From the North Sea (NT): The price of OIL continues to decline with both Brent and WTI below $80/bbl this week.

That’s 30% below June’s peak, but it seems the rout still has some way to go. According to the International Energy Agency, downward price pressures could continue building through the first half of next year.

Production growth is outpacing demand, despite expectations of an improving global recovery. China, once the demand champion, is now in a less oil-intensive phase, while Saudi Arabia, formerly Opec’s swing producer, is now determined to defend market share. All eyes will be on the 27 November OPEC meeting, but there appears to be no clear consensus on a supply cut, says the IEA.

There has not been a bigger oil service sector deal than this week’s acquisition of BAKER HUGHES by HALLIBURTON with an equity value of $34.6bn or $38bn if you understand what ‘enterprise value’ means.

What seems striking is that management of these companies think that this is a good deal for customers. Right. It might be good for BH shareholders who got a 40% premium on their shares and it will eventually be good for the new merged entity, but not customers. No matter how ‘complementary’ their businesses are, there will be less competition.

One other side issue - for those in the subsea world - is what effect this will have on the recently formed Subsea Production Alliance aka BH and Aker Solutions. AkerSol does not seem unhappy about the deal as it sees an even bigger partner with a bigger customer and extensive product portfolio.

Not much could push this deal off the top spot, but there is other action around the marketplace. Most intriguing is Royal Westminster Boskalis stalking FUGRO. This is an all Dutch affair and they are probably going to discuss it over a glass of genever, a piece of ‘oud gouda’ and a few herring.

Fugro was not amused when RWB announced it had acquired a 15% stake and said the two companies would ‘fit together well’, even though it later said it has no intention of making an offer for its compatriot. The target called the stake building ‘unsolicited and unexpected.’ It did, though, suggest that it would be happy to ‘explore partnership options for the subsea division’.

From the North Sea (NT): Rosneft and North Atlantic Drilling have agreed to postpone completion of their $4.25bn RIG DEAL, due to be signed this month, until May 2015.

The deal, involving long-term contracts for a drillship, two semis and three jackups, was signed in late July just before sanctions were introduced by the US and EU restricting technology and services to Russia, including drilling in Arctic waters (SEN, 31/10).

As a subsidiary of NY-listed Seadrill, NAD is subject to sanctions and Washington has decided they will be applied retrospectively. The first contracts are believed to come into force later next year, so they may yet be reinstated without changing the timing.

RESULTS: Oceaneering reported record quarterly earnings of $973mn up 5% led by rov and products-tooling...Technip had order intake of Ⓤ2.2bn for Q3 and revenue of Ⓤ2.8bn up 18% with backlog up 30% from the same period last year...Subsea 7 said Q3 revenue was up over 20% from 2013 including recovering $40mn from its writedown on Guará-Lula riser buoy project, but backlog was down 20% to $9.4bn...Aker Solutions reported sales up 22% and margins up 20% and backlog up 25%, although order intake was down 30%.

Offshore