources. Since then the facility on the Stroudwater Industrial Estate has rapidly expanded, from 80 employees in late 2002 to 140 employees currently. In June 2003, Schlumberger commissioned a new plant at the site to design and manufacture state-of-the-art downhole power sources for drilling tools. Expansion continues, with a further 27,000-square-foot facility scheduled to open later this year, bringing an additional 80 jobs to the Stonehouse site.

The company chose Stonehouse as its worldwide Drilling Technology Center because of the plant's proven track record in design and manufacture of leading-edge drilling tools. The Stonehouse facility was responsible for the design and manufacture of the PowerDrive rotary steerable drilling system, which has helped to revolutionize exploration and development of offshore oil fields throughout the world. The rotary steerable system overcomes many of the problems of conventional downhole drilling, enabling operators to access oil that has been uneconomic to recover by conventional methods.

The Duke toured the center with Simon Bittleston, vice president, Product Development, Schlumberger Oilfield Services, and Derek Normore, Stonehouse Technology Center manager.

'The Duke of York's visit highlights the positive commitment Schlumberger is making to the Gloucestershire economy through the expansion of this facility,' said Bittleston. 'Gloucestershire and Bristol have historic links with the aircraft industry, which spawned a large amount of engineering expertise and quality manufacturing machine shops. This made it a natural choice for Schlumberger as a location for its center for drilling excellence. We look forward to continued growth through the recruitment of skilled and talented local people.'

In October 2001, the Duke of York took up a new role as the UK's Special Representative for International Trade and Investment. The Duke works in support of UK Trade & Investment, the government body which supports UK companies trading internationally and encourages foreign investment.

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About: Schlumberger
Schlumberger is the world's leading oilfield services company supplying technology, project management and information solutions that optimize performance for customers working in the oil and gas industry. The company employs more than 52,000 people of over 140 nationalities working in more than 80 countries, and comprises two business segments.

Schlumberger supplies a wide range of products and services from formation evaluation through directional drilling, well cementing and stimulation, well completions and productivity to consulting, software, information management and IT infrastructure services that support core industry operational processes. WesternGeco, jointly owned with Baker Hughes, is the world's largest seismic company and provides advanced acquisition and data processing services.

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