International

Halliburton CEO Leaving U.S. for Office in Dubai

Published March 12, 2007 at 3:00 AM PDT

This story was published more than 17 years ago.

Halliburton is adding a corporate headquarters in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates. The oil industry services company is relocating its CEO and some executives from Houston to be closer to its customer base.

Its KBR defense subsidiary — which holds large contracts with the U.S. government — is becoming a separate company and will not be part of the move.

The company, which Vice President Dick Cheney helmed from 1995 to 2000, will remain registered in the U.S. and did not announce how many employees will be shifted to Dubai.

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Steve Inskeep spoke with Associated Press Reporter Jim Krane, who's based in Dubai, about the move.

Why Dubai?

First of all, this is where the oil is, and the gas. Not Dubai in particular, but the region. ... There's not much oil left in North America, so a lot of these companies have to come over here to get a little closer to it. Halliburton says it wants to be closer to some of the giant national oil companies in this region....

Their competition is here, the Chinese are here, pouring money in, everybody wants to get a piece of the oil puzzle here.

Would you describe Dubai?

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We describe it as Las Vegas on steroids. It is probably the fastest growing city in the world. It's got 20 percent of the world's construction cranes. The place is studded with hundreds of skyscrapers under construction. Islands are being reclaimed off the coast. ... It's a crazy place.

It's got a Western lifestyle. It's got huge shopping malls, lots of golf. There's indoor skiing here. There's a great beach. Lots of Westerners are moving here to buy homes. So it's a very comfortable place — if you're a big executive in the states, you'd feel right at home here.

Will taxes be lower for Halliburton there?

It won't have to pay taxes here. There are no corporate taxes, as far as I know, and no taxes on employees either in Dubai, as long as you're in one of their investment zones.

You're saying this simply acknowledges something that's already a fact?

Yeah, that's right, Halliburton's already here in a smaller way, and the U.S. military's already here. The U.S. Navy has its largest overseas port here. It just makes it easier for Halliburton, really, to do the business it's already involved in.