Schlumberger 1997 Results.

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 22, 1998--Schlumberger Limited reported net income for 1997 of $1.3 billion and basic earnings per share of $2.62, 51% higher than in 1996. Operating revenue of $10.65 billion represented a 19% increase over the previous year and a record level for the company.

FOURTH

Fourth quarter net income of $373 million and basic earnings per share of $0.75, were 46% and 44% higher, respectively, than in the fourth quarter of 1996. Operating revenue of $2.91 billion was 16% above the same period last year.

Oilfield Services made substantial gains with a revenue increase of 19%, while rig count rose 15%. These results were driven by our ability to deliver leading-edge technologies along with cost-effective solutions which help our clients to continuously decrease the cost of finding and producing hydrocarbons.

Measurement & Systems revenue grew 7%, as strong growth at Automated Test Equipment and Electronic Transactions more than compensated for declines at metering.

Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Euan Baird commented: "The strength of the results for 1997 speak for themselves as our oilfield revenue increased much faster than the average E&P spending of the oil companies. Our clients have budgeted a further increase in E&P spending of 10% in 1998. However, their plans may be modified when the impact of the economic problems in Asia on oil demand can be evaluated. Overall results of Measurement & Systems should improve in 1998, led by growth of the smart card systems and services markets and continuous growth of Automated Test Equipment." -0-

                  CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF INCOME

                          (Stated in thousands except per share amounts)
                                Twelve Months    Fourth Quarter(Unaudited)
For Periods
 Ended December 31             1997         1996         1997         1996
Revenue
 Operating              $10,647,590  $ 8,956,150  $ 2,907,701  $ 2,515,693
 Interest and other income  106,823       69,515       34,074       17,972
                         10,754,413    9,025,665    2,941,775    2,533,665
Expenses
 Cost of goods sold
   and services           7,836,952    6,835,444    2,123,854    1,902,105
 Research & engineering     486,205      452,608      129,225      115,851
 Marketing                  307,036      301,304       83,135       81,989
 General                    369,030      355,392       97,671       92,674
 Interest                    86,843       72,020       26,769       18,015
 Unusual items                    -      333,091            -            -
 Taxes on income            372,650     (175,677)     108,442       67,968
                          9,458,716    8,174,182    2,569,096    2,278,602
Net Income              $ 1,295,697  $   851,483  $   372,679  $   255,063

Basic Earnings
 Per Share(1)           $      2.62  $      1.74  $      0.75  $      0.52
Diluted Earnings
 Per Share(1)(2)        $      2.52  $      1.70  $      0.72  $      0.50
Average shares
 outstanding(1)             495,215      490,041       497,732     492,647
Average shares
 outstanding
 assuming dilution(1)(2)    514,345      500,498       520,149     506,783
Depreciation and
 amortization included
 in expenses            $   972,539  $   885,198  $    257,525 $   224,497

(1) Adjusted for two-for-one stock split on June 2, 1997.
(2) The calculation of diluted earnings per share assumes that all
    stock options and warrants are exercised at the beginning of the
    period and the proceeds used to purchase shares at the average
    market price for the period.

NOTE: In September 1996, the Company recorded three unusual items which
largely offset one another:

- With increasing profitability and strong outlook in the US, the
Company recognized a portion of the US income tax benefit related to
its US subsidiary's tax loss carryforwards and all temporary
differences.  This resulted in a credit of $360 million.

- A charge of $300 million after tax related primarily to the
Electricity and Gas Management and Geco-Prakla Land and Transition
Zone businesses.

- A charge of $58 million after tax, including a loss on the
divestiture of the remaining defense-related activity, certain asset
impairments and other charges.


