Sunday, Mar 11, 2007
DUBAI (AP)--U.S. oil services giant Halliburton Co. (HAL) will shift its corporate headquarters from Houston to Dubai, Chief Executive Dave Lesar said Sunday.
Halliburton will maintain a corporate office in Houston, but the company will be controlled from its office in the United Arab Emirates, company spokeswoman Cathy Mann explained.
"Halliburton is opening its corporate headquarters in Dubai while maintaining a corporate office in Houston," Mann said in an e-mail to The AP. "The chairman, president and CEO will office from and be based in Dubai to run the company from the UAE."
She clarified "he will work from and his office will be in Dubai."
Lesar, speaking at an energy conference in nearby Bahrain, said he will relocate to Dubai to oversee Halliburton's intensified focus on business in the Mideast and Asia, home to some of the world's most important oil and gas markets.
"As the CEO, I'm responsible for the global business of Halliburton in both hemispheres and I will continue to spend quite a bit of time in an airplane as I remain attentive to our customers, shareholders and employees around the world," Lesar said. "Yes, I will spend the majority of my time in Dubai."
Lesar's announcement appears to signal one of the highest-profile moves by a U.S. corporate leader to Dubai, a Gulf Arab boomtown that is home to an ever-larger number of American and western companies.
In 2006, Halliburton - once headed by U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney - earned profits of $2.3 billion on revenues of $22.6 billion.
Western banks and construction firms have also been eager to open offices and capture a share of Gulf energy revenues pouring into Dubai, where free-market capitalism has been paired with some of the world's most liberal tax, investment and residency laws.
Halliburton's Dubai headquarters will be better placed to focus on relations with the Gulf's enormous national oil companies, such as Saudi Aramco, the world's number one oil producer. It will also seek business opportunities in the energy-hungry Asian countries which are in the midst of soaring economic growth.
"The Eastern Hemisphere is a market that is more heavily weighted toward oil exploration and production opportunities and growing our business here will bring more balance to Halliburton's overall portfolio," Lesar said. "This is already a strong market for Halliburton and we are excited to position the company in this key business area."
Halliburton is searching for new office space in Dubai, where the Texas company has housed its Mideast operations for 15 years, Lesar said. Mann said Lesar was already in the midst of moving to Dubai, one of seven emirates forming the United Arab Emirates.
Lesar will work closely in Dubai with senior vice president, Ahmed Lotfy, who heads eastern hemisphere operations, to bolster the company's ventures in the Middle East and Asia, as well as Africa, the Pacific and Europe.
Last year, more than 38% of Halliburton's $13 billion oil field services revenue stemmed from sources in the eastern hemisphere, where the firm has 16,000 of its 45,000 global employees.
Cheney was Halliburton's chief executive from 1995-2000 and the Bush administration has been accused of favoring the giant firm with lucrative no-bid contracts in Iraq. Federal investigators said last month that Halliburton was responsible for $2.7 billion of the $10 billion in contractor waste and overcharging in Iraq.
Last month, Halliburton announced a 40% decline in fourth-quarter profit, despite heavy demand for its oil field equipment and personnel.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
11-03-07 1533GMT
