Gould cautious over meltdown
Schlumberger boss Andrew Gould said today it is too early to determine how the financial market meltdown will affect energy demand.
It is also impossible at this stage to predict to what extent turmoil in financial markets is going to affect demand through a slowdown in the overall economy," Gould said.
Gould also said that although high oil prices have curbed demand in some developing countries, energy supplies are still tight and a deep drop in growth would be needed to slow exploration and production.
he added that he is comfortable with the current Wall Street consensus estimate for 2008 earnings, excluding any effect from Hurricanes Ike and Gustav.
Analysts on average expect the world's largest oilfield services company to report a profit of $4.86 per share, according to Reuters Estimates.
Gould's remarks, broadcast over the Internet, were made at the company's 2008 investor conference