Schlumberger NV, the world’s number one oilfield services provider, said it would look at returning to Iran.
“As soon as it is permissible, we will evaluate going back in,” chief executive Paal Kibsgaard said on a post-earnings call, Reuters reported.
Iran’s agreement with major world powers to curtail its nuclear program in exchange for the lifting of sanctions could open up the world’s fourth-largest oil reserves and the largest natural gas reserves to multinational oil companies.
Schlumberger agreed in March to pay a $237.2 million fine after pleading guilty to violating US sanctions on Iran and Sudan.
The company ceased operations in Iran in the second quarter of 2013, four years after deciding to stop bidding for new Iranian oilfield work.
However, some non-US affiliates of the company continued to work for either the National Iranian Oil Company or its units. Revenue from the work totaled $418 million in 2012, accounting for about 4% of total revenue that year.
Schlumberger reported a better-than-expected profit on Thursday, as stringent costs controls h
