HOUSTON, Dec. 6 (UPI) -- FMC Technologies and Technip, two companies working to assist with oil and gas exploitation, became the latest in the industry to agree to a merger.
The respective shareholders approved a merger between FMC, which specializes in subsea oil and gas operations, and Technip, a leader in submarine pipeline installation and broad-based oil and gas infrastructure development.
No financial terms of the agreement were unveiled. Merger plans were first unveiled in May.
The merger announcement comes as crude oil prices start to hold steady above the $50 per barrel mark. A recent rally in crude oil was sparked by an agreement from the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries to hold production levels steady, though prices were holding steadily in the mid-$40s for much of the latter half of the year as global economies started to recovery slowly.
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At the start of the year, when oil prices collapsed below $30 per barrel, analysis from consultant group Wood Mackenzie found restrictions in financing in the low-price environment would potentially encourage mergers and acquisitions.
"Few companies are safe; while the top tier of IOCs can largely ride out a further year of low prices, the next tier down may have fewer alternatives," the analysis read at the time. "Corporate actions will follow, including asset sales."
British energy company BG Group became a unit within the corporate structure of Royal Dutch Shell in early February. The $7 billion tie-up was the largest of its kind since Exxon and Mobil joined forces in the 1990s.
Last month, oilfield services company Baker Hughes formed a business venture with Goldman Sachs and others that would focus on North American hydraulic fracturing. That come one month after GE Oil & Gas took a 62.5 percent stake in Baker Hughes for an entity with combined revenue of $32 billion.
Early this year, Wood Mackenzie said merger and acquisition activity would likely pick up once oil prices recover.
FMC and Technip expect the merger to close in early 2017.