National Oilwell Unit Pleads Guilty to Export Violations

A unit of National Oilwell Varco Inc agreed to pay a $1 million fine and pleaded guilty Thursday to violating export laws when it shipped components used in oil extraction equipment to a customer in Syria in 2006, the U.S. Justice Department said.

Robbins & Myers Belgium, whose parent Robbins & Myers was acquired by National Oilwell in 2013, also agreed to pay $600,000 in civil penalties in a related settlement with the Department of Commerce.

A representative of the company could not be immediately reached for comment.

(Reporting by Aruna Viswanatha; Editing by Leslie Adler)