Schlumberger CEO Says Oilfield Growth Will Be at Structurally Lower Rate

Top oilfield service firm Schlumberger NV expects to return to 2019 level pre-tax margins by the end of next year, a sign the oil industry faces a long-haul to recover from the latest oil-price crash.

Chief Executive Olivier Le Peuch told an energy conference on Tuesday that industry growth will be at a structurally lower rate in the future. The company is reducing its footprint in North America, selling pressure pumping and low-flow artificial lift businesses as it restructures.

Those asset sales will reduce its North American revenue to about 20% from 35%, Le Peuch told investors at the Barclay's CEO Energy-Power conference.

(Reporting by Liz Hampton Editing by Chris Reese)