HOUSTON, August 26, 2015—Schlumberger Limited (NYSE: SLB) and Cameron (NYSE: CAM) today jointly announced a definitive merger agreement in which the companies will combine in a stock and cash transaction. The agreement was unanimously approved by the boards of directors of both companies.

Revenues for the second quarter of 2015 were $1,147 million compared to $1,244 million in the first quarter of 2015. Operating profit for the quarter was $384 million compared to $703 million in the preceding quarter. The decrease was primarily due to the gain on deconsolidation of SeaMex during the first quarter, and a loss on the sale of the West Polaris to Seadrill Partners during the second quarter. Taken together, these items account for approximately $261 million, or 82%, of the sequential decline in operating profit. Excluding these non-recurring items, operating profit declined 11% sequentially.

Aug 27 French oil major Total has agreed to sell some of its gas pipeline assets in the UK's North Sea to North Sea Midstream Partners, an affiliate of U.S.-based private equity firm ArcLight Capital, for 585 million pounds ($907 million).

TOP TEN OIL PRODUCING COMPANIES IN THE WORLD

China Petroleum & Chemical Corp., Asia’s biggest oil refiner, posted a 22 percent decline in profit for the first half of the year as the slump in prices outweighed the benefit of cheaper crude to its refining business.

Cnooc Ltd., China’s biggest offshore oil and gas explorer, posted a 56 percent decline in profit for the first half of this year.

Russia’s Federal Security Service, the main successor to the KGB, is holding up Schlumberger Ltd.’s acquisition of a 46 percent stake in Eurasia Drilling Co., according to two people with knowledge of the matter.

Moody’s Investors Service on Monday cut the credit rating of Canadian Oil Sands Ltd. to one notch above speculative grade, citing the oil-sands producer’s “elevated leverage” as a result of lower crude oil prices.

Iraq has paid foreign oil companies $9 billion in remaining arrears for 2014 and was paying outstanding fees for 2015 in stages until the beginning of next year, its oil minister said.

The Russian government has decided not to fund four out of five Rosneft projects for which the oil company had requested financing from the sovereign wealth fund, the economy minister said on Monday.

PJSC LUKOIL closed a deal to sell its 50% share in Caspian Investments Resources Ltd. to China-based Sinopec. The required permits from the state authorities of the Republic of Kazakhstan were acquired in late July 2015.

Chevron has started to eliminate jobs at its Covington office as part of global layoffs sparked by low oil and gas prices prices. The company has not disclosed how deep the cuts will be.

Russia boosted natural gas supplies to Germany by almost 50% in the second quarter as prices plunged, while the world’s largest natural gas exporter struggled with weaker demand from its former Soviet allies.

During a visit to the West Qurna II oilfield in Basra, Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi reiterated his government’s commitment to ensuring the security of the southern oilfields and their workers. He met with senior management of the Russian operator Lukoil, following protests by locals demanding jobs.

ERIELL, an international oilfield service group, has signed a contract with LUKOIL Middle East for drilling of 25 producing wells at the West Qurna-2 field in Iraq.