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Halliburton to Present at The UBS 2007 Global Oil & Gas Conference
UBS 2007 Global Oil & Gas Conference

HOUSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Halliburton (NYSE:HAL) announced today that it will present at the UBS 2007 Oil and Gas Conference on Wednesday, May 23, 2007, at 11:55 a.m. Central Time (12:55 a.m. Eastern Time).

Interested parties may listen to the presentation live over the Internet by accessing the link to the webcast at http://www.halliburton.com/. Please go to the website at least 15 minutes early to register and to download and install any necessary audio software. For your convenience, a copy of the presentation will be available on Halliburton’s website to download. A replay will be available on the website for seven days following the presentation.

From MSN Money Central:

Halliburton Co. is one of eight companies voters can choose to be inducted to Corporate Accountability International's Corporate Hall of Shame.

The Boston organization said Houston-based Halliburton (NYSE: HAL) was chosen for allegedly being "the nation's leading war profiteer, for grossly under-delivering -- and shortchanging our troops -- on more than $20 billion in lucrative government contracts and for planning to move its headquarters to Dubai, enabling them to shirk paying their full share of United States taxes."

Meanwhile, with Halliburton:

Halliburton Acquires Vector Magnetics' Active Ranging Technology, Expanding Ability to Exploit Heavy Oil Reserves

Halliburton's Drilling and Formation Evaluation Division has acquired the intellectual property, assets and existing business associated with Vector Magnetics LLC's active ranging technology for Steam Assisted Gravity Drainage (SAGD) applications. “Halliburton’s Sperry Drilling Services unit has been the leader in the drilling and placement of parallel wellbores in SAGD applications for many years, ” said Brady Murphy, vice president of Sperry Drilling Services, “and the addition of this premier ranging technology is in line with our strategy to expand our unconventional reserves capabilities.Founded and incorporated in New York in 1985,

Vector Magnetics' patented techniques are recognized as the industry standard for precise wellbore placement.

From Democracynow.org:

Pratap Chatterjee, an investigative journalist interviewed on Democracynow.org today. He is managing editor of CorpWatch, which investigates and exposes corporate crimes. He is also the author of “Iraq, Inc. A Profitable Occupation."

Here an excerpt:

AMY GOODMAN: It's good to have you with us. The subtitle of your report, "Goodbye Houston," is "Conflict, Climate Change & Catastrophe, An Alternative Annual Report on Halliburton." Talk about the meeting tomorrow and your preparations.

PRATAP CHATTERJEE: Amy, Halliburton makes its money out of two primary industries: the oil industry and the occupation of Iraq. Today, in fact, in the last four, perhaps a little over four, years, it's made over $20 billion from providing military support in Iraq, building bases, cleaning toilets, providing food to the soldiers, as well as being given money to fix the oil infrastructure in Iraq, which they have actually failed to do.

In fact, Iraq's oil infrastructure is in a sad shambles, and partly it’s Halliburton and it’s -- there's another company from Pasadena, California, which is called Parsons. Neither of them have repaired the infrastructure. And, in fact, today, one of the reasons -- Amy, you mentioned that up to 300,000 barrels of oil are going missing every day -- a lot of this is because the oil metering, which is really actually quite a simple business, has not been done. In four years, they have failed to repair and failed to calibrate the oil meters in the platforms. They've just finished repairing it. But I’ve talked to folks here in Houston. This is a very common and normal industry practice to set up meters. Even the most complex meters take no more than a year to set up, and yet they have not been calibrated. And so, oil is being stolen right under the noses of US officials from the oil platforms out in the Arabian Gulf.

Now, Halliburton, which is also required -- was asked to fix the oil infrastructure, such as the pinelines that run from Kirkuk to Beiji to supply the refineries, have done a terrible job. This is one of the big problems that Halliburton is facing today with its subsidiary Kellogg Brown and Root. They’re actually spinning off this particular part of the company, because it's not doing very well, because they want to focus in where they make their money, which is the oil and gas industry and other places, such as Africa and the Middle East. And, in fact, David Lesar, the CEO of Halliburton, will be leaving right after the meeting. He'll be going to Sheikh Zayed Road in Dubai to set up offices there, because that's where they hope to make their profit, is out of the oil and gas industry.

The question we're raising is, what will this mean in terms of the tax revenue to the United States? Halliburton had to pay an extra billion dollars in taxes this year. When they move to Dubai, will they pay taxes? Certainly, David Lesar, the CEO, will not have to pay taxes, because it's a tax haven. So it means a lot less money for the United States and for taxpayers. And so, on the one hand, when they get $20 billion in taxpayer money to spend in Iraq, they are not paying taxes just like you and I might have to do every April 15.

AMY GOODMAN: What does it mean for criminal liability for the company to move?

PRATAP CHATTERJEE: These are good questions. So far, actually, six managers and suppliers have been indicted, and some of them have gone to jail. Not all of them have gone to jail. And one, for example, one person who was actually named by the Department of Justice as having absconded with money, his name is Ali Hijazi, and he’s in Kuwait. And I actually spoke to him in January when I was in Kuwait, because he, as I understand, is not required, and there is no extradition treaty that can require him to come back to the United States. So in the future, if there is any problem and there are officials that are charged and they’re in Dubai, because Dubai has no extradition treaty -- I’m not suggesting that they are, in fact, criminally liable, but if they are, they can actually stay there, not have to leave, just as Ali Hijazi can stay in Kuwait without being brought before justice to decide whether or not they have been involved in criminal activity. So these are issues. These are serious issues. We don't know whether anybody has stolen money for sure, but should that happen, it may make it complicated.