-Baker Hughes confirmed reports that it is in talks to be sold to Halliburton. Observers have raised concerns that such a deal could run afoul of U.S. antitrust law. Analysts at Stern Agee, however, do not believe this will be an obstacle, though there could be some forced divestitures. Stern Agee said the deal has the potential to strengthen Halliburton’s relatively weak position in artificial lift and production chemicals and enhance its completion tools offerings, among other benefits.
-A water line explosion at an Anadarko fracking site in Weld County, Colo., killed one Halliburton worker and injured two others Thursday. Via the Denver Post, the workers were trying to thaw the frozen line when the accident occurred. Anadarko has suspended all fracking operations in the area while the accident is being investigated.
-U.S. District Judge Carl Barbier refused to overturn his recent finding of gross negligence on the part of BP in the 2010 Deepwater Horizon disaster. The gross negligence finding could put BP on the hook for $18 billion in Clean Water Act penalties. Via Reuters, BP argued that the ruling relied on inadmissible testimony from an expert representing Halliburton, but the judge disagreed.
-Meanwhile, the state of California has joined a whistleblower lawsuit alleging BP overcharged the state by as much as $300 million for natural gas between 2004 and 2012. A BP spokesman told Bloomberg the claims were “meritless” and noted they were made by a former employee who had been fired from the company.
-Canada’s Harvest Operations Corp. completed the sale of its 115,000-barrels-per-day refinery in Newfoundland to SilverRange Financial Partners. Harvest is a subsidiary of Korea National Oil Co.
