Adds analyst comments in paragraphs 7-8

Jan 29 (Reuters) - Britain's competition regulator said on Wednesday it has launched an inquiry into oilfield services company SLB's SLB.N proposed $8 billion deal to buy smaller rival ChampionX CHX.O.

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said it is looking at whether the deal, which was announced last April, would raise competition concerns in any UK markets.

It has set a deadline of March 27 for its Phase 1 decision.

SLB has said that it expects the deal to clear closer to the first quarter of 2025.

However, several oil and gas firm deals have been delayed by second requests from antitrust regulators for additional information, since the consolidation wave began in 2023.

Last year, the United States Department of Justice sent SLB and ChampionX a second request for additional information related to the deal.

Analysts at ATB Capital Markets said that CMA has a disclaimer that the March 27 deadline could change.

"With the timeline announced by CMA, there is a risk that should the CMA launch a Phase 2 investigation, the merger timing could be delayed," the analysts added.

SLB did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

(Reporting by Seher Dareen and Aby Jose Koilparambil in Bengaluru; Editing by Savio D'Souza and Shounak Dasgupta)

((abyjose.koilparambil@thomsonreuters.com))