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Thursday, April 18, 2024

Final Schlumberger-Eurasia deal conditions to be set

A final list of terms on the agreement by Schlumberger to purchase Eurasia Drilling should be ready within 10 days, Russian Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Sergei Donskoi said on Friday.

A U.S.-based company, Schlumberger is considered a global leader in oil services. In January, it said it would acquire Eurasia Drilling, an oilfield service company based in Russia, despite sanctions against the country and falling oil prices.

Current conditions set by antimonopoly protocols in Russia stipulate a number of items that may prevent the acquisition from happening.

The Eurasian Development Bank states two of these are that the general director of the acquired company would need Russian citizenship and the protection of classified information. 

"Any new input may influence Schlumberger’s decision," Alexzander Shokhin, head of the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs, said. "They should decide for themselves whether fulfillment of those terms is worth the money they’re paying. The government and the departments are perfectly aware that there are some time limitations… . If the deal is not closed literally in the nearest days, it’s quite possible that Schlumberger will abandon the deal."