Schlumberger Gets Approval to Buy Into Russia's Biggest Driller

  • Russian investment commission reviews bid for Eurasia Drilling
  • Schlumberger gets preliminary approval to buy 25%-49% stake

Rig hands from Schlumberger Ltd. work on the floor section of the drilling rig at the geothermal energy extraction site.

Photographer: Kosuke Okahara/Bloomberg

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Schlumberger Ltd. won preliminary approval to finally complete a three-year-old plan to buy into Russia’s biggest oil driller.

Russia’s special commission on foreign investment approved Schlumberger to buy a blocking stake of 25 percent to 49 percent in Eurasia Drilling Co. Ltd., subject to certain conditions, Federal Anti-Monopoly Service head Igor Artemyev said, according to a transcript on the government’s website. The regulator represented Russia in its on-off talks with the global oil services provider and prepared the case for the commission.