Question-and-Answer Session
Operator
(Operator Instructions) Our first question today comes from the line of Kurt Hallead with RBC Capital Markets.
Kurt Hallead - RBC Capital Markets
Andrew, at the end of the first quarter, you referenced that the cycle was progressing very similar to prior cycle periods and that that would lead you to reason that the international markets from a volume standpoint could lead lower into 2010 and I noticed in the commentary that you had here today that your international reference points were really focused on the second half of 2009, so I was wondering if you could kind of update us on your thoughts as to whether your thoughts have changed and if so, how as you kind of look out beyond 2009 from an international volume standpoint.
Andrew F. Gould
Well, I don’t think my thoughts have substantially changed. If there is an element of doubt in predicting beyond the end of the year, it is the fairly rapid recovery that is taking place in the oil price. As I said in the comments this time, I think that there’s too much volatility in the oil price at the moment to sanction much increase in spending but if at the end of the year it persists at the higher end of the range that we’ve seen so far this year, then I do think that it might, if you like, not lead to the same reduction in activity next year that I was perhaps originally thinking of.
But it really, really, does depend on where the oil price is at the end of the year and not where it is now.
Kurt Hallead - RBC Capital Markets
Okay. That’s great, I appreciate that color. Now, my follow-up is you made some explicit reference here to some deferrals of revenues in Venezuela and we know obviously the mess that country has been. Can you give us your updated view on what you see as the prospects of any recovery in Venezuela? And can you update us on the receivable situation there, please?
Andrew F. Gould
During the quarter, we made very satisfactory progress on the receivables situation. And we also made considerable progress on the renewal of three major contracts but we were not able to book the revenue in the second quarter because the actual inking hasn’t been done and therefore there was a fairly large sum of -- fairly large amount of revenue that was deferred to the third quarter.
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