Schlumberger Ltd. (SLB) Chief Executive Andrew Gould said Monday that declining demand for natural gas will require less drilling this year, and production wouldn't make a substantial decline until 2010.

"As to how soon reduced rig count will lead to production declines, we do not expect any significant change until 2010," he told attendees at the Howard Weil Energy Conference in New Orleans

Gould's comments come as natural gas producers have throttled back drilling activity in the face of falling commodity prices.

Natural gas prices have fallen about 70% since hitting a July peak of $13.694/MMBtu.

-By Jason Womack, Dow Jones Newswires; 1-713-547-9201; jason.womack@dowjones.com