                      CONDENSED BALANCE SHEET

                                                     (Stated in thousands)
Assets                                    Dec. 31, 1997      Dec. 31, 1996

Current Assets
 Cash and short-term investments           $  1,761,077       $  1,358,948
 Other current assets                         4,310,143          3,683,669
                                              6,071,220          5,042,617
Long-term investments, held to maturity         742,751            323,717
Fixed assets                                  3,768,639          3,358,581
Excess of investment over net assets
 of companies purchased                       1,167,624          1,225,335
Deferred taxes on income, and other assets      346,497            374,801
                                           $ 12,096,731       $ 10,325,051

Liabilities and Stockholders' Equity
Current Liabilities
 Accounts payable and accrued liabilities  $  2,297,370       $  2,200,161
 Estimated liability for taxes on income        384,167            367,562
 Bank loans and current portion
  of long-term debt                             854,540            813,845
 Dividend payable                                93,821             92,842
                                              3,629,898          3,474,410
Long-term debt                                1,069,056            637,203
Postretirement benefits                         396,559            383,129
Other liabilities                               306,294            203,929
                                              5,401,807          4,698,671
Stockholders' Equity                          6,694,924          5,626,380
                                           $ 12,096,731       $ 10,325,051


                           BUSINESS REVIEW

                                                      (Stated in millions)
                             Oilfield Services       Measurement & Systems
Fourth Quarter           1997     1996  % change    1997     1996 % change
Operating Revenue     $ 2,060  $ 1,726    19 %   $   848  $   793    7 %
Operating Income(1)   $   437  $   305    43 %   $    54  $    41   32 %

Twelve Months
Operating Revenue     $ 7,663  $ 6,129    25 %   $ 2,986  $ 2,834    5 %
Operating Income(1)   $ 1,557  $   986    58 %   $   149  $   124   20 %

(1) Operating income represents income before income taxes, excluding
    interest expense, interest and other income, and the 1996 unusual
    items.


                           OILFIELD SERVICES

    During the quarter, Oilfield Services operating revenue grew 19%
over the same quarter last year with strong sustained activity from
all businesses.  Operating income rose 43%.

North America

    In North America, revenue increased 25%, representing 20% of
consolidated revenue.  The rig count climbed 24%.  Operating income
jumped 60%.  Activity increased most significantly in the Gulf of
Mexico, Alaska and Canada.  The greatest contributions were from
Wireline & Testing, up 28%, Dowell, up 21%, and Geco-Prakla, with a
21% increase.  IPM grew more than fivefold due to the Hibernia
project.

Outside North America

    Outside North America, revenue grew 18%, representing 52% of
consolidated revenue.  The rig count grew 1%.  Operating income rose
40%.  All businesses experienced continued revenue growth, most
prominently Sedco Forex, Wireline & Testing and Geco-Prakla, up 35%,
9% and 18% respectively.  Activity was strong in all areas.

Highlights

    During the quarter, Schlumberger continued to deliver customized
solutions to our clients, with the following benefits:

    -- Reduced time to first oil and accelerated cashflow generation
for the clients.  Time is a critical element in oilfield projects,
particularly offshore, given the current rig dayrates.  PLATFORM
EXPRESS(a) technology continues to gain momentum at premium prices with
260 active tools worldwide at year end.  The PLATFORM EXPRESS tool
reduces logging time through increased efficiency and multiple tool
combinations.  In the North Sea, during a horizontal logging
operation, PLATFORM EXPRESS service has been combined with the MDT(a)
Modular Formation Dynamics Tester to measure important reservoir
parameters more efficiently than ever before.  This combination has
saved an average of 10 hours of rig time and over $150,000.  The new
FIV(a) Formation Isolation Valve proved successful in allowing safe
perforating of a long horizontal well in a single trip without
inhibiting the flow of the well.  The client realized total savings
of over $400,000 per well.  In the Gulf of Mexico, Dowell PERFPAC(a)
service continued to be in high demand as it combines perforating and
gravel packing service in a single trip and saves clients as much as
$300,000 in rig time per completion.  Geco-Prakla installed a second
Sun Microsystems Enterprise(TM) 10000 in the Houston processing
center.  With these cost-effective machines, computing power has
increased dramatically, and productivity per person improved almost
50%.  A combination of advanced technologies from Anadrill (PowerPak(a)
steerable motors, SHARP(a) slim MWD technology and short-radius
drilling) permitted a land operator to drill five wells ahead of
schedule with significantly improved production.  Performance
incentives doubled Anadrill's resulting revenue.

