Courtesy of reuters.com

Schlumberger Ltd, the world's No.1 oilfield services provider, said it will cut 9,000 jobs, or about 7 percent of its workforce, as it focuses on controlling costs amid plummeting oil prices.

A slew of global oil majors such as BP Plc and ConocoPhillips have cut jobs due to a nearly 60 percent slump in oil prices over the past six months. Brent crude LCOc1 closed at $47.67 on Thursday.

The Houston-based company said capital expenditure, excluding multiclient and project management investments, is expected to be $3 billion for 2015. Capex for 2014 was $4 billion.

"In this uncertain environment, we continue to focus on what we can control," Chief Executive Paal Kibsgaard said.

"If oil prices stay at this level, none of these companies would just be able to adjust with one round of workforce reductions," Robin Shoemaker, analyst with KeyBanc Capital Markets, told Reuters.

Net income attributable to the company fell to $302 million, or 23 cents per share, in the fourth quarter ended Dec. 31, from $1.66 billion, or $1.26 per share, a year earlier. On an adjusted basis, the company earned $1.50 per share, beating the average analyst estimate of $1.45 per share, according Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. Revenue rose 6 percent to $12.64 billion, mainly helped by an 18.5 percent jump in revenue from North America.

Source: reuters.com