Halliburton clarifies its legal corporate standing

Monday, May 31, 2004

Through correspondence with the Halliburton Corporation based in Houston, Cayman Net News has received clarification of the international oil services conglomerate’s reasons for its Cayman Islands incorporation.

In January of this year, the popular American television show 60 Minutes visited the registered Grand Cayman address of Halliburton’s subsidiary, Halliburton Products and Services, Ltd, here in a building owned by the Caledonian Bank. David Walker, the manager of the Caledonian bank, told the 60 Minutes team that there were no employees of Halliburton at that address.

Last week at Halliburton’s annual shareholders meeting, a motion to review the company’s operations in Iran, which is considered a state sponsor of terror by the US State Department, through its Cayman Islands subsidiary, was strongly rebuffed by an overwhelming majority of shareholders. US law forbids all business dealings with identified rogue nations, unless through subsidiaries not run by US citizens.

Wendy Hall, Director of Public Relations for Halliburton wrote, “There are no actual operations there (in the Cayman Islands), just as we don’t have actual operations in Delaware in the United States where we are incorporated.”

In reference to its choice of the Cayman Islands for incorporation of subsidiaries, Ms Hall noted, “The Caymans has been used to establish some subsidiaries because it represents an efficient location for administration of shareholdings.

“There is an important distinction between the place of incorporation and base of operations. There is no reason for them to be the same and in fact they are frequently different.”

In defense of the company’s actions in Iran Ms Hall added, “Halliburton’s business in Iran is clearly permissible under applicable laws and regulations.”

As for the Caribbean, Halliburton remains active in Trinidad, where it has recently completed the design and construction of two ammonia plants.

Many of the recent investigations into Halliburton have resulted due to U.S. Vice-President Richard Cheney’s connection to the company as former CEO from 1995 – 2000. In this past year, New York City police and fire departments have expressed outrage that a portion of their retirement benefits may be benefiting countries that sponsor terrorism, through their investment in Halliburton.

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