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Halliburton Plans Swift Venezuela Comeback After US Approval
CEO Miller Touts Weekslong TimelinWhile Pointing To Broader Latin American Expansion
Halliburton Co. is ready to quickly restart operations in Venezuela once it obtains U.S. government approval and some sort of payment protections, CEO Jeff Miller said.
“I’m excited about the tremendous opportunity for Halliburton in Venezuela,” Miller told investors during a conference call.
“We can mobilize in weeks,” he added later in the call. “I feel confident we can move fairly quickly as opportunities arise.”
Halliburton jumped as much as 5.4% to a 17-month high in New York trading.Halliburton ranks No. 8 on theTransport Topics Top 100 list of the largest private carriersin North America and No. 1 amongpetroleum and chemical carriers.
Halliburton’s North American business has been particularly exposed to the effects of slowing growth in the U.S. shale patch. Contracts to work in Venezuela’s prolific fields would help offset weakening domestic demand for its services while positioning the company to benefit from President Donald Trump’s push to boost the South American nation’s crude output.
Miller said that overall Latin America will drive international growth for the oilfield-services sector this year, particularly in Brazil, Argentina, Ecuador and Guyana.
Halliburton hadall remaining investment in Venezuela in 2020 in connection with the wind down of operations due to U.S. sanctions. The global contractor has said that by the end of 2020, it no longer had workers in the country but maintained a local entity as well as facilities and equipment there.
Miller’s comments came after the company posted fourth-quarter adjusted profit of 69 cents a share, 15 cents higher than analyst expectations.
