Schlumberger has a long-established relationship with Kuwait that has seen the range of services it provides evolve over the years to meet the changing needs of oilfield operators.

The company was founded by the two Schlumberger brothers, who invented wireline logging as a technique for obtaining downhole data in oil and gas wells. Today, it continues to build on the industry's longest track record of providing leading edge E&P technology to develop new advancements -- from reservoir to surface.
The relationship with Kuwait dates back to the early 1950s, when the US-British joint venture known as the Kuwait Oil Company Limited was drilling for oil in the Kuwaiti desert.
Some 15 years after the famous Burgan 1 discovery of 1938, Schlumberger performed openhole wireline services on the well. By 1953, Schlumberger had established a full-time presence in Kuwait to help with the development of the oil industry. Over the next decades the range of services the company offered in the country steadily increased, and today Schlumberger is represented across the full spectrum of oilfield services.
This process began in 1956, when Schlumberger expanded its wireline operations to Gettyoil & Aminoil in Wafra (now operated by Joint Operations). By the early 1960s, Schlumberger Flopetrol had entered Kuwait and was providing testing services. In the 1970s, Dowell Schlumberger began providing cementing and pumping services to KOC's drilling operations.
Following the Gulf War in 1991, Schlumberger had a major presence in the repair and recovery work of Kuwait's oilfields. Dowell Schlumberger provided pumping services as part of the well control operations and Schlumberger Floptetrol operated snubbing units to reinstall completions and help get the wells back on production as soon as possible.
Also in 1991, Schlumberger Anadrill entered Kuwait, bringing their directional drilling and MWD services. Today these services, as well as LWD, are commonplace in all the fields in the country.
Schlumberger introduced their coiled tubing operations to Kuwait in 1999, paving the way for cost effective well intervention techniques.
Schlumberger Geoquest were able to offer reservoir management services to Kuwait Oil Company, a subsidiary of Kuwait Petroleum Corporation, in the late 1990s. In addition, the amount of data being acquired from wireline logs, well tests, cementing and other wellsite services meant KOC had to implement a suitable database. Schlumberger Information Solutions were commissioned to install the Finder data management system, and it is still used as the historical database today.
Geco-Prakla (now WesternGeco) performed Kuwait's first 3D seismic survey in 1995. The 3D projects became an important tool for the rejuvenation of Kuwait's oilfields and the results have been achieved despite the unprecedented challenges of acquiring 3D seismic data in a post-war desert. The desert contained wet and dry oil lakes and minefields with unexploded munitions. Even today, following the clear-up operations, ordnance and oil lakes pose significant risk for the seismic crews who are currently running Q-Land seismic surveys. In early 2004, Kuwait Oil Company and WesternGeco conducted the first point-source/point-receiver (single senor) onshore seismic survey in the Middle East. This first survey yielded excellent results, allowing KOC to image formations in West Kuwait with significantly better definition than ever seen before.
In 2004, Kuwait Oil Company moved another step closer to becoming a digital oil company with the opening of their 3D Visualisation Centre. Schlumberger Information Solutions installed the fully-equipped visualisation equipment - including the largest screen in the Middle East - in a purpose-built KOC facility.
Today, Schlumberger is represented across the full spectrum of oilfield services in Kuwait. The process might begin from the exploration phase with Q-Land single sensor land seismic system or other 3D seismic acquisition. In the appraisal phase, services offered include directional drilling, MWD, LWD and wireline logging cementing and formation evaluation (both LWD and wireline).
For producing: To place the wells on production, perforating, electric submersible pumps and horizontal pumping systems can be provided, as well as production-enhancement services such as stimulation and fracturing. Well maintenance services, such as slickline, surface well testing and coiled tubing are also fully available in Kuwait. Schlumberger also provides management services including Data & Consulting services, field development studies, oil company employee training, and reservoir and data management.
Kuwait Oil Company has always been very receptive to new technology, and Schlumberger has introduced many new and state-of-the-art services to the country. The company has always invested significant time and money on research and engineering as a long-term strategy to support and grow its technology leadership.  It continues to lead the field with its new technologies and the investment into Research & Development: $467 million in R&D in 2004 for its oilfield activities is testament to this fact.
'Kuwait has a long history of running new technology,' explains Adrian Waterfall, Schlumberger Kuwait marketing manager. 'Even back in 1953, when Schlumberger Wireline had just introduced the first computer-ready log data in the field, it took less than a year to get this technology into Kuwait, which in those days was very quick. Kuwait Oil Company continues to be very active in encouraging us to demonstrate our latest services and products to examine their potential for application in its fields.'
Schlumberger focuses not just on new technologies, but also on solutions that meet the needs of the oil companies. A number of Research Centers and Technology Hubs have been created around the world accordingly.  The Gulf region has a technology hub in Abu Dhabi, whose purpose is to deliver client-driven solutions by providing complementary, critical competence on demand from a centralized resource pool of local experts. In addition, there is a Research Centre located on the campus of King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia. The main research directions addressed are geology, especially with regard to carbonate reservoirs; stimulation; water management, and land seismic. With all these aspects figuring highly in Kuwait reservoir management, it is not surprising that projects are already being pursued between the Research Centre in Dhahran and KOC.
Schlumberger also runs projects with Kuwait Institute of Science and Research, in both petroleum and water studies.
Schlumberger has always been committed to ensuring nationalities of the countries in which they work are well represented amongst its employees; Kuwait is no exception. With the drive from the Kuwait Government to encourage Kuwaitis to work in the private sector, Schlumberger has stepped up to the task. Through rigorous and extensive recruiting, Kuwaitis already represent over 20 per cent of the Schlumberger workforce in Kuwait, assuming different roles from managerial to engineering. In addition, more than 20 Kuwaiti managers and engineers are currently working for Schlumberger in other locations around the world.
The company is well known for the training it provides for employees. In Kuwait, its training has expanded to Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (KPC). Through its Network of Excellence in Training (NExT), technical training courses are held at the Petroleum Training Centre regularly. The company not only provides training courses using external experts, but also runs 'on the job' training programmes, whereby KOC sends its Kuwaiti engineers on Schlumberger technical courses, followed by field experience in a foreign assignment for up to three months.
Schlumberger continues to strengthen relations with local institutions, in particular with Kuwait University. The company has donated reservoir management software to the university and often conducts information lectures for the students on the role that service companies play in the oil industry in Kuwait.
Kuwait Oil Company has made a very determined move to implement an effective Health, Safety and Environment (HSE) management system. Schlumberger has worked alongside KOC, promoting HSE and providing as much support as possible, to make the initiative a success. This has been recognised by KOC, with Schlumberger winning the KOC chairman's HSE award for the last three consecutive years.
Schlumberger operates in many varied and often challenging geographical environments. An unwavering commitment has always been maintained to the highest standards of the quality, health and safety of employees, customers and contractors, as well as for the protection of the environment in the communities in which employees live and work. The Schlumberger QHSE policy is applied throughout the company. Each employee must maintain up-to-date certifications in essential QHSE training courses through both traditional classroom and on-line interactive learning. The long-term business success of Schlumberger depends on the ability to ensure that QHSE remains a top priority for the management and each employee.