The company's quarterly profit totaled $540.8 million, or 89 cents per share, up from $318.2 million or 53 cents per share a year earlier. Earnings from continuing operations rose to 86 cents per share, excluding one-time charges and gains, compared with 52 cents a year ago.

Schlumberger said its latest quarter was reduced by $36 million, or 6 cents per share, because of recent hurricanes that disrupted activity in the Gulf of Mexico, with more than 25 days of lost operating time. Excluding that impact, earnings would have been 95 cents per share, the company said.

Revenue increased 4 percent to about $3.7 billion from $2.91 billion last year. Analysts polled by Thomson Financial expected earnings of 86 cents per share on $3.61 billion in revenue.

"Third-quarter activity strengthened on a global basis as exploration and production activity continued to grow rapidly worldwide," said Chairman and Chief Executive Andrew Gould in a statement. "The industry response to the current lack of an oil supply cushion and the long-term need to increase supplies of natural gas is underway but is still far from reaching a peak."

Oil field services revenue increased 25 percent to $3.26 billion, while revenue from its WesternGeco operations soared 45 percent to $436 million.

However, the company said hurricane damage to production platforms and mobile offshore drilling units will reduce activity throughout the fourth quarter, but levels are expected to improve over the third quarter.

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