Halliburton Sees Asbestos Exposure at $600 Million Through 2015
Dow Jones Business News
Tuesday September 3, 4:56 pm ET
By David Bogoslaw
NEW YORK -- Halliburton Co. (NYSE: HAL - News) said a recent study estimated its pretax exposure to asbestos claims at $600 million through 2015.
Speaking at Lehman Brothers' CEO Energy/Power Conference in New York, Halliburton Chief Financial Officer Douglas L. Foshee described that exposure as "significant but manageable."
He noted the oilfield-services company is handling the asbestos issue on many fronts simultaneously.
While making efforts to boost its liquidity to be able to cover any litigation costs, Halliburton is also exploring alternate insurance policies and preparing for the possibility of bankruptcy by third parties, such as its former unit, Harbison-Walker
Of the $150 million in judgments brought against Halliburton last fall, Mr. Foshee said he expected $100 million to be thrown out by an east Texas court due to a conflict of interest involving a judge.
"You'll continue to see cash build at least through year end and I wouldn't see that diminishing in 2003," he noted, adding boosting liquidity was necessary to give people confidence the company can cover any costs that come its way.
Mr. Foshee also said he doesn't see any indication of a global settlement on the asbestos claims any time soon.
As for growth prospects, he noted he expected Venezuela to start spending money on drilling soon. Mr. Foshee also cited the Caspian Sea as a significant growth market, both on the engineering and the construction side along with energy services
*** POSTED SEPTEMBER 3, 2002 ***