October 31, 2004
Bloomberg
Halliburton Wins Oman Contracts Valued at $400 Million to Boost Oil Output Halliburton Co., the world's largest oilfield-services company, won contracts worth at least $400 million over five years to help Oman, the Middle East's largest non-OPEC crude exporter, to produce more oil, the company said.
Houston, Texas-based Halliburton will assist state- controlled Petroleum Development Oman with oil well drilling, monitoring and production to help it increase output by almost a quarter to 800,000 barrels a day of crude by 2007, the company said in a press release.
Muscat-based Petroleum Development Oman, which is 34 percent owned by Royal Dutch/Shell Group, produces 95 percent of the Persian Gulf state's total oil output of about 700,000 barrels a day, according to government figures. The company plans to reduce operating costs by $2 billion over the next five years, partly by outsourcing work to oilfield-service companies.
Shares of Halliburton rose 79 cents to $37.04 at the close of business on Friday in New York Stock Exchange composite trading. The stock has climbed about 42 percent this year. Oilfield sales rose 17 percent to a record $2.1 billion in the third quarter as producers increased spending.
Oil production in Oman has declined by 35 percent from a high of about 1 million barrels a day five years ago as many of the country's major oilfields require billions of dollars of investment.
The country is inviting companies like Halliburton to operate many of its smaller fields in an effort to manage production costs, which rose by 26 percent last year to an average of $5.62 a barrel, because of the growing need for advanced technology to help pump heavier more viscous crude, according to Petroleum Development Oman.
http://quote.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000103&sid=arAcJRvOu6QI&refer=us