U.S. oilfield services giant Schlumberger NV has applied to Russia`s anti-monopoly watchdog for approval of a deal to buy 51 percent stake in Russian peer Eurasia Drilling Co (EDC). the Interfax news agency reported on Thursday.
The deal is likely to test further Russia-U.S. chilly ties.
In 2015. Schlumberger agreed to buy 45.65 percent of EDC for $1.7 billion but the deal fell through after Russia`s Federal Antimonopoly Service repeatedly postponed its approval.
That deal met with resistance in Russia`s higher echelons of power who were worried that Schlumberger might seize control of Eurasia. a senior government official said in 2015.
