Halliburton To Move Headquarters To Dubai
Halliburton to Move Headquarters to Dubai
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/11/bu...hp&oref=slogin
By CLIFFORD KRAUSS
Published: March 11, 2007
HOUSTON, March 11 — Halliburton, the big energy services company, said today that it would open a corporate headquarters in the United Arab Emirates city of Dubai and move its chairman and chief executive, David J. Lesar, there.
The company will maintain its existing corporate office here as well as its incorporation in the United States.
Although the announcement of the new Dubai arrangement took many by surprise, Halliburton said the move was part of a plan announced in mid-2006 to concentrate its efforts in the Middle East and surrounding areas, where state-owned oil companies represent a growing source of business.
Halliburton, which was led by Vice President Dick Cheney from 1995 to 2000, is currently in the process of spinning off KBR, its military-contracting unit, to focus on its business of drilling wells and maintaining fields for oil companies. The company did not say what implications the Dubai development might have for its Pentagon contracts.
The announcement about the Dubai move, which Halliburton made at a regional energy conference in Bahrain, comes at a time when the company is being investigated by the Justice Department and the Securities and Exchange Commission for allegations of improper dealings in Iraq, Kuwait and Nigeria. Halliburton has also paid out billions in settlements in asbestos litigation.
Halliburton officials did not elaborate today on what the shift of its top executive might mean. The move seemed to raise questions about whether Halliburton might gain tax advantages or other benefits from shifting into a foreign country with pro-business regulations.
On the face of it, the decision to move Mr. Lesar abroad appeared to have less to do with unwelcome headlines than with shifting epicenters for big energy construction projects and exploration from mature fields in North America toward the Middle East and Africa. The move especially underscores the arrival of Dubai as a center for energy deal-making and commerce, a role once solidly filled by Houston.
“My office will be in Dubai, and I will run our entire worldwide operations from that office,” Mr. Lesar, who holds the titles of chairman, chief executive and president, said at the conference in Manama, Bahrain. “The eastern hemisphere is a market that is more heavily weighted toward oil exploration and production opportunities. Growing our business here will bring more balance to Halliburton’s overall portfolio.”
Halliburton is incorporated in Delaware and its stock is traded on the New York Stock Exchange. Mr. Lesar did say that the company was exploring the possibility of listing its shares on markets in the Middle East.
Mayor Bill White of Houston learned of Halliburton’s move only shortly before the company’s announcement this morning, said Frank Michel, the mayor’s communications director. He said he knew of no negotiations to keep Halliburton’s headquarters in Houston.
“It is such an international business; the most senior guys are always on the airplanes,” Mr. Michel said. “Having a corporate group located in the city is different than it used to be.” He noted that Schlumberger had offices in both Houston and Paris.
He said the mayor did not expect Halliburton move to “have a big impact on employment here.”
