Schlumberger still eyes purchase of 51% in Eurasia Drilling Company

MOSCOW, Oct 20 (PRIME) -- U.S. oilfield servicing giant Schlumberger still plans to get approval of Russian authorities to buy 51% in Eurasia Drilling Company (EDC), Schlumberger Executive Vice President Patrick Schorn said in a conference call on Friday.

The company is now studying demands of Russian authorities and provides all the necessary data to them. The Russian government is still considering the bid. Schlumberger is optimistic about receiving a final approval, he said.

In July, EDC’s shareholders agreed to sell 51% in the company to Schlumberger, but the Federal Antimonopoly Service said that the deal was problematic amid the current political situation. Dmitry Peskov, spokesman for Russian President Vladimir Putin, said then that the acquisition has to be approved by a government commission for foreign investment control.

In August, Natural Resources and Environment Minister Sergei Donskoi said the Russian government needs guarantees that EDC’s operations will not be affected by Western sanctions if Schlumberger buys the stake. On September 4, Deputy Prime Minister Arkady Dvorkovich said that the deal is being delayed due to unpredictability of the U.S.' sanctions against Russia.

In January 2015, Schlumberger said it agreed to buy a 45.65% stake in EDC for U.S. $1.7 billion. The antimonopoly service said then that the government’s commission for foreign investment control must approve the deal. The government had postponed the clearance several times, and in September 2015 Schlumberger said it would not prolong the deadline to close the deal.

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