By Braden Reddall

(Reuters) – Fluor Corp (FLR.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) reported a decline in its backlog on Thursday due to two mining project cancellations, while quarterly profits and its 2013 outlook fell short of analyst estimates.

Shares of Fluor, the largest publicly traded U.S. engineering company, dropped 3.4 percent to $55.72 in after-hours trading on Thursday.

By Braden Reddall

(Reuters) – Occidental Petroleum Corp (OXY.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) posted a smaller-than-expected drop in quarterly earnings on Thursday, but its CEO hardened his tone on operating expenses and promised a change in strategy if they do not come down.

Chief Executive Officer Stephen Chazen set a target of lowering costs to 2011 levels by the end of next year, zeroing in on those in the company’s home state of California.

By Braden Reddall

(Reuters) – National Oilwell Varco Inc (NOV.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), the largest U.S. oilfield equipment maker, posted higher-than-expected profits and saw good demand for deepwater equipment, but its shares fell 3 percent on worries about the stalled U.S. land drilling market.

Revenue from NOV’s biggest business, supplying technology to rigs, rose 29 percent in the third quarter while revenue from the backlog in the business rose 36 percent to $1.91 billion.

By Braden Reddall

(Reuters) – Chicago Bridge & Iron Co (CBI.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) reported a higher-than-expected quarterly profit as it aims to complete a takeover of Shaw Group Inc (SHAW.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) by early next year, with both sets of shareholders expected to vote on the deal within the next several weeks.

Shaw, which like CB&I is an energy-focused engineering company, had posted results on Friday along with a 2013 forecast below market estimates, while it faces down growing investor resistance over the proposed $3 billion deal.

Oct 23 (Reuters) – Chicago Bridge & Iron Co reported
a higher-than-expected quarterly profit as it aims to complete a
takeover of Shaw Group Inc by early next year, with
both sets of shareholders expected to vote on the deal within
the next several weeks.

Shaw, which like CB&I is an energy-focused engineering
company, had posted results on Friday along with a 2013 forecast
below market estimates, while it faces down growing investor
resistance over the proposed $3 billion deal.

By Braden Reddall

(Reuters) – Shaw Group Inc (SHAW.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) forecast 2013 results far below market estimates due to a fall in orders, even as the U.S. engineering company faces growing push-back from investors over a contentious takeover by Chicago Bridge & Iron Co (CBI.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz).

After Shaw’s results and outlook were released on Friday morning, CB&I’s shares dropped 2.9 percent to $38.29, while Shaw fell 1.5 percent to close at $43.69 – more than $2 shy of the takeover price that the two companies agreed to in late July.

Oct 19 (Reuters) – Steady growth in drilling activity
outside North America gave a big lift to Schlumberger Ltd
, the world’s largest oil services company, but the U.S.
natural gas slump weighed even more than expected on rival Baker
Hughes Inc.

Baker, the industry’s third-largest player worldwide, posted
a lower-than-expected quarterly profit on Friday, while
Schlumberger’s earnings per share came in a few cents ahead of
estimates.

By Braden Reddall

(Reuters) – Recent deals struck by Diamond Offshore Drilling Inc (DO.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) and Noble Corp (NE.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) paint a picture of a market in which deepwater oil rigs will be in high demand for years, while other drilling segments may end up being too well supplied, executives said on Thursday.

Noble expected ultra-deepwater rates to keep heading higher, even after a strong rise so far this year, and Houston-based Diamond saw the same market momentum driven by demand off Australia, both coasts of Africa, as well as closer to home.

By Braden Reddall

(Reuters) – Noble Corp (NE.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), owner of the world’s third-largest offshore drilling fleet, on Wednesday reported a quarterly profit that missed Wall Street views, hit by extended downtime that it said is not expected to recur in the current quarter.

Deployment of two new drillships, one off Brazil and the other in the Gulf of Mexico, was slower than expected, Noble said. Two other rigs in Brazil were hit by delays, and U.S. operations had to cope with the effects of Hurricane Isaac.

By Braden Reddall

(Reuters) – Halliburton Co (HAL.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) said its third-quarter profit fell due to inflated raw material costs and a slowdown in U.S. drilling, which showed no signs of picking up as many clients’ budgets for the year were already spent.

Halliburton, the world’s No. 2 oilfield services company, said North American margins ended up even lower than it warned of last month – at just over 15 percent. It added that weaker activity and pricing pressure will likely erode them again in the fourth quarter. The margins stood at nearly 27 percent in the first quarter of this year.