The Houston company reported net income of $944 million, or 69 cents per share for the first three months of the year.

That compares with $672 million, or 56 cents per share, in the same part of 2010.

Revenue increased 56 percent to $8.72 billion.

Excluding special charges, Schlumberger earned $972 million, or 71 cents per share.

The results missed Wall Street expectations of income of 76 cents per share on sales of $8.83 billion, according to FactSet.

The price of oil rose 17 percent in first quarter, after rising 14 percent in the final three months of 2010.

That’s spurred more drilling and, in turn, more demand from drillers for the testing and other services provided by Schlumberger and rival Halliburton.

Halliburton’s first-quarter earnings more than doubled to $511 million.

Schlumberger provides a range of services that help companies find and produce oil and natural gas.

It offers imaging and monitoring services of underground oil reservoirs through its WesternGeco business.

The company said demand for those services will remain elevated if oil prices stay high.

Oil is currently selling for more than $112 per barrel, the highest level since September 2008.

Schlumberger estimates that the loss of Libya’s oil production due to the rebellion against Muammar Qaddafi’s regime, plus strong demand in some regions, has “significantly” reduced global supplies.

Meanwhile, Japan will likely import more oil and natural gas as it recovers from the earthquake and tsunami that knocked out nuclear power plants in the north.

As world demand rises, the company said, it anticipates increased drilling activity primarily in the Gulf of Mexico and the Middle East.