SLB Weighs Reactivating Up to 15 Venezuelan Drilling Rigs
Venezuela’s PDVSA data-and-rig arrangement with SLB is framed as a payment test: SLB has discussed reactivating up to 15 drilling rigs, with four potentially returning by year-end, but the actual crude payment mechanics are confidential under US controls on export revenue. The write-up contrasts this with Venezuela’s default history even as SLB plans to return more than $4 billion to shareholders in 2026.