A recovery in the global oil and gas industry has been delayed and companies will continue to cut their spending next year, the chief executive of the oil services group Schlumberger has warned. Paal Kibsgaard, chief executive and chairman, said the outlook for the industry was “increasingly challenging” as a result of the fall in oil prices since last year, adding that the business environment in the third quarter had continued to deteriorate. He gave the warning in a statement as Schlumberger reported third-quarter earnings per share that were 48 percent below the equivalent period of 2014, but slightly above analysts’ expectations. The group’s North American operations have suffered the worst in the downturn, with a 47 per cent drop in revenues since last year to $2.27bn. Revenues in the rest of the world fell 27 per cent to $6.07bn.