Halliburton's move to Dubai, even if only it's CEO, is causing concern that Houston may be replaced by that upstart, much as it replaced NYC.
Telling quote from the Chron: "...Halliburton has to go where the growth is, and in coming years that will be in the Eastern Hemisphere rather than in North America."
There's more:
About 60 percent of Halliburton's business now comes from North
America, with the balance from the Eastern Hemisphere. But
[CEO] Lesar said he hopes the Eastern Hemisphere will represent
at least half of the business soon.
Dan Pickering, an analyst with Pickering Energy Partners in
Houston, estimates that, within 10 years, Halliburton will draw
35 percent of its business from North America. And he thinks
investors are likely to reward the company for expanding overseas,
rather than being so tied to volatile North America natural gas
cycles.
"I think Halliburton's move to Dubai is a signal of how important
the Middle East is and is going to be over the next decade or
more," Pickering said.
What's a CEO to do? If you are responsible for the solvency of an energy company wouldn't it be foolish not to move to where the action is?
