The Stealth Oil Giant

Since taking the top job in 2003, Gould has refocused the company on its core oil-services business. The 61-year-old CEO's biggest efforts have been in Russia, the Middle East, and other key oil-producing regions, where he has won high-powered friends by building training facilities and research labs. Schlumberger's tentacles today stretch from drilling rigs in the scrublands of central Mexico to a 65,000 sq.-ft. research center in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, to a dreary Soviet-era office complex in Siberia. In each case, Schlumberger's far-flung operations help solidify relationships that threaten Big Oil's dominance of the business.