HOUSTON, May 1 (Reuters) - The U.S. State Department

believes oil services firm SLB has not violated

sanctions against Russia and the company has been told what

Washington is willing to accept, Assistant Secretary of State

Geoffrey Pyatt told Reuters in an interview on Wednesday.

"I have had conversations with the CEO of that company... I

think there is a clear understanding within SLB in terms of

where the guard rails are on the sanctions policy," Pyatt said.

The U.S. and other European countries have sought to reduce

Moscow's energy revenue through sanctions that prompted several

oilfield service companies to leave since Russia invaded Ukraine

in 2022. SLB has remained operating in the country, helping keep

Russian oil production flowing.

"I am confident from my conversations with Treasury

colleagues that SLB's actions thus far have been in conformance

with rules that OFAC, Treasury and the price cap coalition have

set up," Pyatt said.

The U.S. is determined to ensure Russia does not return to

being a reliable energy partner and Washington will continue to

sanction present and future energy projects, while taking care

not to cause oil price shocks, said Pyatt.

SLB did not reply to a request for comment. The company last

year received 5% of its revenue from Russia. It had 10,000

employees in Russia helping Gazprom Neft, Rosneft and other top

energy firms pump oil and gas when the war began in 2022.

The U.S Treasury is also going after shippers, insurance

companies and others that circumvent the sanctions. Russia's oil

and gas tax revenue is down about a third year-on-year, he said.

Washington is targeting Russia's future energy projects,

including liquefied natural gas (LNG), seeking to prevent Russia

from sending gas that previously flowed to European customers

via pipeline to global markets as LNG, said Pyatt.

"So you have seen very strong sanctions against Novatek and

there is more to come in the short term on that score," he told

Reuters.

Technology sent by China to Russia to assist in its war

efforts is another concern, said the Assistant Secretary of

State and is one of the reasons the U.S. believes access to rare

earth materials is crucial for global energy security.

The U.S. has brought together 15 countries, and is

partnering with Korea to invest tens of billions of dollars in

developing countries to gain access to rare earth materials and

end China's dominance of the trade.

"We were slow out of the blocks in terms of recognizing

the moves that China was making to dominate the supply chains

for these key inputs for the energy transition," Pyatt said.

The U.S. and Korea will partner in developing batteries

and electric vehicles as part of its ongoing energy security

partnership, Pyatt said.