Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB)
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The oil-services industry could see a wave of mergers and takeovers if the North American market remains depressed during the second half of 2009, Schlumberger Ltd. (SLB) Chief Executive Andrew Gould said Friday.

In a second-quarter earnings conference call with analysts, the executive said that "if North America remains bumping along the bottom for the next six months, you'll see some consolidation in the industry."

Gould added that Schlumberger was always "open for a good opportunity" in terms of acquisitions, but what the company can buy is "quite limited."

The profits for oil-services companies have been squeezed by a reduction in drilling and development activity in the wake of lower energy prices, particularly in North America. Many of the service companies' clients - the firms that produce and sell oil and gas - also have pushed to renegotiate service contracts at a lower price.

Gould added that most contract re-negotiations with its major clients already have concluded.

"For the major customers, most of the re-negotiations were done in the first half of the year," he said.

Schlumberger, with principal offices in Houston, Paris and The Hague, is the world's largest oilfield-services company.

-By Angel Gonzalez, Dow Jones Newswires; 713-547-9214; angel.gonzalez@dowjones.com

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