Shareholders of Eurasia Drilling Alexandra Japaridze on June 20 agreed to sell a 51 percent stake in the company. The buyer will be an American oilfield services company Schlumberger, said in a statement on the Eurasia Drilling website. The report notes that the deal should be approved by the Federal Antimonopoly Service of Russia.

Director General of Eurasia Drilling Alexander Japaridze reminded that the companies have a ten-year experience of business relations, and in 2011 Schlumberger and Eurasia Drilling concluded an agreement on strategic partnership.

Eurasia Drilling is one of the largest drilling companies in Russia, in 2016 its share in this market was 16%. The main client of the company is LUKOIL, other major customers are Gazprom Neft and Rosneft. According to the latest public data (2014), the company is controlled by Alexander Dzhaparidze.

Two years ago, an American company was already trying to acquire Eurasia Drilling. The parties agreed on the terms of the deal in January 2015 - Schlumberger was supposed to pay $ 1.7 billion for 45.65% in Eurasia Drilling and for the option to buy out the rest in three years. However, the deal was submitted for consideration to the government commission on foreign investment, which for several months pulled with the decision. As a result, Schlumberger never received approval from the Russian authorities, and the deal did not take place. In October 2015, Eurasia Drilling announced a delisting with the London Stock Exchange, buying shares from minority shareholders at $ 11.75 per share. At the same time, as part of the deal with Schlumberger, it was planned that the shares of minority shareholders would be redeemed at $ 22. Some minority shareholders (including Ilya Shcherbovich UCP and East Capital fund) did not agree with the price of redemption upon delisting and applied to the Cayman Islands court (there is registered Eurasia Drilling). The decision of the court is expected in autumn 2017.

In early June, during the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, it was announced that the Russian-Chinese Investment Fund (RCIF), the Russian Direct Investment Fund, and the "leading funds of the Middle East" will invest in Eurasia Drilling. Details of the agreement between the parties were not disclosed. In March, Reuters reported that the state fund from the Mudabala OEA and RCIF are interested in buying 13-15% of new shares of Eurasia Drilling.