Russia demands for veto right in Eurasia Drilling from Schlumberger

The Government has come up with how to control the leader of the Russian oilfield services market Eurasia Drilling Company after its sale to Schlumberger. The deal to the amount of $1.7 billion is studied by the Foreign Investment Commission, which put forward a number of restrictions, as it feared that the company with head offices in the United States and France would take a dominant position on the strategically important market. According to the Kommersant’s information, the main thing is the receiving a "golden share" in Eurasia Drilling by the state. This condition may further prolong the negotiations - Schlumberger is not yet ready to fulfill this condition, but industry experts believe that in the end the company will agree.

Today, discussion of terms of the deal for the purchase of Eurasia Drilling by Schlumberger should take place in the FAS. In late March, it was considered by the governmental commission on foreign investments, which put forward a number of conditions. According to the Kommersant’s sources, the negotiations have been continuing for the past week, and the key issue was the proposal of Moscow to give the state "golden share" in Eurasia Drilling. FAS and the companies declined to comment. The Commission gave ten days for approval of the deal, the term expires today. FAS’s head Igor Artemyev said on Friday that at the beginning of the week he would report to the Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev (head of the Commission) on the state of things and would ask to accelerate the process. "For a while, everything is very positive, but it doesn’t mean that this is an issue of a foregone conclusion. The governmental commission will discuss all aspects of the transaction, including the terms of the political situation, which changes every day," - said Mr. Artemyev.