Schlumberger caps oil service stock gains

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) � Energy stocks wrapped up the week with a modest, crude-fueled gain by big oil producers while oil-field service stocks failed to build on a rally by Schlumberger.

For the week, energy stocks listed in the S&P 500 rose 0.9%, slightly outpacing a 0.6% rise by the S&P 500 SPX �overall.

Schlumberger Inc. SLB � lit up the oil service sector on a strong first-quarter earnings report.

The world�s biggest oilwell services contractor, announced before the opening bell a 38% jump in first-quarter profit, citing strong demand for its services in the Gulf of Mexico and oil shale basins throughout North America. Read about Schlumberger's latest results.

Schlumberger stock jumped as much as 6% at the open but failed to hold the gains, closing 2.7% higher at $71.70. The move was nevertheless enough to make it the top percentage gainer in the Philadelphia Oil Service Sector Index OSX �and No. 8 among gainers on the S&P 500 SPX .

Click to Play What the fight over YPF means

Collateral damage from Argentina's seizure this week of oil company YPF SA has impacted Spain and Mexico. Photo: AP

Schlumberger�s performance comes on the heels of strong gains earlier this week by Halliburton HAL , Noble Corp. NE �and Diamond Offshore Drilling DO , good enough to secure a slim 0.1% advance by the group for the week.

The NYSE Arce Oil Index XX:XOI �eked out a fractional gain Friday, ending the week 0.1% higher at 1,202.79 points. The group benefited from a 78-cent rise in May crude-oil futures to $103.05 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Read the latest on crude-oil futures.

U.S.-traded shares of France�s Total SA TOT led percentage gainers in the group Friday, up 0.9% at $48.15 after reporting a decrease in the flow of natural gas escaping from its Elgin field in the British sector of the North Sea. The leak forced Total to shut and evacuate the field late last month.

BP PLC BP �was the group�s biggest decliner, its U.S.-traded shares falling 1.2% to $41.99 following a 2% drop on the London stock exchange. Behind the decline lurked a U.S. Department of Justice audit that found the company owes another $64 million in payments to claimants stemming from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.

Friday is the second anniversary of the deadly blowout that killed 11 rig workers and led to the biggest oil spill ever in U.S. waters.

The NYSE Arca Natural Gas Index XX:XNG �fell 0.5% to 610.51 points, leaving it with a 0.9% decline for the week as the group continues to struggle with depressed natural gas prices. The May natural-gas futures contract rose 2 cents Friday to $1.93 per million British thermal units, but it fell 2.5% for the week, leaving it near 10-year lows.