Thread regarding National Oilwell Varco Inc. layoffs

US oil settles down 3.0% and The worlds six largest publicly traded oil producers have more than half-trillion dollars in stock and cash to snap up rival explorers. Exxon Mobil corp tops the list with a total of $320 billion for potential acquisitions. Chevron is next with $65 billion in cash and its own shares tucked away, followed by BP Plc with $53 billion, according to data from corporate filings compiled by Bloomberg. Merger speculation was running high after Anadarko Petroleum Corp. said Wednesday it withdrew an offer to buy Apache Corp. for an undisclosed amount. Apache rebuffed the unsolicited offer and wouldn't provide access to internal financial data, Anadarko said. Both companies are now takeover targets, John Kilduff, a partner at Again Capital LLC, a New York-based hedge fund, said by phone. Royal Dutch Shell Plc has $33.4 billion available, almost all of it in cash. That said, The Hague-based company is unlikely to go hunting for large prey given plans announced in April to take over BG Group Plc $69 billion in cash and stock. At the bottom of the pack are ConocoPhilips with $31.5 billion and Total SA with $30.5 billion. More than 90 percent of ConocoPhillips stockpile is in the form of shares held in its treasury. Total's arsenal is 85 percent cash.