Superintendencia de Industria y Comercio

The Superintendence of Industry and Commerce (SIC), in its role as National Authority for Competition Protection, imposed a fine of 1.4 million USD to SCHLUMBERGER SURENCO when it was demonstrated that, through its branch in Colombia, it materialized a series of practices contrary to the free competition regime, by having prevented the free circulation of invoices from its suppliers.

The investigation began thanks to a complaint filed in the SIC in which it was reported that SCHLUMBERGER would have restricted the free circulation of its suppliers' invoices, preventing them from having access to factoring operations as a quick and efficient alternative to obtain liquid assets.

The behavior carried out by SCHLUMBERGER would have prevented the free participation of suppliers in the liquid asset supply market, thus violating one of the main objectives of free competition. Likewise, it would have prevented the access of new actors to this market, favoring those of its choice. This practice generated both exploitative and exclusionary effects in the market, causing a loss of efficiency and affecting new financing mechanisms, such as factoring.