It is a story that began with Conrad and Marcel Schlumberger, the sons of a successful French businessman in the textile industry. Originally, their father Paul was drawn more to the study of science and did not think the world of business would suit him. When Paul took over the family firm with great success, he did not abandon his interest in the sciences. Instead, he imparted his thirst for knowledge to his sons and provided the financial support they needed to pioneer a new field, subsurface metrology, the science of measurement. Armed with their father's support, Conrad and Marcel set out on a journey that would have a lasting effect on the oil and gas industry.