Halliburton (HAL) to Acquire Multi-Chem Group

Halliburton (NYSE:HAL) announced today it has entered into a deal with Multi-Chem Group to acquire the company. Terms of the deal weren't disclosed.

Multi-Chem is a major provider of completion chemicals and oilfield production.

According to Halliburton's Marc Edwards, the senior vice president of completion and production, "Today's increasingly complicated reservoirs and their diverse, multi-phase flow regimes demand a comprehensive approach to production optimization."

Halliburton added that Multi-Chem has provided over 30,000 oil and natural gas-producing wells across the North American continent.

In the U.S., Halliburton expects the rig count to grow by close to 10 percent annually through 2015. That takes into account a slow economy but not a deep recession as in 2008.

Energy analysts at the oil services giant said this, "Looking into 2012 and beyond, we expect oil drilling to continue to increase ... Beyond 2012, we anticipate that drilling activity will continue to march upward, driven by strong oil prices, outstanding horizontal oil returns and numerous undrilled oily prospects."

Halliburton was trading at $39.92, down $1.62, or 3.90 percent, as of 2:00 PM EDT.