MOSCOW, September 30 (RIA Novosti) — One of the world's largest oilfield services providers, Schlumberger, is withdrawing American and European staff from Russia amid the Western-imposed sanctions against the country, Bloomberg reported Tuesday, citing sources familiar with the situation.
According to the source, about 20 employees will be withdrawn, including senior officials, as the company continues to monitor the situation.
"Schlumberger continues to closely monitor the sanctions of the United States and the EU and to take all necessary measures to comply with the existing laws," press-secretary of Schlumberger in Russia Alexander Borisov told RIA Novosti.
In Russia, Schlumberger is working with a number of oil companies.
Earlier in July, the spokesman of the Ruspetro oil company told RIA Novosti that the sanctions imposed against Russia did not have a negative impact on the company's cooperation with Schlumberger.
Schlumberger is not the first company that runs down its business in Russia. Earlier, the spokesman of ExxonMobil told RIA Novosti that the company had stopped work on nine projects within a strategic cooperation agreement with Rosneft, except for the project in the Kara Sea on September 26 amid sanctions.
The European Union banned European companies from providing services to the Russian partners for exploration and production of the deep and Arctic oil and shale oil projects, wells drilling and geological studies in particular. It also barred three major Russian oil companies (Rosneft, Transneft, GazpromNeft) from seeking finance on European capital markets.
Schlumberger is the world's largest service company in the oil and gas field, providing a wide range of services: from prospecting and exploration to supplying specialized software. Schlumberger operates in more than 80 countries, its headquarters are in Houston, Paris, London and the Hague. In Russia, the company has more than 40 production bases, research centers, as well as its own production equipment.