    -- Increased hydrocarbon reserves.  New technology creates
opportunities, such as the discovery of bypassed or untapped oil.  In
November in the North Sea, CMR(a) Combinable Magnetic Resonance
technology was used to log an exploration well.  The target sands
held water, but higher uphole the CMR log analysis indicated some
unanticipated oil in an interval that conventional log analysis would
have missed.  Subsequent testing confirmed the presence of oil.  The
oil company is now evaluating options, reviewing the seismic data and
contemplating a sidetrack.  As a consequence of its success using CMR
service, the oil company decided to run the application in Alaska,
Angola and Norway the following month.  Overall, activity for CMR
technology worldwide doubled in comparison with the same period last
year.

    -- Increased production from existing fields.  The new Vision475(a)
slimhole, full-logging-suite MWD/LWD service continued to contribute
to growth.  In previous wells, geosteering using only resistivity
permitted an operator to stay within a broad pay zone.  The unique
Vision475 azimuthal porosity data has allowed the operator to keep a
new wellbore within the most productive part of this pay zone for 91%
of the interval.  The resulting production was 12,000 barrels of oil
per day (BOPD), compared with 5,000 BOPD in previous wells.  The
Vision475 system also significantly lowered the total well cost, with
a smaller wellbore and shorter lateral, while maximizing production.

    -- Higher levels of efficiency.  Improved efficiencies are another
result of effective applications of new technology.  A PLATFORM
EXPRESS-CMR combination tool string was run in a gas well to evaluate
producibility over a 1000-foot sand/shale sequence.  The combined
technology provided reservoir parameters, such as water cut,
permeability and bed thicknesses, which were then used to estimate a
potential flow rate.  The analysis predicted a gas rate of 5,300
thousand cubic feet per day (Mcf/day), close to the actual production
of 4,500 Mcf/day.  This successful application is now being used on
subsequent wells to determine which zones to produce to optimize the
well's rate of return.  In November, GeoQuest announced the
commercial release of the next-generation GeoFrame(a) 3.0 integrated
reservoir characterization system.  The integrated capabilities of
GeoFrame 3.0 let each member of a multidisciplinary team
simultaneously view, edit and interpret data and results through all
phases of a project and rapidly create an accurate reservoir model,
thereby improving productivity.

    As announced during the quarter, Sedco Forex has received
long-term contracts to build two new-generation Sedco Express(a)
semisubmersible drilling rigs, one for Elf Aquitaine in West Africa,
and one for Texaco in the Gulf of Mexico.  The Sedco Express is a
fully integrated drilling unit which is expected to reduce well
construction time by approximately 30%, compared to a conventional
fourth-generation unit.  In September, Sedco Forex acquired the
remaining 50% interest in the semisubmersible drilling rig Sedneth
701 and the jackup Sedneth 202.  At quarter end, there were 84
drilling units.  The total offshore rig utilization was 93.8%,
compared with 94.3% in the same quarter last year.  The industry-wide
average offshore rig utilization was 95.4%.
    In addition to our client-focused enhancements, Schlumberger
continues to improve its own internal efficiency and productivity.  A
new business data management tool, BASIS(a) (Business Application
Solutions In Schlumberger), has been successfully implemented across
all Oilfield Services finance, logistics and human resources
activities in all our US and Canada sites and is currently being used
by more than 3,000 trained employees and managers.  This
enterprise-wide software solution, based on the SAP R3 platform,
seamlessly replaces dozens of existing discrete applications, thereby
improving significantly our efficiency internally through increased
sharing of data, tools and processes, and externally through
increased understanding of our customers' needs and improved service
delivery, particularly for multiservice projects.  For example, upon
completion of a project, all business data generated at the wellsite
is automatically captured and transmitted to create an invoice,
update the tool maintenance schedule and generate a tool service
quality report.  The success of the North American implementation is
the first step of the worldwide deployment of BASIS.


