Conrad Schlumberger conceived the revolutionary idea of mapping subsurface rock bodies with electrical measurements. Conrad and his brother Marcel began working together in 1919.
The Schlumberger brothers conducted geophysical surveys across the globe. Later, the family created the first electrical resistivity well log - a turning point in the history of oil exploration. By 1929, electrical coring was being conducted around the world.
Electrical coring had taken the industry by storm - and with it, SLB began to resemble the global force it is today. The company expanded to the biggest oil-producing countries, including a key market in the US. Conrad died in 1936.
While the war slowed progress, industry innovations and modernisation, like the first offshore oil rigs, would help propel SLB forward.
As electronics changed the industry, SLB pushed its own innovation, exploring new technologies. And with several strategic acquisitions and company restructuring, SLB began to build a greater spectrum of capabilities for the future.
SLB tech began to be used in new ways, from uncovering sunken vessels with electrodes to providing calculations to NASA during the space race. Meanwhile, the company was listed on the New York Stock Exchange in 1962.
The boom of engineering and computer power in the 1970s helped SLB reach new heights as the market leader, powered by its unparalleled range of tools. As an early tech adopter, SLB joined ARPAnet in 1975, a research network that would become the Internet.
SLB opened the Cambridge Research Centre in England and an engineering centre in Japan to drive innovation and explore new approaches and tech.
In the 90s, SLB launched several products that revolutionised drilling and logging operations, improving precision and cost-effectiveness like never before.
In the first decade of the 21st century, SLB strengthened its core offerings. It helped take industry understanding of reservoirs to a new level with the launch and integration of new tech, including 4D reservoir monitoring.
The industry continued to shift through the 2010s, and SLB shifted with it, innovating new products and technologies in imaging as well as for shale and gas plays.
SLB products and services are more essential than ever. New, connected tech has improved efficiency and information sharing for more effective drilling in oil and gas, while new offerings for the growing New Energy sector keep SLB on the cutting-edge.
