VTT GeoMarket Manager, Hatem Soliman

Dear Friends and SEED supporters:

I am proud to inform you that in October we made a huge accomplishment as SEED and as a company when the Venezuela Trinidad and Tobago (VTT) GeoMarket inaugurated the Hermágoras Chavez School in Cabimas, Venezuela, as the 20th SEED school in Venezuela and the 200th SEED school worldwide.

This achievement was possible thanks to the passion of the management and volunteers who have taken this program to heart. Their efforts demonstrate a strong belief in our Schlumberger values, excellent relations with PDVSA (Petróleos de Venezuela, S.A.), and the commitment we have as a GeoMarket to Venezuela and its future.

It is my priority to collaborate on matters of social development in Venezuela with the national oil company, PDVSA. Through five pillars of social development, one of which is SEED, we as a GeoMarket have demonstrated to PDVSA and to all of Venezuela that we share the same interests.

The SEED Lab in Cabimas, Venezuela, is designed for individual learning as well as group collaboration.

Students in the new SEED Lab take their first look at SEED materials, including a model of an energy-efficient housing community, a water test kit and a Solar Energy SEEDPACK.

For me, SEED is part of our business, and it is as essential to Schlumberger principles as the air we breathe is to life. PDVSA respects us for our real efforts (not only for the money we spend), which they see in the personal involvement of our employees.

What is remarkable about SEED is that it touches people deeply whether they are employees, clients or the communities we support. They see tangible results. I have seen SEED grow in several assignments in different countries over the past nine years, and its success in so many places seems poised to continue.

Most important, at the heart of SEED are people. SEED is a team effort within the entire Schlumberger community. Without the many employees in the VTT Social Development group, the SSA (Schlumberger Spouses Association), and our volunteers and their families, we could not have met this milestone. Our plan in VTT is to connect more schools, hold more workshops and make a bigger impact in our community. Could we possibly inaugurate the 300th school in Venezuela by 2010? I think that is a worthy goal.

—Hatem Soliman
    Venezuela Trinidad and Tobago GeoMarket Manager

Read the latest SEED Voices story, written by Maria Auxiliadora Torres Graterol, GeoMarket SEED Coordinator, for a personal account of the 200th school opening.

Voices Articles
• Trinidad and Tobago school opening
• 200^th School opening in Venezuela