Russian minister confirms UAE’s Mubadala eyes stake in EDC

MOSCOW, Aug 17 (PRIME) -- The United Arab Emirates’ (UAE) Mubadala investment fund is interested in acquiring a stake in Russian oilfield servicing company Eurasia Drilling Company (EDC), Natural Resources and Environment Minister Sergei Donskoi said on Thursday confirming earlier media reports.

“I know that they are considering this option. But I can’t provide the structure of the deal, this is a question for the Federal Antimonopoly Service,” he said. “I know that they are interested.”

Reuters reported earlier citing sources that the Russia-China Investment Fund (RCIF) and Mubadala were considering buying a minority stake in EDC.

In July, EDC’s shareholders agreed to sell a 51% stake in the company to the U.S.’ Schlumberger.

The Russian government needs guarantees that EDC’s operations will not be affected by Western sanctions if Schlumberger buys the stake, Donskoi said.

“Considering all the sanctions, the restrictions that are being imposed (on Russia), this is still a foreign company, so that it will not happen that when they start working on some large contracts on federal sites, our projects just start collapsing because of the sanctions,” Donskoi said.

The Federal Antimonopoly Service’s Director Igor Artemyev said on Wednesday that the Schlumberger–EDC deal was problematic amid the current political situation and that Schlumberger has to receive official permits from the U.S. Department of Treasury for the deal.

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