UPDATE 1-Analyst sees Halliburton, Schlumberger Manifa win

(Recasts first paragraph, adds company comment, share prices, background)

HOUSTON, Feb 28 (Reuters) - Oilfield service companies Halliburton Co (HAL.N: Quote, Profile, Research) and Schlumberger Ltd (SLB.N: Quote, Profile, Research) are expected to have won big drilling technology contracts for work in Saudi Aramco's offshore Manifa oil field, Bill Herbert, analyst with Simmons & Co, said on Thursday.

"This is one of the most widely anticipated project awards," Herbert said. "The results of that tender have not been officially revealed, but we believe that the winners are Schlumberger and Halliburton."

The award would mean that international revenue growth would become a bit easier in 2009 for Halliburton and Schlumberger, Herbert said.

A spokesman at Schlumberger could not immediately be reached for comment and a spokeswoman at Halliburton said it is company policy not to comment on speculation.

Halliburton moved Dave Lesar, its chief executive officer, to Dubai last year in a bid to win more business in faster-growing and more profitable Eastern Hemisphere markets.

Production at Manifa, located in the Mideast Gulf off Saudi Arabia, is estimated at 900,000 barrels per day.

Development of the Manifa field will be technically challenging, with a number of horizontal wells needed. In a horizontal well, the hole drilled by the bit slants significantly sideways.

Shares of Halliburton were up 3.8 percent, or $1.43, to $38.89 in early afternoon trading and Schlumberger was up 1.6 percent, or $1.41, at $89.66. Both trade on the New York Stock Exchange. (Reporting by Anna Driver, editing by Gerald E. McCormick) ((anna.driver@reuters.com; +1 713 210 8509; Reuters Messaging: anna.driver.reuters.com@reuters.net))