The big oil field service firm Halliburton...

The big oil field service firm Halliburton Co. agreed to acquire a smaller rival, Gearhart Industries, in a transaction worth about $276 million in cash and stock. The acquisition is an example of the consolidation taking place in the industry, which was already suffering from overcapacity when oil prices declined sharply in 1986 and put many of them in further peril. The acquisition will boost Halliburton’s seismic and wire line operations, two areas involved in the search for oil and gas. In electric wire lining, tools are lowered down a well to detect oil and natural gas formations.