A massive slump in oil exploration spending pummeled Schlumberger Ltd. (SLB), the world’s largest oilfield services corporation, as profit fell 17% in the fourth quarter. But the company said curtailed spending could be setting the stage for a rebound in oil and gas prices as supplies dwindle.

Crude looks like it is entering its own type of recession this year, with the International Energy Agency predicting a fall in oil consumption for the first time in 25 years. But David Newman still thinks there are huge profits to be had in the oil industry. He recommends an Oil & Gas ETF (NYSE:IEO) and Oil Services ETF (NYSE:OIH), using a ‘protective put strategy’ to cover against downside risk.

There is not a single reason left for you avoid emerging-market oil, according to emerging-market expert and editor of Taipan’s Emerging Markets blog Irwin Greenstein.

Irwin says oilfield service company Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB) is a great energy play for investors still a bit skittish about going straight into emerging markets.

“It’s a big-board American company that should give you a good night’s sleep while letting you gain from the hottest markets anywhere…”

Earnings season will plug along this week as reports from several banks provide the latest insight into how well the beleaguered financial-services sector is weathering the global credit-crisis storm.

Editor’s note: What are shale fields, and how easy is it to suck oil out of them? That depends, says Matt Badiali. As companies like Schlumberger (SLB), Halliburton (HAL) and Baker Hughes (BHI) are finding out, if it’s a permeable reservoir then it’s all systems go. If it’s an impermeable reservoir, then it will take time, effort and horizontal drilling.

This piece is taken from The Growth Stock Wire. It’s in the form of a questions and answers session. But it’s well worth the read if you’re interested in the ins and outs of shale oil.

A private-equity consortium headed up by Candover Partners Ltd., a wholly owned subsidiary of Candover Investments PLC, and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) has boosted its initial bid for U.K.-based Expro International Group PLC (PINK: EXPRF) by 8%, just narrowly beating out Halliburton Company’s (HAL) $3.4 billion (1.71 billion pounds) cash offer.

The IEA forecast for a daily increase in global oil production of 31 million barrels by 2030—a 37% jump—sounds like pure fantasy. Do the facts support it? Are big oil companies already searching for that future oil and finding it? Do they have plans to produce it?