HOUSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan 28, 2026--
SLB (NYSE: SLB) has been awarded two five-year contracts by Petroleum Development Oman (PDO) to supply wellheads and artificial lift technologies for operations in Block-6, Oman’s largest oil and gas concession, while advancing in-country value (ICV).
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The contracts include the provision of low-pressure, high-pressure, and thermal wellheads, as well as electric submersible pumps (ESPs) and progressive cavity pumps (PCPs). These solutions are expected to increase recovery rates and extend the productive life of Block-6 assets. Key milestones include expanding local manufacturing capabilities and introducing made-in-Oman gate valve production within six months of commencement.
“These awards reflect our deep commitment to Oman’s energy future and advancing in-country value through local manufacturing and talent development,” said Jesus Lamas, president, Middle East and North Africa, SLB. “By producing more equipment in country and investing in Omani expertise, we are ensuring that PDO’s strategic goals are met with sustainable, locally driven approaches. Our focus is on delivering innovative wellhead and artificial lift solutions that drive production efficiency and maximize recovery. Through our ongoing investment in advanced technologies and tailored services, we support our customers’ production and recovery goals with capabilities designed to meet their evolving operational needs.”
Wellheads will be produced at SLB’s Rusayl production center, and ESPs will be assembled at its Nizwa assembly, repair, and testing center, supporting hundreds of Omani employees. SLB will deploy advanced technologies including the 15k SOLIDrill modular compact wellhead system, ESP surveillance systems, and ESP permanent magnet motors, which reduce power consumption and enhance sustainability.
About SLB
SLB (NYSE: SLB) is a global technology company that has driven energy innovation for 100 years. With a global footprint in more than 100 countries and employees representing almost twice as many nationalities, we work each day on innovating oil and gas, delivering digital at scale, decarbonizing industries, and developing and scaling new energy systems that accelerate the energy transition. Find out more at slb.com.
Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements:
This press release contains “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the U.S. federal securities laws — that is, statements about the future, not about past events. Such statements often contain words such as “expect,” “may,” “can,” “estimate,” “intend,” “anticipate,” “will,” “potential,” “projected" and other similar words. Forward-looking statements address matters that are, to varying degrees, uncertain, such as forecasts or expectations regarding the deployment of, or anticipated benefits of, SLB’s new technologies and partnerships; statements about goals, plans and projections with respect to sustainability and environmental matters; forecasts or expectations regarding energy transition and global climate change; and improvements in operating procedures and technology. These statements are subject to risks and uncertainties, including, but not limited to, the inability to achieve net-negative carbon emissions goals; the inability to recognize intended benefits of SLB’s strategies, initiatives or partnerships; legislative and regulatory initiatives addressing environmental concerns, including initiatives addressing the impact of global climate change; the timing or receipt of regulatory approvals and permits; and other risks and uncertainties detailed in SLB’s most recent Forms 10-K, 10-Q and 8-K filed with or furnished to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. If one or more of these or other risks or uncertainties materialize (or the consequences of such a development changes), or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual outcomes may vary materially from those reflected in our forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this press release, and SLB disclaims any intention or obligation to update publicly or revise such statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
The contracts include the provision of low-pressure, high-pressure, and thermal wellheads, as well as electric submersible pumps (ESPs) and progressive cavity pumps (PCPs). These solutions are expected to increase recovery rates and extend the productive life of Block-6 assets.
LAS VEGAS (AP) — The Las Vegas Review-Journal announced Friday that it will no longer print its rival the Las Vegas Sun for the first time in decades, amid an ongoing legal dispute over the nation's last joint operating agreement stemming from a 1970 law designed to preserve newspapers.
Readers “will not find a printed Las Vegas Sun insert inside,” the Review-Journal said in an editorial, noting the Sun maintains a website, has a few hundred thousand followers across social media platforms, and is free to produce its own newspaper.
“We encourage them to do so. The Review-Journal competes with countless sources of news and entertainment, but we would welcome one more. We just don’t want to foot the bill. It is time the Sun stood up on its own two feet,” the editorial said, without specifying the cost.
The two publications will be in court Friday and the Sun hopes a judge will order printing to immediately resume, attorney Leif Reid said in an email. It will be the first day in 76 years that the Sun hasn’t been printed, he said.
“This does irreparable harm to our community, as no one benefits when a local newspaper is prevented from being published,” he said.
The now-rare joint operating agreement required the Sun to be printed as a daily insert in the Review-Journal, while both companies remained editorially independent with separate newsrooms and websites.
A lower court had found the agreement was unenforceable because a 2005 update was never signed by the U.S. attorney general, and in February the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear an appeal by the Sun.
The Review-Journal editorial called the Supreme Court decision a decisive victory, saying that halting publication of the Sun on Friday was “a result of 6½ years of litigation between the newspapers, precipitated by the Sun.”
Such agreements between rival publications have dwindled as part of a "long, slow goodbye of newspapers as we knew them,” said Ken Doctor, a news business analyst. The Detroit Free Press and the Detroit News ended a 40-year agreement last year. USA Today Co., which owns the Detroit Free Press, recently announced its plans to purchase the Detroit News.
In 1950, the Sun was founded in response to the Review-Journal’s refusal to negotiate with typesetters from the International Typographical Union. The union started its own newspaper and reached out to businessman Hank Greenspun for financial backing. The Greenspuns still own the paper.
The Review-Journal has been publishing since 1909, first as the Clark County Review. It is owned by the Adelson family, casino magnates and mega GOP donors, and remains the state’s largest newspaper.
The Review-Journal’s editorials lean more conservative, while the Sun’s lean liberal. The 1970 law signed by then President Richard Nixon, called the Newspaper Preservation Act, was designed to save newspapers costs while maintaining competition and editorial variety in cities as newspapers began to financially struggle.
The papers first entered into a joint operating agreement in 1989 when the Sun was struggling to stay afloat financially. The agreement made the Sun an afternoon newspaper during weekdays and a section within the Review-Journal on weekend mornings, while the Review-Journal handled production, distribution and advertising. The Review-Journal also collected all revenue and was required to pay the Sun monthly to cover the Sun’s news and editorial expenses.
In 2005 the agreement was amended to make the Sun an insert in the Review-Journal every morning.
Review-Journal owners sought to end the agreement in 2019, and in response the Sun’s owners filed a lawsuit alleging that ending the agreement violated anti-trust laws.
The 1970 law allowing such agreements was signed at a time when news options weren't as prevalent and there was more concern over news monopolies.
Las Vegas — and Nevada as a whole — today have more strong, independent news organizations compared to other places, said Stephen Bates, a journalism and media professor at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.
The Sun also publishes online. But it has argued in court that losing its print product could make it harder to recruit staff, cause a loss in readers, and even force it to close.
Genelle Belmas, a journalism professor at the University of Kansas who specializes in media law, said it would be disappointing if the last joint operating agreement in the country ends. During visits to Vegas, she's enjoyed being able to pick up the Review-Journal and see the Sun folded inside, offering two differing points of view in one place. Online news outlets make it easier for consumers to stay in their echo chambers, she said.
“Every local news outlet we lose — and that includes big towns, small towns, whatever — is a loss of perspective and a loss of a potential alternative view,” Belmas said.
FILE - This Dec. 17, 2015 file photo shows a sign outside the building housing the Las Vegas Review-Journal in Las Vegas. AP Photo/John Locher, File)
