NEW YORK, Dec 5 (Reuters) - General Electric Co hasno plans to buy an oil or natural gas producer, Chief ExecutiveJeff Immelt told Reuters on Thursday.
Ever since the conglomerate bought oil pump maker Lufkinearlier this year for nearly $5 billion, speculation has swirledon Wall Street that Immelt was itching to buy an energy produceramid the fast-paced growth of the North American shale boom.
"No, no plans to at all," Immelt said in an interview onThursday after a forum hosted by Esquire magazine in New York.
During the forum, Immelt said that with a hypothetical $10billion, he would pursue several growth projects, including"buying an oil and gas company."
When asked to clarify, Immelt said he would prefer buyingenergy-related companies that expand GE's portfolio of pumps,jacks and other products, and melding them with new technologyto allow energy companies to extract more oil and natural gas.
