(Adds company comment, share price, background)
HOUSTON, Oct 24 (Reuters) - Schlumberger Ltd SLB.N, the world's largest oil services company, said on Wednesday it had received a request for information from the U.S. Department of Justice related to a bribery probe.
Schlumberger said the inquiry related to the government's investigation of "whether certain freight forwarding and customs clearance services of Panalpina Inc PWTN.S and other companies provided to oil and oilfield service companies, including Schlumberger, violated the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA)," according to a quarterly filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
Schlumberger said it is cooperating with all requests for information and has started its own probe into the matter.
A company spokesman could not immediately be reached for comment.
Shares of Schlumberger rose 94 cents to $100.86 on the New York Stock Exchange.
Schlumberger joins a sizable list of oil service companies under scrutiny for possible violations of the FCPA, which prohibits bribes paid by U.S. companies and their agents to win business abroad.
Most of those probes are related to Nigeria, but Schlumberger did not specify a country in its filing.
Companies under scrutiny from U.S. authorities include GlobalSantaFe Corp GSF.N, Transocean Inc RIG.N and Pride International Inc PDE.N. Tidewater Inc TDW.N and Noble Corp NE.N have opened their own inquiries and have been in touch with U.S. authorities.
Swiss logistics and transport group Panalpina said in July it had started an inquiry because U.S. authorities requested documents related to a bribery probe.
Earlier this year, Baker Hughes Inc BHI.N and Vetco International Ltd were prosecuted for FCPA violations. Baker Hughes reached a $44.1 million settlement in April with the Justice Department and the SEC related to a bribery probe of its operations in Nigeria, Angola and Kazakhstan.
In February, three Vetco subsidiaries pleaded guilty to violating anti-bribery laws and agreed to pay a $26 million criminal fine. (Reporting by Anna Driver in Houston)
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.