Oilfield services giants Schlumberger, Halliburton and Baker Hughes all saw their revenues in the third quarter of this year fall but will be hoping they have finally bottomed out, with the latter two seeing their revenues fall for a seventh consecutive quarter. All point to the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states as key for future growth.

Schlumberger appeared to have stopped the rot in Q2 after posting revenue of $7.16bn, up on the $6.52bn in Q1 but that appears to have been a false dawn with revenue figures skewed by the acquisition of competitor Cameron International Corporation. The firm has slashed expenses by some $6bn over the last seven quarters in response to oil prices more than halving since mid-2014. (CONTINUED - 917 WORDS)