SLB warns of business risks from Western sanctions as Russia revenue rises
By Liz Hampton
Jan 25 (Reuters) - Top oilfield services firm SLB on Wednesday warned of business risks associated with additional sanctions on Russia, even as its revenue there continued to grow, according to a regulatory filing.
SLB boosted its business in Russia last year, as oil prices surged and rivals fled following Western sanctions on Russia for its invasion of Ukraine. Russia represented 6% of SLB's full-year 2022 revenue, or $1.69 billion, the company said in an annual filing.
Russia accounted for 5% of total company revenues in the quarter before Moscow invaded Ukraine, according to a previous company filing. It began disclosing more details around Russian revenue and assets following the war.
The Curacao-domiciled company, which suspended new investments and technology deployment in Russia last March, said it continued to "actively monitor the dynamic situation in Ukraine and applicable laws, sanctions and trade control restrictions resulting from the conflict," according to the filing.
It continued to work for Russian energy companies including Lukoil, Rosneft , Gazprom as rivals Halliburton and Baker Hughes exited or sold off their operations.
SLB said the carrying value of its net assets in Russia totaled roughly $700 million at the end of 2022, down from $900 million at the end of the third quarter 2022. It closed out the year with $300 million in receivables, down from $400 million in third quarter.
The oilfield company also said it had roughly $1 billion in unpaid bills related to Mexico, according to the filing. It said the receivables, from its primary customer in Mexico that was not identified, were not in dispute. It has not historically experienced any material write-offs resulting from uncollected bills from this firm, it said.
SLB did not immediately respond to an email seeking more detail on the filing. (Reporting by Liz Hampton in Denver; Editing by Anna Driver)
