Marwan Moufarrej

Marwan Moufarrej was pivotal to Schlumberger – the world’s largest oilfield services company (also ranked 1st in an Oil & Gas Middle East listing of global services companies) – launching a major office in Dubai, to cater to the rising demand for its products and services. It also became the first freezone company to be established under the Dubai World Trade Centre Authority (DWTC Authority). Schlumberger in March this year also officially opened a new facility to support the oilfield asset reliability and efficiency in Dammam, Saudi Arabia. The Schlumberger Middle East Center for Reliability and Efficiency (CRE is the largest facility in the Schlumberger network at 178,000 sqm. It is aligned with Saudi’s IKTVA programme and will employ more than 450 Saudi nationals. Meanwhile, analysts at Susquehanna have rated Schlumberger as ‘positive’ and lowered its price target from $88 to $86. Analysts Charles Minervino and Kai Wang have commented, “We are lowering our 2016-17 EPS estimates for Schlumberger as drilling activity and commentary by E&Ps on North America and international spending continue to come in at levels that are even weaker than previously expected. We revised our 2016 EPS estimate to $1.47 from $2.06 and our 2017 EPS estimate to $1.95 from $2.65.” Analysts noted that while the oil industry may continue to decline, Schlumberger is the one of the oil companies best positioned to weather the drilling down-cycle. This is due to its exposure in the Middle East where spending hold ups better and the company developing strong customer relationships. At the global level, in probably its biggest corporate gain, Schlumberger acquired its American rival Cameron last year, for a reported $14.8bn. The merger received unconditional approval from the US Department of Justice and the European Commission.