Baku, Azerbaijan, Oct. 26
By Maksim Tsurkov - Trend:
General Electric Oil & Gas Company and the US Halliburton and Baker Hughes service companies have resumed talks on a deal for the sale of oil and gas assets in Azerbaijan, a source on the oil and gas market of Azerbaijan told Trend Oct.26.
The companies returned to negotiations after a short break, according to the source.
"The talks were resumed," said the source. "The reason for their suspension was not specified, it may have been issues related to the cost of the contract and assets, or the sides wanted to wait till the period of very low oil prices ends. One way or another, the issue of the acquisition of service work by GE Oil & Gas and a variety of equipment is back on agenda."
Following the merger of Halliburton and Baker Hughes, it was decided to sell a part of services and equipment, including the ones in Azerbaijan. The oil and gas division of General Electric [GE Oil & Gas] got interested in the acquisition of these assets in Azerbaijan, in particular, such equipment as liner hangers and service work. The parties were holding talks, but they are currently suspended.
The source went on to add that however, GE Oil & Gas continues its work to expand activity in Azerbaijan.
The second and third largest global oilfield services giants, Halliburton and Baker Hughes, agreed to an asset swap in November 2014. The transaction worth $34.6 billion became the largest one in the oil and gas sector. Earlier, the European Commission suspended the consideration of the merger deal of the Halliburton and Baker Hughes US oilfield services companies due to the fact that they didn't provide sufficient information.
GE Oil & Gas has more than 12,000 employees worldwide and provides services to customers in more than 100 countries of the world.
Edited by CN
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