Haliburton Wins Contract on Iraqi Oil Firefighting

Reuters ^ | 3/6/03

[Fulbright]

A Halliburton Co. (nyse: HAL - news - people) subsidiary Kellogg, Brown & Root (KBR) has won the contract to oversee any firefighting operations at Iraqi oilfields after any U.S.-led invasion, a Defense Department source said on Thursday.

KBR was widely viewed by many in the oilfield services industry as the likely candidate to oversee firefighting in Iraq's oilfields. Halliburton does extensive logistic support work for the U.S. military.

Vice President Dick Cheney served as Halliburton's chief executive officer from 1995 to 2000,

A possible beneficiary of Thursday's deal is oilwell firefighting company Boots & Coots International Well Control Inc., with which Halliburton has had an alliance since 1995.

A Halliburton spokeswoman declined comment and referred all questions to the Defense Department.

[SMEDLEYBUTLER]

Red Adair is 87 and retired over a decade ago. His company extinguished 117 out of 700 well fires in Kuwait, 17%. Who put out the other 583?

[Fulbright]

You asked who did the best job in the Gulf War, and I
told you. Looks like he retired, in style, two years later.
Thanks for the update.

[Howlin]

I just saw him on TV last week; he's still alive.

[Howlin]

LOL.....I thought you were the one who wanted the job on another thread!

[aristeides]

I have no idea what you're talking about.

[EternalVigilance]

I won't ask you any more questions...you have been 90% unresponsive.

More than a little too coy, IMO.

I understand why Reuters put out this story. I was simply trying to understand your motivation for posting it, as well as your oblique, but distainful, comments as you did so.

[EternalVigilance]

By the way, if there were any real evidence that this contract was given for any reason other than merit, I would gladly examine such evidence.

But if there isn't such evidence, the whole thing is nothing more than another political smear job.

[Fulbright]

Unresponsive? Surely you jest.

As for the "evidence," it is over there steaming next to the tree, and is fresh and ready for investigation (if you want to go there).

[billsux]

so there's no defense contractors in Washington State and Northern Colorado??? I'm sure glad you were here to point that out, I had no idea...

[EternalVigilance]

I question the source of the steaming pile at the moment.

[Fulbright]

The one you were thinking of in Seattle moved closer to the "action" last year.

[deport]

The job was spread among many due to the size of the undertaking....

The first firefighting companies to get involved with the Kuwaiti oil well fires were from North America. These first firefighters were the internationally known "Big Four": Red Adair, Boots and Coots, Safety Boss, and Wild Well Control, Inc. Bechtel, Inc. provided all of the construction and logistical support for the project. OGE Drilling-Kuwait, Inc. was given the initial responsibility for the coordination of the multiple firefighting teams. Santa Fe drilling company joined in this effort as the number of firefighting teams grew. These companies began arriving in Kuwait on March 11, 1991 and initiated firefighting activities on March 16, 1991. After several months of working almost exclusively with the four teams, the Kuwaiti Government reassessed the oil fire situation. It was determined that due to the slow pace of progress, additional support would be needed. By the end of August, firefighting teams from France, Hungary, China, Iran, USSR, and the UK had joined in the firefighting efforts.

By September 1991, the number of firefighting teams in Kuwait had grown to 27. This led to a corresponding increase in the daily average of wells capped per day, from 3 in May 1991, to 8 in October 1991. By October 10^th, firefighters had capped 566 of the roughly 750 damaged wells in Kuwait. T able 10 shows the chronology of well capping and extinguishing.

Table 10. Chronology of well capping and extinguishing

By May 1991	140 Wells
By July 1991	265 Wells
By August 1991	350 Wells
By September 1991	500 Wells
By November 1991	750 Wells

[SMEDLEYBUTLER]

I'm well aware of that information. The question was posed to Fulbright.

[HoustonCurmudgeon]

Halliburton has been a competitor of mine for 20 of the 30 years I've been in the oilfield. They are the best people for this job.

[HoustonCurmudgeon]

Red Adair

Red sold out in 93 and besides Boots and Coots were the power behind his operation for years.

[AgThorn]

This does stink and I am a big fan of our president and vice president ... but to have this awarded outright with no bids is fishy, and invites people to say more than they should .. i.e. the reason we are at war is coming clear now, etc.

I think that this could have been handled better.

[AgThorn]

problem is that it wasn't a bid ... it was simply awarded.

[Cooter]

They moved to Chicago which is north of the 40th parallel.

[amused]

This stinks in a way that only LBJ could truly appreciate.

Possibly....but confirmation would be important.

[optik_b]

without any bidding process? Hmm we'll hear more about this.