BJ Services Gets Busy - Analyst Blog

Ahead of the expected closure of the merger between Baker Hughes Inc. (BHI) and BJ Services Company (BJS), the latter is quite active on the work front. The company has recently commissioned its first ethylene pipeline in Qatar. The contract, which was awarded in April last year, includes one main 135-km pipeline and two short satellite pipelines.

Shareholders of both the companies approved the proposed merger on March 31, 2010. With the approval of the Antitrust Division, the merger is expected to be closed some time soon.

Seperately, BJ Services has been awarded a contract to deliver casing, tubing and drillstring running services by Repsol YPF, S.A. (REP). This is a three-year contract. For the last few years, BJ Services has successfully performed various projects in Repsol’s production facilities in the Mediterranean Sea, including casing and tubing running services.

This casing and tubing running services is gaining momentum as the company is expanding these operations in the Marcellus Shale play. The company anticipates that demand for these services will increase, given this shale play’s huge reserve base.

While the company has been active in recent days with various projects, post-merger, we believe BJ Services’ shareholders will gain exposure to the much more stable top-tier global oilfield services over and above its existing services. Price of BJ Services shares rose 0.32% to $22.23 at Friday’s closing.