General Electric Co ( GE.N ) said on Monday it would merge its oil and gas business with Baker Hughes Inc ( BHI.N ), creating the world’s second-largest oilfield services provider as industry competition heats up to supply more-efficient products and services to the energy industry. The deal to create a company with $32 billion in annual revenue will combine GE’s strengths in making equipment long-prized by oil producers with Baker Hughes’s expertise in drilling and fracking new wells. GE is already the world’s largest oilfield equipment maker, supplying blowout preventers, pumps and compressors used in exploration and production. GE also has invested heavily in large data processing services just as the oil industry eyes its potential to boost oil recovery. Baker Hughes, by contrast, is seen as one of the world leaders in horizontal drilling, chemicals used to frack and other services key to oil production. “Both […]