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Andrew Gould, chairman and CEO of the world's largest oil field services company, predicted a tough year ahead, but possible strong recovery.

OPEC's swift move to meet next week sparked widespread assumptions that a substantial production cut is coming to bump oil prices to at least $80 a barrel, but not all seasoned analysts see it that way. "I doubt that very much," said Fadel Gheit, an oil analyst with Oppenheimer & Co. in New York.

The U.S. credit crisis and a global drop in oil demand may spur oil and gas companies to "slow the rate of increase" in exploration spending in 2009, Schlumberger's CEO said.

Economic uncertainty apt to lead to reduced oilfield spending.