Oilfield Services Notes: Halliburton-Baker Hughes Merger Talks, Falling U.S. Oil Rig Count

The oilfield services industry had a very eventful week, with news that Halliburton was in talks to buy Baker Hughes, in what could be one of largest mergers in the recent history of the industry. Earlier this week, offshore driller Transocean reported a weak set of Q3 earnings, taking a $2.76 billion writedown that was indicative of a weaker outlook for the deepwater drilling markets.