Schlumberger Elevates Le Peuch to CEO as Kibsgaard to Retire -- 2nd Update

By Colin Kellaher

Schlumberger Ltd. (SLB) on Friday said Paal Kibsgaard will retire as chairman and chief executive, effective Aug. 1.

The Houston oilfield-services company said Olivier Le Peuch, currently chief operating officer, will succeed Mr. Kibsgaard as chief executive and join the board on that date.

Schlumberger said Mark Papa, one of the pioneers of the U.S. shale boom who joined the board as a non-independent director in October, will become non-executive chairman, while Peter Currie will continue to serve as lead independent director.

Mr. Papa, the former chief executive of shale-industry bellwether EOG Resources Inc. (EOG), is currently chairman and chief executive of smaller independent shale company Centennial Resource Development Inc. (CDEV).

Mr. Le Peuch, who has spent 32 years with Schlumberger, was named chief operating officer in February, a move seen as a signal that he was in line to succeed Mr. Kibsgaard at the helm.

Schlumberger said in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing that its board approved an increase in Mr. Le Peuch's annual base salary to $1.4 million and an annual cash incentive range from 0% to 150% of his base salary. The board also approved a performance share unit grant with a grant date fair value of about $10.5 million, the company said in the filing.

Both Mr. Kibsgaard and his predecessor, Andrew Gould, each served as chief operating officer for just over a year before moving into the top post.

Mr. Kibsgaard, who joined Schlumberger in 1997, has been chief executive since August 2011 and chairman since April 2015. He is also retiring from the board, the company said.

--Michael Dabaie contributed to this article.

Write to Colin Kellaher at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

July 19, 2019 15:08 ET (19:08 GMT)

Copyright (c) 2019 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.