# Letter to Shareholders

_Source: `DeepSeekOCR_Ardian_pruned_1k/energy-oil-gas-equipment-services/NYSE_SLB_2018/NYSE_SLB_2018.mmd` · pages 3-9_

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Letter to Shareholders

The gradual recovery of the oil price during the first three quarters of 2018 drove strong global activity, particularly in the development of unconventional land resources in the US. Once oil prices began to fall sharply in the fourth quarter, however, US land activity slowed while international activity remained firm as E&P investment continued to be robust. Against this backdrop, Schlumberger revenue increased 8% year-on-year to reach $32.8 billion with international revenue growth outpacing that of North America in the third quarter. Earnings grew for the second consecutive year.

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Paal Kibsgaard
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer

In the oil markets, sentiment was stable and positive for the first three quarters of 2018, supporting the rising oil price environment. OECD crude and product stocks continued a downward trend that began in the third quarter of 2016. Production cuts from OPEC and Russia in 2017 strengthened the oil price. Activity picked up globally and, as oil reached its peak price for the year in October, production from major producers, including unconventional US production, began to surprise to the upside. Output in Libya rebounded sharply; Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates each recorded record production output; and dispensations from the Iran export sanctions all contributed to increased production that more than offset declines elsewhere.

As a result, the market became oversupplied at the beginning of the fourth quarter despite the anticipated slowdown in production growth in the Permian Basin due to capacity takeaway constraints. This, coupled with concerns about global oil demand, caused oil prices to plummet by more than 40% during the fourth quarter of 2018 and led to a sudden and sharp decrease in US land well completions activity during the final months of the year.

In North America, our financial results were driven by the strength of activity in the development of shale oil resources that increased US production to record levels. In line with this, our OneStim \( ^{®} \)  business grew by 41% year-over-year, boosted by the performance of our technology and the benefit of our transformation program, which has streamlined our operations. In drilling services, the market leadership of our rotary steerable systems and the increasing deployment of our innovative range of drill bits drove growth throughout the year. Offshore activity across North America, however, remained subdued although customer activity showed early signs of growth toward the end of the year.

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International revenue grew faster than in North America during the third quarter of 2018 for the first time since 2014, marking the beginning of a positive activity trend after three consecutive years of declining revenue. This was driven by the increased activity of the national oil companies as they began to accelerate investment in longer-term resource development. One major result of this for Schlumberger during the year was the strong demand for our integrated drilling services, where we deployed an additional 80 rigs on major projects in Saudi Arabia, India, Norway, Russia, and Iraq. These integrated drilling projects represent significant growth and performance upside for our operations in the coming years.

Our performance during the year benefitted from new technology sales that remained steady at 23% of total sales. During the year, we commercialized new technologies such as the HyperBlade \( ^{*} \)  hyperbolic diamond element bit, GyroSphere \( ^{*} \)  MEMS gyro-while-drilling service, Fulcrum \( ^{*} \)  cement-conveyed frac performance technology, and Concert \( ^{*} \)  well testing live performance. This strong commitment to technology innovation is based on our firm belief that technology drives E&P performance by improving operational efficiency and lowering the cost per barrel.

Although our health and safety performance in the fourth quarter was our safest on record regarding recordable injuries, our full-year performance deteriorated compared with the previous year. Regretfully, we suffered three driving-related fatalities in North America involving two contractors and one employee, and a contractor was fatally injured in a rigsite incident. In our continual pursuit of workplace safety, our focus for 2019 will leverage the Schlumberger SAFE program, in which everyone in the company makes a personal commitment to themselves, their families, and their colleagues to ensure their own safety and the safety of others. This program has multiple initiatives, including the use of new mobile technologies to increase driving safety.

During the past four years, we have modernized our operating platform, creating stronger and more specialized operations support functions. Now that our transformation
"Taken together, our people, technology, and processes make us the partner of choice in the sustainable, responsible development of hydrocarbon resources."

2018 Revenue

23% New Technology

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is largely complete, the improvements we have made enhance the development and delivery of our technology along with the reliability of our products and services. Strengthened by our increased focus on teamwork and functional accountability, these combined improvements have resulted in more robust execution capabilities and increased performance.

One of our greatest strengths is the diversity of our people, with men and women of many nationalities, cultures, and technical backgrounds working together and sharing common objectives. We attract and retain top performers worldwide by addressing the evolving needs of our workforce in terms of competency development and quality of life. Our domain experts provide a competitive advantage, enabling us to design and execute efficient operations that maximize hydrocarbon recovery while our technology and processes are helping to reduce the environmental footprint of E&P operations. We work closely with our customers to achieve environmental, social, and governance (ESG) objectives; mitigate social and environmental risks; and

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lower greenhouse gas emissions in field operations. This is integral to achieving our goal to improve social and economic conditions in the communities where we live and work. Taken together, our people, technology, and processes make us the partner of choice in the sustainable, responsible development of hydrocarbon resources.

Looking forward, we see a series of factors that will likely define the oil market in the coming year. These include the impact of the latest OPEC and Russia production cuts, slowing production growth from North America land driven by lower investments and activity toward the end of 2018, the expiration of the dispensations given to the Iran export sanctions, and the efforts being made to resolve the global trade discussions. Based on these factors, we expect the oil market sentiments to improve over the course of 2019, leading to a corresponding recovery in oil prices.

In a market environment with continued robust economic growth, a multiyear increase in international E&P investment will be required. Through the success we have achieved in modernizing our operating platform, expanding our technology offering, and evolving our business models, we are very well positioned to outgrow the market in the coming upcycle, generate superior operating margins, and deliver cash returns that benefit our shareholders.

On behalf of the entire Schlumberger organization around the world, I would like to thank our customers and our shareholders for their continued confidence and support. I would also like to personally thank each Schlumberger employee for their strong commitment and steadfast dedication to the company. The future remains bright for Schlumberger.

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Paal Kibsgaard

Chairman and Chief Executive Officer