                       MEASUREMENT & SYSTEMS

    Measurement & Systems revenue rose 7% compared with the fourth
quarter of 1996, despite the adverse effect of exchange rate
fluctuations.  Continued growth at Automated Test Equipment (ATE) and
Electronic Transactions and strong activity in Asia were the main
contributors.  Operating income increased 32%.
    In the fourth quarter, revenue increased 63% for ATE and 17% for
Electronic Transactions, including previously announced acquisitions.
The substantial growth at ATE was driven by higher sales of 200-MHz
and 400-MHz high-end logic testers.  Shipments of such systems
increased over 200% compared to last year, and contributed to a 117%
gain at Test Systems.  Diagnostics Systems revenue rose 67%,
highlighted by the first shipments of the IDS3000(a) systems.  Our Asia
region and Japan were strong, accompanied by a doubling of revenue
for North America.  ATE orders rose 31% over the prior year, due
mainly to an increase in demand for high-end logic products, solid
gains at Diagnostic Systems and significant activity in the Asia
region.  Electronic Transactions growth was spurred by continued
demand for subscriber identity module (SIM) cards in China, the
Netherlands, and the US, and improved shipments of microprocessor
cards for banking and pay television applications.  Retail Petroleum
Systems declined 6% as the effect of unfavorable exchange rates more
than offset stronger Centurion(a) dispenser sales in the US and
improved turnkey station construction activity in parts of Eastern
Europe.  Including previously announced acquisitions, orders improved
31%, led by strong card demand, customer acceptance of the MagIC(a)
suite of terminals and the signing of a significant telecom contract
in South America.
    In the metering business, revenue decreased 11% compared with
1996, most of which was due to the adverse exchange rate effect.  The
most significant decline was in Europe.  The UK business was impacted
by a sharp drop in gas meter sales, while the Electricity business
was affected in Germany by the reduced volume and price of polyphase
meters and in Italy by a global suspension of electricity meter
orders from ENEL, the national utility.  Deliveries to ENEL should
resume in January 1998.  North America also declined slightly, mainly
due to the cyclical falloff in electricity export sales, coupled with
low demand for residential networking products.  These shortfalls
were partially compensated for by South America which improved mostly
due to growth in the Gas business, with the penetration of the Gallus
2000(a) meters in both Argentinean and Chilean markets.  Orders
declined 16%, half of which was due to the adverse exchange rate
impact, when compared to the fourth quarter of 1996.


                        CHANGE IN LIQUIDITY

    Liquidity represents cash plus short-term and long-term
investments less debt.  A summary of the major components of the
change in liquidity follows:

                                               (Stated in millions)
Twelve Months                                   1997          1996
Funds provided by:
  Net income                               $   1,296     $     851
  Depreciation and amortization                  973           885
  Employee stock option plan                      95           141
  Employee stock purchase plan                    50            39
  Net proceeds on sale of drilling rigs(1)       174             -
Funds used for:
  Fixed asset additions                       (1,496)       (1,158)
  Businesses acquired                            (17)         (139)
  Dividends paid                                (371)         (367)
  Working capital and other                     (356)         (208)
Change in liquidity                              348            44
Liquidity, beginning of period                   232           188
Liquidity, end of period                   $     580      $    232

(1) In September, the Sedco Forex semisubmersibles Drillstar and Sedco Explorer were sold to a newly formed venture in which Schlumberger has a 25% interest. The rigs will be operated by Sedco Forex under bareboat charters. The gain on sale has been deferred and will be amortized over a six-year period. This transaction had no effect on 1997 results and will have no significant impact on future results of operations.

(a) Mark of Schlumberger

The full text of this press release is available on the

Schlumberger World Wide Web site at: http://www.slb.com/

CONTACT: Schlumberger Limited

Simone Crook, 212/350-9432