Benton, Schlumberger to Work on Oil Field

Benton Oil & Gas Co. agreed to further develop its main oil field in Venezuela with Schlumberger Ltd. and ended a nine-month search with J.P. Morgan Securities Inc. for ways to boost its share price. Benton and Schlumberger, the No. 2 oil service company, plan to boost production at the South Monagas Unit in the next two to three years from the current rate of about 25,000 barrels a day. They chose Helmerich & Payne Inc. to drill wells. Carpinteria-based Benton hired J.P. Morgan in February to look for ways to boost its stock price, including asset sales. Since then, its shares have fallen 20%. Benton also explores in the U.S., China and Russia. It had 1998 sales of $90.3 million. On the New York Stock Exchange, Benton shares rose 19 cents to close at $2.50, and Schlumberger, based in New York and Paris, rose 69 cents to close at $63. Tulsa, Okla.-based Helmerich & Payne rose $1.06 to close at $25.56, also on the NYSE.